CARBONATED DRINKS: HEALTH CONSEQUENCES - NUTRITION - 2025

The carbonated drinks are carbonated beverages which normally contain water, a sweetener and a natural or artificial flavoring. The sweetener can be sugar, high fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, sugar substitutes (in the case of diet drinks), or some combination of these.

I'm sure most of you reading this article have ever seen that image showing that drinking a soft drink is like consuming approximately eight to ten tablespoons of refined sugar and yet, almost inexplicably, we continue to consume them.

Practically no country escapes from this reality. The penetration of these products has been so effective that their star brands are capable of causing that refreshing and bubbly sensation.

To make the situation much more serious, we can find them practically in any commercial premises, on the street, in large stores, in different formats and their advertising usually includes prominent sports or music figures, which makes us much more susceptible to consuming them.

What are carbonated or carbonated drinks?

It is important that you understand in a summarized way its production process, which is quite simple: first a mixture of filtered water, carbon dioxide, sweeteners (substances that provide a very sweet taste) and acidulants (those that change or control the ph of the formula).

This results in a refreshing drink that is mostly packaged in plastic containers (a tremendous damage to the environment) and you can later find it in countless places, and especially within the reach of the little ones.

Without a doubt, we have forgotten something that must be paradoxical for you; its origin and development refer to the pharmaceutical industry since they were used as remedies to relieve migraine headaches and indigestion.

Do we really know how much this can affect our health? Here is a summary of reasons for not ingesting these beverages frequently or excessively.

Consequences on health

We must place ourselves in the fact that in recent decades, obesity and overweight have become a huge unprecedented pandemic. According to reports from the highest health body, the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2008, approximately 1.4 billion adults (≥20 years of age) had a nutritional status of overweight, of which more than 200 million men and women about 300 million women already suffered from obesity.

Sugary drinks (with added sugar in their formulation), which include the well-known flavored drinks of large international industries, fruit juices and mainly carbonated drinks, have been clearly associated with this increase in obesity figures.

In addition to this, a direct association has been established between the frequent consumption of these soft drinks and the presence of metabolic diseases, such as insulin resistance, arterial hypertension, type 2 diabetes, abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceridemia and metabolic syndrome. This relationship may be the result of sugary drinks having a high glycemic index and hardly leaving you feeling full.

In short, the consumption of added sugars (those that are added to food during its preparation but do not belong to it naturally) in developed countries represents more than a quarter of the calories consumed per day and, of these, 40 % comes from sugary nonalcoholic beverages, including sports and energy drinks.

On the other hand, preferring this type of liquid often causes substituting milk and natural fruit juices. This habit has produced an increase in the total calories ingested worldwide, even becoming the main source of liquid energy in many countries.

Make no mistake about it, sugary drinks only provide calories with little nutritional value, and different systematic reviews have found a correlation between the consumption of sugary drinks and various diseases that we will detail later.

Carbonated drinks and Obesity

Much research has determined that weight gain in people is related to the amount of carbohydrates, liquids consumed and their density.

In this sense, more viscous beverages (for example, drinks with added cereals, proteins and fats) produce greater satiety and, therefore, a lower feeling of hunger compared to less dense beverages such as sodas and even infusions with sugar.

Added to this, the latter are eaten much faster because you do not need to chew, its rapid gastrointestinal absorption and low or no stimulation of signals of satiety or gastric fullness. Due to the above, it is suggested that people increase their daily caloric intake due to an increase in the consumption of additional calories provided precisely by sugary drinks.

If you want to know more in depth, I tell you that fructose is a "sugar" naturally present in fruits, vegetables, honey and artificially being added to foods labeled as diet or light, drinks and nectars.

The intake of this nutrient has increased considerably in recent years, especially in the form of "High Fructose Corn Syrup", which you can find on product labels. This syrup gives a great and attractive sweetness to a wide range of processed foods that you can find daily in stores and unfortunately they are often preferred by children and adults.

In developing countries, the consumption of soft drinks has increased significantly in the population, which implies a high consumption of fructose associated with harmful effects on health.

Fructose, despite having a similar name to glucose, has differences in its metabolism. For example, it is absorbed more slowly than glucose, although it is taken up and metabolized more quickly by the liver.

