Guzzling soda after soda doesn't do a body good, science shows
Can downing a lot of sugary drinks make us fat and hungry, and even age us faster? This AsapScience video has answers.
Many of us already know that when you regularly drink soda it can erode the enamel on your teeth and cause cavities. But what would happen to your body if you only drank your favorite colas and fruit-flavored sodas?
A video from YouTube channel AsapScience explains the science behind everything that can go wrong with our bodies when we guzzle gallons of soda.
"It's been estimated that one-fifth of the weight gain in the US between 1977 and 2007 can be attributed to soft drinks," the AsapScience video explains. "High-fructose corn syrup, which is the primary soda sweetener, is not metabolized in our bodies the same way other sugars are."
In fact, high-fructose corn syrup can also lead to increased risks of heart disease and diabetes. Diet sodas aren't much better. Just as sugar and high-fructose corn syrup enhance our appetites, so do artificial sweeteners.
Surprisingly, sodas can also prematurely age us by damaging our telomeres -- the protective caps on our chromosomes, which naturally shorten over time.
"Their rate of shortening is nearly the same as a person who drinks 600 milliliters of soda a day as it is in a smoker," according to the video.
While this video makes soda and cola sound like the grim reaper repackaged in a bottle, it also offers some hope.
"Our bodies have an amazing ability to recover," the video concludes. So if you quit or drastically lessen your soda intake, chances are your system will recover.