Carbonated drinks: the opinion of a nutritionist
'31.10.2017'
In the summer, and not only, many enjoy the warmth, go to the sea or somewhere else, but wherever you are, summer is hot days. And what is the main salvation in this weather, if not water? It is in the summer that the topic of this article will be especially relevant, because we are talking about carbonated drinks. Many have heard that they not only bring salvation from thirst, but also cause many health problems. But how and why this happens, we will try to figure it out.
Soda in excessive quantities and with long-term systematic use has a negative impact on virtually every organ system of the person. Initially disrupting the gastrointestinal tract, it triggers many pathological processes that may soon lead to serious functional impairment of other systems. Thus, the use of simple and seemingly harmless sweet water can have very undesirable consequences.
An integral part of any carbonated drink is, of course, the bubbles themselves. They represent carbon dioxide, which is quite usual for our body. This element is present in the body in large quantities throughout our lives and has many functions. Its especially important properties are the ability to provide a normal acid-base balance and influence the permeability of the vascular wall, but carbon dioxide performs these functions only at normal concentration. Excessive intake of carbon dioxide from drinks leads to disruption of the gastrointestinal tract. Multiple gas bubbles, filling the stomach, stimulate its mucous wall, resulting in increased secretion of gastric juice. This condition often leads to hyperacidosis - hyperacidity, and this can sooner or later become the cause of gastritis or peptic ulcer disease. Constipation is another undesirable consequence of hyperacid state. They arise from the fact that the food bolus, which flows from the acidic environment of the stomach into the small intestine, takes much longer to change the pH level to alkaline. In the distal GI tract, excess carbon dioxide build-up often causes bloating and cramping.
Also, the great danger of sparkling water is that the substances contained in it can cause abnormal protein conformations (disruption of the protein structure). This occurs as a result of the effect on DNA, that is, on the genetic material of human cells, which encodes the correct structure of protein molecules. Any intervention in these structures can lead to serious diseases.
The modern level of chemical technology can give water a wide variety of tastes and colors. Of course, this makes the product much more attractive, and you want to buy it more and more often. Every soda in its composition necessarily has a lot of dyes, preservatives and stabilizers. At the end of the last century, medical scientists began to study the detrimental effect on the body of these food additives, and as a result of this work, their exact classification was created. Now we know that the most innocuous side effect that additives cause is allergies. Especially this side effect is dangerous for children and people with sensitive immune systems. They are most susceptible to allergic reactions, which can have a variety of manifestations, such as: rash, redness, itching, dermatitis, rhinitis, etc. Also, among the dangerous side effects are negative effects on the skin, the state of the protein ratio in the body, an increase in risk cancer and so on. This, of course, deprives fizzy drinks the right to be called a normal component of a healthy diet.
Another danger of soda is a large amount of sugar and various sugar substitutes, which do not have calories, but have a pronounced carcinogenic property. Only one glass can contain about 8 teaspoons of sugar. This is a very strong load on the pancreas, which can not go unnoticed. Often, as a result of regular use of large doses of glucose in the body, the entire carbohydrate metabolism is disturbed, up to the onset of a disease such as type 2 diabetes. Of course, one soda can not lead to diabetes, but a large amount of sugar in it violates the sensitivity of the receptors of the tongue, blocking them. As a result, any other drink or sweet product will seem bland, and the dose of sugar that you want to add to it will increase. Thus, the total amount of easily digestible carbohydrates will increase, and this already carries with it a greater risk of overweight.
The last two points - a large amount of sugar and nutritional supplements - are also united by the fact that they are addictive. And given that the main lovers of sweet water are children and adolescents, who are particularly susceptible to the emergence of any attachments, then this fact should be remembered for their parents. If possible, reduce the amount of soda in the child’s diet to a minimum, and it’s best to eliminate it altogether. This will be a good addition to the formation of good health, because harmful factors in the environment are enough. Why increase this risk?
