Why One Soda A Day Is Slowly Killing You, According To Research

Why is something so good so bad for you?

By Nicole Weaver — Last updated on Aug 29, 2023

Photo: 4F.MEDIA | Shutterstock

Need yet another reason to kick your caffeine addiction? No problem, here goes: sugar has been tied to increased belly fat, heart failure, diabetes, and cancer.

The American Heart Association says women should limit themselves to six teaspoons of sugar a day and men a minimum of nine.

However, your normal 12-ounce can of soda has 10 teaspoons.

A 2015 study was published that followed 118,000 men and women for 30 years. They each drank a 12-ounce sugary beverage every day.

In these studies, they found that it increased a person's risk of death by 7 percent and increased the risk of death by cancer by 5 percent. It also increased the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 10 percent.

Bonnie Leibman is the director of nutrition at the Center for Science In the Public Interest. She said, “Sugary drinks lead to weight gain, and anything that leads to weight gain increases the risk of conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even certain cancers."

Nancy Farrell Allen of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and a registered dietician said, “Soft drinks are made up of carbonated water, and there is some preliminary research that suggests carbonated water may increase levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin, thereby making one hungrier, and that may lead to weight gain.”

This study suggests that you should only drink one of these beverages once a month or less.

Erin Coates is the nutritionist at the Cleveland Clinic. She said, “We know now that added sugars can cause inflammation in bodies, and we already have a high-sugar diet, to begin with.”

Regular soda contains 39 grams of sugar. This is more than the maximum the American Heart Association recommends. They recommend a 25-gram maximum for women and 36-gram maximum for men.

And if you thought you were in the safe zone because diet soda is your vice, then let this be a wake-up call.

The study found that people who drink diet soda actually put on more weight than people who opt for the real deal. This is because the low-calorie sweeteners are actually sweeter than those used in regular soda, resulting in the consumption (and craving) of more sugar.

They can raise a person's risk of death by 8 percent and those who drink artificially sweetened beverages have a 26 percent higher risk of death.

Overall, diet drinks will make it harder for you to maintain or lose weight, and you will have a higher risk of cancer, such as lymphoma and leukemia, myeloma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.