Caution: Some soft drinks may seriously harm your health

[Francisco Montana]

Caution: Some soft drinks may seriously harm your health
Expert links additive to cell damage

By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent
Published: 27 May 2007

A new health scare erupted over soft drinks last night amid evidence they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university suggests a common preservative found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA.

The problem - more usually associated with ageing and alcohol abuse - can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's.

The findings could have serious consequences for the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who consume fizzy drinks. They will also intensify the controversy about food additives, which have been linked to hyperactivity in children.

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My family drinks very little 'soda' so I'm not particularly worried. But this was very interesting and worth sharing (if not to caution some of you soda addicts! )

[Noble Savage]

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My family drinks very little 'soda' so I'm not particularly worried. But this was very interesting and worth sharing (if not to caution some of you soda addicts! )

We drink quite a lot in this family ,gonna have to show the missus ,it might scare her enough not to buy it ,I preffered it if we all drunk Water and Tea

[Banned]

I already know it and I have been warned by at least hundred people around me,but I have never deemed it necessary for myself to 'change'.Ending such an obsession is impossible for me.


In fact,right now it's in my hand.

[Gaidin]

Which preservative?

[Curtana]

Which preservative?

The article says Sodium Benzoate.
It has also been alleged aluminium cans release tiny amounts of al. There has been some speculation al may be one cause of altzeimer's. FYI.
But hey, you either live your whole life wrapped in cotton wool as a paranoid delusional or accept some risk based on available information, right?

[Feliks]

I have one Gingerale a week, and thats all. Most of the time I just drink all natural unsweetened Pomegranate Seltzer.

[zznɟ ǝɥʇ]

The only time I drink carbonated stuff is for chasers, and then not much.

So I'm not too worried, being a runner has kept me away from soda.

[Anachronist]

Thats why i havent drank a soda in months.

[Denny Crane!]

Well lets face it we know we should be drinking water and getting off this stuff would do no harm at all.

I can testify to its addictive properties though as I drink more than anyone I know. Shame I dont' like tea or coffee, can't seem to switch to water. Doing a physical job doesn't help, always drinking while getting all sweaty and whatnot.

Peter

[Pra]

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My family drinks very little 'soda' so I'm not particularly worried. But this was very interesting and worth sharing (if not to caution some of you soda addicts! )

Looks like I'm a dead man, but coke zero just tastes so damn good. That bite! MAN!~

[Aristocrat]

I don't drink soft drink at all, so it looks like my life expectency will be above the norm. :hmmm:

[Farnan]

Who wants to live forever?

I got Alzheimers, cancer, strokes, car wrecking, military service, and heart disease running in my family. You think a little celluar damage scares me?

[HunterKYA]

I guess it's a good thing I don't drink diet soda or any of the low calorie alternatives. Just simply a regular Coke or Pepsi is fine by me, and seeing that I average about three of them a day, it's all the sweeter as well.

[enoch]

This might end up like the whole diet sodas cause brain tumors scare.

[Niles Crane]

Is it still 1980? By now most people should know that soft drinks aren't healthy for you, even the so-called 'diet' and 'zero' ones.

[Mathias]

Is it still 1980? By now most people should know that soft drinks aren't healthy for you, even the so-called 'diet' and 'zero' ones.

The diet and the zero are the worst ones.

[God-Emperor of Mankind]

The diet and the zero are the worst ones.

Yeah and taste like crap too but I guess if you are a diabetic, it's the price to pay.
Anyway, I drink coca cola, wouldn't mind a Sprite but those things seem to have disappeared from the stores nearby.
But this warning is nothing special.
It feels like every week there is something new that might kill you.
After a while you tune out and simply don't care.

[Mathias]

I only drink soda once a week. I drank it alot before, but then I stopped and went over to drinking water and milk (seperately of course ).

[LSJ]

I don't consume very much soda anyway.
Most of them just taste bad now, especially the new cheap coke recipe.
I just drink water bottles with Crystal Light. It has a few calories for a whole drink, and it tastes better than juice.
I think findings like this should be publicized, if not to prevent the effects of consumption, but to stop more people from drinking pop, so there are less fat people. A years worth of pop can add up to several pounds of weight a year (not sure how many per week that is though). Healthier drinks = slightly healthier population.

[Simetrical]

This is a single isolated study that's studying indirect effects only. The quoted snippet (site is down now) didn't even say whether the amounts in question could conceivably reach any substantial number of one's cells. I'm really not worried. Also, the soda I drink has no sodium benzoate (although it has potassium benzoate).

Water's probably healthier, to be sure (although you never know).

The diet and the zero are the worst ones.

Only if you believe in aspartame scares. Otherwise obesity is a much bigger danger.