Many drinks also add such a popular psychostimulant, as caffeine. He is widely known to everyone, and his action is not a secret to anyone. Caffeine refers to analeptic substances that stimulate the nervous system. For healthy children, it is absolutely contraindicated, because it disrupts the brain. The child becomes hyperactive, over-excited, does not sleep well and suffers from poor concentration. This especially affects young children, who, on top of that, may become addicted.
Many people think that by drinking sweet soda instead of plain water, we fill up the supply of liquid and thus struggle with a feeling of thirst. In fact, carbonated water not only does not quench it, but, on the contrary, strengthens it. By raising the osmotic pressure of the blood by increasing the concentration of sugar in it, it only increases the desire to drink more liquids. Our body is a very complex system with complex mechanisms of self-regulation. When the blood is “too sweet,” the brain reacts to this by forming a feeling of thirst, by a desire to dilute it — like we dilute tea if we throw more sugar into it than usual. This means that drinking soda in the heat is absolutely useless, it will only aggravate the problem and will not bring any relief.
Another very important minus of drinks with gas is their effect on the exchange of salts and minerals. According to the results of research by American scientists, which was conducted among younger and older schoolchildren, it was proved that children who regularly drink carbonated drinks, are several times more likely to have broken bones. This is due to the presence of orthophosphate acid. One of its properties is the ability to flush calcium from the skeleton and disrupt mineral metabolism in the body as a whole. Osteoporosis occurs, which is why there is increased bone fragility. It also affects the enamel of the teeth, which over time depletes and darkens, caries appears, which, in fact, causes the constant presence of pathogenic microflora in the oral cavity. But this is the beginning of the alimentary canal, and the preservation of a healthy microbial ratio in it is very important. Well, calcium, which left the bone system, is sent to the blood, and then it settles in the kidneys, forming stones. This problem is already much more serious.
Speaking about the water that is sold in bottles, it is also worth remembering that it is produced almost without human intervention. All enterprises are as automated as possible, and we do not know for sure exactly how this water is stored and transported. If you simply pick up clean water from any source and leave it for a while, then after a day's 2-3, a slippery coating forms on the walls of the glass. This is a result of the normal growth of bacteria that are present in the environment. But bottled sparkling water can last for weeks, months, or even more. No natural product can have a shelf life of about a year, as written on most carbonated drinks labels.
Various chemical substances are added to mineral water to achieve such a long-lasting condition, of which antibiotics are particularly dangerous. They inhibit any growth of microorganisms in water and keep it clean, regardless of the volume of container in which it is stored. But is it worth talking about how much harm it can do to a person? Any use of antibiotics entails a lot of consequences: disruption of the intestine, frequent infectious diseases, damage to the liver, kidneys and cardiovascular system. But even after the cessation of the use of such water, one effect may still be irreversible. The fact is that microorganisms of our body are able to adapt to the environment that does not satisfy them, including bactericidal substances. Doses of antibiotics in the water are not enough to kill the entire population of organisms, and the survivors of them rearrange their genetic material, ceasing to be sensitive to this substance. The next generations will receive the same gene material, which can make it very difficult to treat bacterial infections, since for some chemotherapy drugs the microbes will already have their own “immunity”.
Summarizing, we can say that for a healthy person, the non-systematic use of a small amount of soda does not cause any harm. But there are certain categories of people to whom these drinks are absolutely contraindicated. First of all, these are overweight people for whom it is very important to follow a low-calorie diet. Also, you can not drink sparkling water to patients with diabetes, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, kidney stone disease, and impaired liver function. Absolutely unacceptable use of soda for children up to 3 years.
Water is an integral part of our life. Scientists have proven that the use of high-quality natural water significantly improves the overall condition of the body, slows down the aging process, cleanses and nourishes the cells in all tissues. To maintain the water balance daily, you should drink at least 8 glasses of pure water. Only such water enters into all the necessary processes and chemical reactions in the body. Unfortunately, getting such water from a bottle is almost impossible. Most bottled beverages in the process of artificial cleansing and mineralization lose all their natural properties and turn into useless liquid. It is necessary to monitor not only the food, but also the fact that you drink, because from 60 to 80 percent of the human body (depending on age) consists precisely of liquid, and we must definitely watch what forms us.
