Calories in cold drinks

You’ve probably heard from scores of people about why cold drinks are bad for you. As it turns out, they were right. When it comes to calories, counting them in cold drinks are a bit of a moot point. Before we examine why this is so, take a look at the number of calories in cold drinks. Of course, no two soft drinks are the same, and each of them has a different calorie count.

For instance, according to The Coca Cola Company, one serving of Coca Cola Classic (8 oz) has 97 calories and one Diet Coke has 1 calorie. Similarly, Sprite has 96 calories while a Vanilla Coke has 100 calories. Different flavors of Fanta have between 100 and 125 calories. One Barqs Root Beer has 111 calories.

Everybody needs calories to survive. The problem with soft drinks is that they only provide empty calories that the body cannot use for anything. Most of the calories in soft drinks come from sugar, and are, as such, completely useless. It’s not the calories themselves that are bad, but the other stuff that soft drinks have in them that have been known to cause all kinds of problems.

why cold drinks are bad for you?

Soft drinks contain large amounts of refined sugar. This, of course, causes problems the moment you consume it. It’s bad for your teeth, causes indigestion, heart disease, skin problems, and puts you at risk for diabetes. It also causes more sugar cravings, making you dependant on cold drinks.

Artificial sweeteners like aspartame, acesulfame-L and saccharin are known to cause problems ranging from memory loss and migraine to vision problems, emotional disorders, and palpitations. Worst of all is the fact that they are known to rapidly increase cancerous cells.

Caffeine is used to add flavor to the drink. Excessive consumption has been linked to cancer of the stomach and bladder, and to worsening diabetes. It may even contribute to birth defects in unborn children.

Soft drinks contain acids like phosphoric acid. Consuming too much acid makes the body’s cells acidic (they should be slightly alkaline). This puts your body at a high risk of developing diseases, especially cancer. The acids, along with carbon dioxide which adds the fizz, result in osteoporosis and weaken the skeletal structure. It also plays havoc on the digestive system.

Soft drinks are known to damage the kidney and also raise blood pressure levels. Other than this, there are many other problems caused by soft drinks, for instance, nausea, hypertension, loss of calcium in bones, headaches etc. They also decrease the effects of some medication.

Additionally, they have absolutely no benefits, other than enhancing taste and quenching your thirst temporarily. So, reach out for a glass of juice or water the next time!

Submitted on January 16, 2014