It´s a beverage, often carbonated, that does not contain alcohol. (Carbonated soft drinks are more commonly known as pop, soda, or soda pop in parts of the United States and Canada, or fizzy drinks in the U.K.; sometimes called minerals in Ireland) The name “soft drink” specifies a lack of alcohol by way of contrast to the term “hard drink”. The term “drink”, while nominally neutral, often carries connotations of alcoholic content. Beverages like colas,sparkling water, iced tea,lemonade, squash, and fruit punch are among the most common types of soft drinks, while hot chocolate, hot tea, cofee, milk, etc. Many carbonated soft drinks are optionally available in versions sweetened with sugars or with non caloric sweeteners.

Soft drinks

  1. The salt in these “beverages” may reduce the amount of water in your cells. Salt increases dehydration, which is why sailors don’t drink seawater
  2. The sugar in these “beverages” (other than the diet kind) increases hunger.
  3. All sodas promote the symptoms shown in the box at right. The insulin response from the sugary versions compounds them
  4. The obesity and nutritional deficiencies typically suffered by heavy soda drinkers bring on back and joint pain.
  5. Sodas cause the body to lose water, thereby promoting the symptoms shown at right.
  6. The various colorings and other substances in sodas aren’t noted for cancer prevention.

Water

  1. Even mild dehydration will slow down your metabolism, speed up aging, reduce resistance to disease, and reduce muscle recovery after exercise.
  2. One glass of water shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.
  3. Lack of water is a major trigger of daytime fatigue, mid-day munchies, leg and toe cramps, and inability to mentally focus.
  4. Research indicates drinking half a gallon of water a day would significantly ease back and joint pain for 80% of sufferers.
  5. A 2% drop in the amount of water retained in the body (other than as subcutaneous or intercellular water due to excess sodium) can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on printed or video text.
  6. The NIH says drinking a quart of water daily reduces the risk of colon cancer by 45%, reduces the risk of breast cancer by 79%, reduces the risk of bladder cancer by 50%.

Adding in noncarbonated soft drinks (including fruit drinks, ades, iced teas, and the like) adds thousands of more empty calories to the diet each year.

Carbonated soft drinks are the single biggest source of calories in the American diet, providing about 7 percent of calories; adding in noncarbonated drinks brings the figure to 9 percent. Teenagers get 13 percent of their calories from carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks.

Soft drinks provide large amounts of sugars (mostly high-fructose corn syrup) to many individuals’ diets. Soda pop provides the average 12- to 19-year-old boy with about 15 teaspoons of refined sugars a day and the average girl with about 10 teaspoons a day. Those amounts roughly equal the government’s recommended limits for teens’ sugar consumption from all foods.

The empty calories of soft drinks are likely contributing to health problems, particularly overweight and obesity. Those conditions have become far more prevalent during the period in which soft drink consumption has soared. Several scientific studies have provided experimental evidence that soft drinks are directly related to weight gain. That weight gain, in turn, is a prime risk factor for type 2 diabetes, which, for the first time, is becoming a problem for teens as well as adults. As people get older, excess weight also contributes to heart attacks, strokes, and cancer.

Frequent consumption of soft drinks may also increase the risk of osteoporosis-especially in people who drink soft drinks instead of calcium-rich milk. Dental experts continue to urge that people drink less soda pop, especially between meals, to prevent tooth decay (due to the sugars) and dental erosion (due to the acids).

Also be at a higher risk of kidney stones and a slightly higher risk of heart disease.

Besides the sugars and acids, other soft drink ingredients are of concern. Caffeine, which is added to many of the most popular soft drinks, is a mildly addictive, stimulant drug. It also increases slightly the excretion of calcium. Artificial colorings, especially Yellow No. 5, promote attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in some children. Yellow No. 5 also causes hives, asthma, and other allergic reactions in a small number of individuals.

How is a soft drink made?

They are enormously popular beverages consisting primarily of carbonated water, sugar, and flavorings. Nearly 200 nations enjoy the sweet, sparkling soda with an annual consumption of more than 34 billion gallons. Soft drinks rank as America’s favorite beverage segment, representing 25% of the total beverage market.

New soda flavors constantly appeared on the market. Some of the more popular flavors were ginger ale, sarsaparilla, root beer, lemon, and other fruit flavors. In the early 1880s pharmacists experimented with powerful stimulants to add to soda water, including cola nuts and coca leaves. They were inspired by Bolivian Indian workers who chewed coca leaves to ward off fatigue and by West African workers who chewed cola nuts as a stimulant.

Soft drinks linked to weight gain and type 2 diabetes:

In 2004, an eight-year study of 50,000 nurses showed a correlation that suggests drinking one or more sugar-sweetened beverages (such as soft drinks and fruit punches) per day increases one’s risk of developing diabetes by 80% versus those who drink less than one such drink per month. This finding was independent of other lifestyle factors. Higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with a greater magnitude of weight gain and an increased risk for development of type 2 diabetes in women, possibly by providing excessive calories and large amounts of rapidly absorbable sugars.

Malta :

Malta is a type of soft drink with high B vitamins. It is a carbonated malt beverage, meaning it is brewed from barley, hops, yeast, and water much like beer; corn and caramel color may also be added. However, malta is non-alcoholic. It is similar in color to stout (dark brown) but is very sweet, generally described as tasting like molasses. Unlike beer, ice is often added to malta when consumed. A popular way Latin Americans sometimes drink malta is by mixing it with condensed or evaporated milk, thus increasing the drink’s already high caloric value.

Malta is also occasionally called “champagne cola” by some brands. However, there is a separate type of drink with this name, having a flavor and consistency more akin to cream soda. Despite this appellation, neither drink is a champagne or a cola.

Sources: Answers, CSPinet

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