Why You Need To Think Twice Before Reaching For Soda

soda, sugar, heart disease


Why You Need To Think Twice Before Reaching For Soda

Written by: Brandi Monasco

We’ve all been there; it’s 3pm and you feel drowsy while staring at your computer screen at work. You feel like you could nod off and take a short nap. But since you’re at work, you can’t… so you head to the vending machine and grab a soda. You know for sure that will wake you up.


You might get that boost of energy when the soda enters your body, but it won’t last. In fact, when the amount of sugar in that soda enters your bloodstream, you trigger your body’s insulin response. When your body’s insulin response is triggered, you’re actually left with the feeling of being even more tired than before you drank the soda. And the only way to get energy again is to drink another soda. It’s a vicious cycle!

A 12 ounce serving of soda, such as Cola, contains 38.9 grams of sugar, which is equal to 9 ¾ teaspoons of sugar. That’s a lot of sugar!

When you eat foods that contain sugar, your body has other materials from the food that allow your body to break down and slow the absorption of the sugar. This decreases your body’s insulin response, meaning you won’t be left with that tired feeling.

When you drink a soda, however, there is nothing there to help your body break down and absorb the sugar. Because of this, drinking sodas, even if they are diet sodas, can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes. Drinking just 1 soda a day can increase your risk of metabolic syndrome by 48%!

While diet soda may have fewer calories than regular soda, it is not any better for you. In fact, your body has the same reaction to sugar substitutes as it does to sugar.

Another cause of having a sugar crash after drinking a soda is from drinking too much caffeine. When you drink too much caffeine, it causes your body to become dehydrated, which can overstimulate your nervous system, leaving you feeling even more exhausted and tired.

On top of feeling even more exhausted, there are plenty of other reasons why you should stop drinking soda. Another reason to drop the soda is that drinking sodas is linked to heart disease and can increase your risk for having a heart attack. One study performed on about 42,000 Swedish men found that drinking two sodas per day increased their risk of going into heart failure by 23%.

It can be hard for many people to just stop drinking sodas all together. You may even feel lethargic or get headaches due to your body no longer getting the caffeine and the sugar that it is used to. But if you’re serious about removing soda from your diet, here are a few easy tricks that you can do to make the transition easier:

  • Drink kombucha. It is naturally fizzy and is packed with essential vitamins. Kombucha can be made at home or your can find ready-to-drink bottles at your local health store, often times in the flavors of sodas. 
  • Drink club soda with a squeeze of your favorite fresh fruit.

Do you have any other tips for helping drop soda? Please share with us in the comments below!

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Brandi Monasco

Brandi Monasco

Health Advocate at Gettin' Healthy
Brandi Monasco

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