Recent and high-quality scientific literature associates the consumption of added fructose in these beverages with various metabolic alterations such as: genetic intolerance to fructose, fatty liver, alterations in insulin sensitivity and type 2 diabetes mellitus, which we will go through to be reviewed more specifically in the following paragraphs.

Sugary drinks and diabetes mellitus

British researchers determined that in overweight or obese children the consumption of only 100 ml (half a glass) of this type of soft drink was associated with an increase in parameters indicative of diabetes and even in blood pressure and their waist circumference measurements.

Will this effect only occur in children? No, since these same relationships and even much more determinants have been found in studies for men, women and all types of population.

Its relationship with metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease

A prospective study showed that in adults the consumption of a daily glass of these products causes a great increase in the risk of developing Metabolic Syndrome.

This fact is very important, given its direct relationship with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. There is evidence that women who consume more than 2 soft drinks a day (500 cc or half a liter) are more likely to develop coronary heart disease or a stroke vascular.

This has been studied looking for a dose-effect relationship, reaching the conclusion that the more glasses of these soft drinks you consume, the greater the risk of developing one of these complicated diseases.

Fizzy drinks and risk of hyperuricemia

Various studies have associated the consumption of sugary drinks with a significantly higher level of uric acid in the blood, which is dangerous for health. Prospective data have also suggested that they have the potential to increase the risk of hyperuricemia and gout (a disease that causes inflammation and great pain in the joints).

Sugary drinks and risk of osteoporosis

This relationship is very logical, because if you prefer one of these soft drinks for breakfast, it is very unlikely that you will consume dairy, verifying that its habitual consumption increases the risk of not drinking milk by 3 times.

Cross-sectional studies carried out in children and adolescents have associated the consumption of sugary beverages with low bone mineral density (the ability of the bones to resist blows or the like without fracturing), although the authors suggest that such associations may be due to a replacement of milk for these sodas. However, it has been suggested that the amount of phosphoric acid present in cola drinks could be sufficient to cause this imbalance.

Sugary drinks and cancer

Cancer (in its different types) is one of the diseases that causes the most deaths every day worldwide, in addition to the great physical, psychological and economic burden that it means for our society and in particular for the families that suffer from it.

In this sense, certain studies have reported an elevated risk of pancreatic cancer from consuming sugary beverages, which may contain a large amount of high fructose corn syrup (potentially carcinogenic), however the data is still not completely consistent.

A systematic review (of studies that have associated the consumption of fructose, carbohydrates, the glycemic index and the risk of pancreatic cancer), concludes that certain types of carbohydrates, especially fructose, can increase the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Tooth decay and tooth enamel erosion

If you want to maintain optimal oral health, I advise you to stay away from its consumption, since several ingredients present in large quantities in these soft drinks (such as refined sugar, phosphoric acid and citric acid) contribute enormously in the development of dental cavities and wear of tooth enamel.

Remember that dental caries is produced by colonization and demineralization of teeth caused by acidic products from the fermentation of food remains not removed through proper hygiene, especially carbohydrates, induced by bacteria present in the oral cavity.

In children and adolescents, the structure of dental enamel, in the process of maturing, is still incomplete and very likely to be attacked by these agents, which regularly come from food remains or the acids present in these beverages. To be clear, the pH of sodas contributes directly to the demineralization of the hard tissues of the tooth.

What do we do about it? Special taxes on these drinks?

With everything I have told you, you will surely wonder what we are doing to reverse or prevent all this? The truth is that quite little, but among other things, attempts have been made to reduce their consumption through the application of higher taxes to these industries, with the hope that this will ultimately lead to lower consumption of them.

Studies suggest that taxes on these sodas can indirectly help reduce rates of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, many of these studies (and it is observed in reality) suggest that if the increase in the sale price of these soft drinks is not significant (greater than 15%) or other measures are not considered, the expected impact will not be achieved in health, and will only affect the poorest strata of the population.

Do we want these eating patterns for our children? For our grandchildren? I'm sure not. Well then, and as difficult as it may seem, we must take concrete steps not only towards access to this type of information, but mainly towards concrete measures as consumers, empowering ourselves in our right to choose and demand quality and affordable food products for all.

In short, what I advise you is that despite how attractive and delicious this type of soft drink can be, the cost-benefit ratio is too risky. Therefore, there are much healthier and safer options such as preparing your own juices, smoothies and natural juices or even simply water, as this way you will be protecting your health and that of your family.

References

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