SOFT DRINK CONSUMPTION AND ITS EFFECTS ON HUMANS

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Currently, a lot of soft drinks are consumed daily by children, adolescent and the old age but children and adolescents are more exposed to taking soft drinks the more. This is as a result of modernization and industrialization and changes in lifestyle. The quality of a soft drink is determined by the chemicals present in it. Soft drink consumption plays a major role in different kinds of diseases such as, obesity, diabetes, dental and bone disorders among others.

What is a soft drink?

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A soft drink is a drink that contains carbonated water, a sweetner and artificial flavouring. The sweetner can be fructose, sugar or fruit juice. Some examples are, coke, sprite, Fanta, Pepsi cola and etc.

Indiscriminate consumption of these soft drinks have so many effects on the body, causing the following diseases, obesity, dental health problems, diabetes mellitus, hypo calcemia and bone density, cancer and etc. We will take them into details from here....

DENTAL PROBLEMS
Most of the soft drinks on the market causes dental enamel erosion. Soft drink induced demineralization of dental enamel is the major cause of tooth decay in the younger age group. This happens when the calcium and phosphorus in the teeth are mobilised from the enamel which eventually collapse the surface of the enamel. Soft drinks also cause damage to the teeth through acidogenicity and cariogenicity. The low PH of some of the soft drinks like cola drink(PH of 2. 74) leads to erosion. Moreover, the sugar content in the drink is being metabolized by plaque microorganisms to generate organic acids that add to the process of demineralization, leading to dental caries.

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OBESITY
One of the constituents in soft drinks is fructose which is a complex form of sugar. Fructose molecule is not a natural part of metabolism hence humans do not produce it with the exception of the liver which can make use of it. Therefore when we consume drink which contains fructose, most of the fructose get metabolised by the liver. It is then converted to fats which is secreted into the blood stream. Gradually, increase in fat content in the blood causes obesity.

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HYPERACTIVITY
This normally occurs in children. When children consume large amount of sugar, it causes fluctuating levels of glucose in the child's body and glucose provides energy to the body. Processed sugar also enters the bloodstream very quick causing sugar overload in the bloodstream which makes the child hyperactive. In some cases too, this sugar in soft drinks can cause increase in adrenaline in the body which makes the child feel hyperactive or have increased energy. Normally, such children becomes restless and they try to engage themselves in energetic activities.

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DIABETES MELLITUS
According to nutrition experts, sugar consumed daily should not exceed 5% calories. Taking in a lot of soft drinks causes type II diabetes. If you have type 2 diabetes your body does not use insulin properly.
This is called insulin resistance. At first, your pancreas makes extra insulin to make up for it. But, over time it isn't able to keep up and can't make enough insulin to keep your blood glucose at normal levels.

Therefore, taking a lot of soft drinks causes a greater sugar load which causes a rapidly rising blood glucose level stimulating the beta cells to produce more insulin. Over a long term, this burden on the pancreas may lead to beta cells exhaustion and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

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Thanks for reading, your health my concern