6 Health Benefits of Not Drinking Soda

Drinking soda causes a slew of health issues that can affect everything from your weight to your heart. Here are 6 health benefits of not drinking soda that will have you putting the liquid-junk down for good!

6 Health Benefits of Not Drinking Soda

1. You’ll Avoid Empty Calories

Zero. Zip. Zilch. That is the amount of nutrients and vitamins that are in a typical soft drink. Not only is soda full of empty calories, but some studies found that people who drink soda regularly are less likely to get enough calcium and other important nutrients from their diet.

So, not only does drinking soda give you no nutrition, it can actually make it tougher for you to get nutrients from other healthy foods and drinks. 

2. You’ll Be Thinner

Because of these empty calories, regular soda drinkers consume 10% more calories daily than those who skip the soft drinks. On a 2,000 calorie a day diet, this can result in gaining just over 20 pounds in a single year.

Both the amount of sugary soft drinks consumed each year and obesity rates have been increasing steadily over the last few years, leading researchers to believe that the two are related.

According to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity:

“Current research suggests that the association between obesity and soft drinks occurs at all ages. The mechanism may not be fully understood, but there is evidence to suggest that preventing consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks has a major role to play in obesity prevention.”

3. You’re Less Likely to Get Type 2 Diabetes

People who drink between 1 and 2 servings of sugar sweetened beverages a day, including soda, have a 26% greater chance of developing Type 2 Diabetes than those who drink less than one serving a month or no soda at all. The high-fructose corn syrup in soda raises glucose levels, which increases the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. 

4. You’ll Have Lower Blood Pressure

Soda has also been linked to hypertension, or high blood pressure. People with hypertension consume more glucose and fructose than those with regular blood pressure.

In addition to higher glucose and fructose levels, people that consume high amounts of these sugars retain more salt in their bodies, resulting inhypertension. 

5. You’re Less Likely to Have Asthma

One study reported that soda may be related to asthma development.

High school students who drank soda regularly had a higher incidence of asthma than those who consumed no soda. More research is needed to find if there is a very strong link between soda consumption and asthma in people of all ages.

6. You’ll Be More Likely to Avoid Pancreatic Cancer

Soda heightens blood sugar so much that regularly drinking it has been linked to pancreatic cancer in women. Women who drank more than 3 servings of soda a week were more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than those who didn’t drink soda at all.