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You may want to think twice before reaching for a soda. A new study suggests that carbonated soft drinks may raise the risk of cancer of the esophagus, the tube that connects the mouth to the stomach. Cancer of the esophagus is one of the fastest growing cancers in the western world. It is often in an advanced stage when it is diagnosed. In advanced stages, esophageal cancer can be treated but rarely can be cured. "Since many cancers are affected by what we eat and drink, we looked back at data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to see what [changes in the diet] could explain the [more than fivefold] increase in esophageal cancer rates over the past 50 years," says Mohandas K. Mallath, MD, professor and head of the department of digestive diseases and clinical nutrition at Tata Memorial Hospital. Mallath presented the results of his study at a meeting of digestive disease specialists this week in New Orleans. "What we found was a huge rise in intake of carbonated soft drinks," he tells WebMD. Per capita consumption of carbonated soft drinks rose by more than 450% during the past half-century, from 11 gallons in 1946 to 50 gallons in 2000 -- the equivalent of two cans of soft drinks per person per day, he says. Since exposure to cancer-causing agents usually precedes the disease by about two decades, "an association seemed possible," Mallath says. Searching the medical literature for evidence to bolster the theory, his team found a study offering a strong biological basis to explain the link, he says. The study showed that drinking carbonated beverages exposes the gastrointestinal tract to excess acid, the hallmark of acid reflux disease, or GERD, he says. And other studies show that GERD is a risk factor for esophageal cancer. Also, countries in which people drink very few carbonated beverages, including Eastern Europe, Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, and India, have had little increase in the incidence of esophageal cancer, Mallath notes. Drinking carbonated beverages from Dr. Pepper to Diet Coke, which are easily available in many middle school and high school vending machines, is the major cause of tooth erosion in teenagers, reports Reuters. This occurs when the protective enamel coating on teeth wears away. Dental erosion is different from tooth decay, which is due to lots of sugar. Instead, erosion is caused by acidic substances in the drinks, which is why even diet soft drinks are harmful. Erosion not only weakens the teeth, but also can cause thinning or chipping of the tooth edges. Researchers from Britain's Birmingham University have published some sobering statistics:
"This research identifies fizzy drink as by far the biggest factor in causing dental erosion among teenagers," lead study author Dr. Peter Rock told Reuters. "Drinking fizzy drinks only once a day was found to significantly increase a child's chances of suffering dental erosion." How many sodas does your teenager drink each day? Did you know it could cause tooth erosion? If you had no clue, you're not alone. Most parents don't understand the difference between erosion and decay and even fewer know soft drinks can erode their children's teeth. The average pH of soft drinks, e.g. Coke, Pepsi is pH 3.4. This acidity is strong enough to dissolve teeth and bones! Our human body stops building bones at around the age of 30. After that it'll be dissolving about 8-18% of the bones each year through the urine depending on the acidity of the food intake acidity does not depend on the taste of the food, but on the ratio of potassium/calcium/magnesium etc. to phosphorus. All the dissolved calcium compounds accumulate in the arteries, veins, skin tissue, organs. This affects the functioning of the kidney (kidney stones). Soft drinks do not have any nutritional value (in terms of vitamins and minerals). They have higher sugar content, higher acidity, and more additives such as preservatives and colorings. Some people like to take cold soft drinks after each meal, guess what's the impact? Our body has an optimum temperature of 37 degrees for the functioning of digestive enzymes. The temperature of cold soft drinks is much less than 37, sometimes quite close to 0. This will lower the effectiveness of the enzymes and put stress on the digestive system, digesting less food. In fact the food gets fermented. The fermented food produces bad smelling gases, decays and forms toxins which are absorbed in the intestines, get circulated in the blood and is delivered to the whole body. This spread of toxins can lead to the development of various diseases.
Think before you drink Coke or Pepsi or any another soft
drink. Have you ever thought what you drink when you drink an aerated
drink? You gulp down carbon dioxide, something that nobody in the
world would advise you to do. Someone once put a broken tooth in
a bottle of Pepsi and in 10 days it is dissolved! Teeth and bones are
the only human organ that stay intact for years after death. Imagine
what the drink must be doing to your soft intestines and stomach
lining!
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