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Your Soda Habit May Be More Harmful Than You Think

Almost daily, in my office, I see patients who are there, literally, because of the unsuspected side-effects of over-consumption of soda, diet soda, and especially the brown colas. Everyone thinks it is the caffeine in the soda.  Granted, the caffeine is addictive.  But that is not the  larger issue.  The high-fructose corn syrup sweetener discussed elsewhere in this newsletter is also a problem, but that too, is not the larger issue.  The problem is...the ACID!  Let me explain. Incidentally, details of this discussion are expanded in our Rx Alternative Medicine.com discussion of osteoporosis.
 
The pH (acidity) of the blood is about 7.4 on a scale of 0 to 14.  If the blood pH gets more acid than 6.9 or more alkaline than 7.9, you die.  Therefore, the body is very interested in maintaining that proper blood pH.  When you consume a highly acid food, the body utilizes calcium and other minerals to neutralize the acid.  Often, those minerals must be removed from other body tissues such as muscle and bone.  The body will sacrifice those tissues' calcium reserves for the more important pH level.  When that happens, symptoms of calcium and mineral deficiency arise.  Very common among these are muscle aches, spasms and  tightness.   Also very commonly seen in chronic acidic diets is the onset of osteoporosis in women who are far too young for the natural onset associated with menopause.
 
Now, place in the discussion, soda, which contains phosphoric acid.  The pH of soda is about 2.8 so you have to drink A LOT of water to neutralize just one soda.  Here are a few of the effects of the acidifying of your body:

1.  Chronic muscle spasms, aches and pains, neck pain, headaches

2.  Failure of proper healing of fractures

3.  Osteoporosis
 
4.  Tooth decay 
 
How much soda is  too much?  Some people come to my office with a habit of 20, 40 ounces per day, even more.  Occasionally, a liter, if you can believe that.  I suggest you reserve soda for special occasion only, not every day.