
“Taste the feeling”
“Open Happiness”
“You Can’t Beat the Real Thing”
“Make It Real”
These are not just your ordinary taglines. These taglines are the iconic taglines from a popular soft drink called Coke. In every household dinner and parties, softdrinks has been part of the package that everyone loves to enjoy. It quenches the thirst, it is sweet and it’s a good beverage to drink.
History of Soft Drinks
Why you can’t stop drinking soft drinks
The reason why soft drinks is so addictive is because of two things.
- High Sugar Content
- Caffeine
Both ingredients trigger the brain to produce dopamine which is the body’s pleasure hormone. It tells the body to get more as it looks at it as a reward, like heroin.
In addition to being addictive, studies have also shown that those who drink soft drinks are also prone to eat unhealthy and greasy stuff.
Health risks of too much soft drinks
The hard truth about soft drinks is this: While it tastes good, it is unhealthy, and it can kill you. Here are some of the real things that soft drinks can do to the body:
- It stops you from smiling – Drinking too much soft drinks can hurt your teeth. Because soft drinks are highly acidic, it erodes the enamel in the teeth, and cavities can develop. Left untreated, it can cause abscess and loss of tooth.
- It heightens your risk of asthma – The active ingredient in soft drinks called sodium benzoate reduces the potassium in the body. What it also does is it makes the body react and the effects are heightened risk of asthma, rashes and eczema.
- It breaks your heart – Another key component found in soft drinks is fructose corn syrup. This type of sweetener is actually the culprit in metabolic disorders and greatly increases the risk of heart attacks and diabetes.
- It makes you unattractive – While being obese is considered attractive in the early days due to the thinking that obesity means being rich, that is not the case today. Obesity not only is unattractive as it may reflect poor life choices and lack of discipline, it also have dire effects as it triggers aneurysm, heart attacks, diabetes. Being obese makes you a pandoras box of diseases and until you let it out, you slowly die inside.
I just drink the healthy ones… like Coke Zero
Let’s talk about the zero stuff. Many soft drinks today introduce a “healthier” alternative to their usual and use the words, zero, diet and other clichés that makes you think that it is better than the regular ones.
But what studies have shown is that it’s totally the opposite. What’s worse is that it triggers an effect that we can call the boy who cried wolf syndrome. Artificial sweeteners produces a sweet taste with substances that our body cannot metabolize.
What happens is that at first, the body will produce and try to metabolize this substance, but it cannot. And what it teaches the body is to stop trying to metabolize sweet stuff. Then when we eat sweet things, the body will stop reacting to it and that is what leads to serious health issues.
Is there an alternative?
Yes. There are very good alternatives to drink asides from soft drinks.
Water – nothing beats the original. Water is not only needed by our bodies but it’s the healthiest drink we can ever consume. It’s a natural need of the body that we should not deprive ourselves of.
Tea – There seems to be no downside in drinking tea. Asides from its calming effect, it also has numerous good effects in our bodies
The verdict
While soft drinks may be enjoyable and sometimes refreshing, it may not be the best for our bodies. Consider taking alternative refreshments and sticking with the basics in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

About The Author
Manuel is a guy who loves books. He enjoys reading and does it whenever he can. If he’s not reading, he spends time with his family and also ministers to teenagers in a local church. He does public speaking and talks about issues concerning the youth and young professionals. An Oleia topical oil user and content contributor.