John Myers
Regular consumption of sweetened soft drinks increases the risk of numerous diseases. American scientists have discovered that sweet drinks can also accelerate cell aging. Two glasses of lemonade a day are enough and you die four and a half years earlier than would have been the case without soft drinks – which means that the consumption of soda & Co. is just as harmful as smoking.
Previous death from soda pop
Drinks with high sugar content, such as lemonade, increase the risk of numerous diseases such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular problems, and, of course, obesity.
A 2013 US study found that as many as 180,000 deaths worldwide could be attributed to the overconsumption of sugary beverages ( 2Trusted Source ).
At 133,000, most of them succumb to the effects of diabetes. 44,000 people die from cardiovascular diseases caused by sugary drinks, and 6,000 from soft drink-related cancer.
However, this study only evaluated the data from adults – the harmful influence of lemonade & Co. on children is not even taken into account here.
Higher sugar dose increases the risk of heart disease
A study published in April 2015 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has shown for the first time that, among other things, the dose of sugar that makes soft drinks a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
85 subjects between the ages of 18 and 40, who were divided into four groups, took part in the study.
Three groups drank a drink with very sweet corn syrup – the sugar content was 10, 17.5, and 25 percent respectively – for 15 days, while one group received a sugar-free drink.
The research team led by Kimber Stanhope found out from the blood values of the test subjects that the risk of cardiovascular diseases also increased with the increase in the sugar dose.
The shocking thing about the study is that consuming the sugary beverage showed negative effects after as little as two weeks.
So you can easily calculate what it means for your health if you drink sweetened soft drinks every day for years!
You can also find information about sugar and its harmful effects in our article Sugar – Effects on the body.
Sugary drinks make you old
But even if the consumption of soft drinks does not lead to a specific illness, it still has harmful effects on the body – as the results of a study by the University of California in San Francisco / USA show.
Prof. Elissa Epel and her colleagues established a possible connection between the consumption of sugar drinks and cell aging.
The DNA, i.e. the genetic information in our cells, is protected by so-called telomeres. These are located at the end of each strand of chromosomes and thus protect the DNA from damage.
In the course of life, the telomeres become shorter and shorter, and at the same time, the genetic information becomes more and more vulnerable.
And it is precisely this process that is also called cell aging and is the reason why more and more diseases suddenly appear with age.
Prof. Epel and her team examined the DNA of more than 5,000 study participants between the ages of twenty and sixty-five for their telomere length. They also asked the test subjects about their drinking habits.
Lemonade as harmful as nicotine
The researchers then found that sweetened soft drinks apparently attack the telomeres directly and in this way promote cell aging – regardless of whether the soft drink fans ultimately become diabetic or have cancer.
However, this connection would also be a possible explanation for the immense damage to health in the form of diabetes and many other diseases that sugar can cause.
A second study is currently underway to determine whether the telomere damage is actually caused by the drinks.
It is also still unclear whether children could also be affected by these harmful effects, because here too there are only results for adults.
Using the results available to date, the scientists calculated that consuming just over 2 glasses (250 ml each) of soda (or any other sugary drink) per day would shorten life by about four and a half years.
So two glasses of lemonade a day would be just as harmful as smoking!
Diet drinks are also harmful
However, the possible connection between cellular aging and the consumption of sugary drinks does not mean that one should consume sweetened “diet” drinks instead.
Homemade (green) smoothies are also a great way to enjoy a sweet yet super healthy drink.
