Are soft drinks and soda harmful for health?

       Many of us are worried while consuming soft drink or soda that drinking it can adversely affect our health. Consuming soft drink and soda can certainly cause health problems for certain people whereas some people are not affected by it at all. This depends on age, health condition, physical activities and other factors. Doctors often advice some people to stay away from the soft drinks during treatment of certain disease. Now, the question is whether soft drink or soda is always dangerous for health? Drinking occasionally soft drinks and soda does not harm but regular intake can cause health hazards. Let us discuss in details the issue. 

     We will discuss the contents of the soft drink and soda which can cause health problem

and then we will see the bad affects of the containers which are used in packaging and sale of soft drink and soda.  Unfortunately, sodas are often a substitute for water and other healthier fluids too. According to the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, the Americans consume more than 13 billion gallons of soda a year.

     Soda and Carbonated Beverages have been the subject matter of the health debate for two decades as a major cancer causing food. Sodas typically contain carbonation, sugar or fructose, phosphoric acid, sodium and excess calories. These Soda and Carbonated Beverages, filled with High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), dyes, and a host of other chemicals, are very bad for every aspect of health. They provide zero nutritional value and rob the body of the nutrients received from other foods. The biggest cancer causing edible things are the High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and other refined sugars. The refined sugars (and foods made with them) are the source of major insulin spikes and feed the growth of cancer cells. Also, the HFCS may stress the pancreas and lead to fluctuating blood sugar levels and consuming sugary sodas day after day can contribute to the onset of non-insulin dependent diabetes, or type 2 diabetes. Since, Soda contains full of calories, sugar and artificial ingredients, it is also said that one Can of soda contains about ten packets of sugar and most popular diet and sugared sodas are nearly as corrosive to dental enamel as battery acid. Taking soda occasionally is not bad however, the Studies have shown that drinking two sodas per week nearly doubles the risk of pancreatic cancer. The Insulin allows the entry of glucose into cells, where it’s used as an energy source. Unfortunately, cancer cells need insulin too. In fact, many cancers have insulin receptors which transport glucose to cancerous cells, helping them to grow, divide, and multiply. Studies show that insulin encourages pancreatic cancer cells to grow in a dose-dependent manner. The Singapore scientists opined that this may be a reason why soft drinks are linked to pancreatic cancer. So if you’re concerned about cancer, it may be better to avoid soft drinks which can wreak havoc on your blood sugar and insulin levels. Also, if we drink soft drink, our blood sugar increases and our body produces insulin to balance that increase. Our blood sugar then crashes and we want more sugar-filled soda to compensate and over a period our body becomes resistant to insulin leaving us unable to metabolize sugar resulting in diabetes. According to Dr. Ochner, if we drink one to two soft drinks a day, we increase our risk of Type 2 diabetes by 26 percent. 

    Most Cans used as container of soft drinks and soda are lined with a product called bisphenol-A (BPA), which genetically altered the brain cells of rats during experiments. Many plastic container/goods, thermal paper also contain BPA. Thus, the Plastic Bottles and Food Containers containing soft drinks and food items have chemicals like Bisphenol A, which is used to harden plastic in products such as water bottles. Many studies have proved Bisphenol A to adverse health effects. 

      Saccharin, present in some of the soft drinks is proven to cause bladder cancer and is banned in some of foreign countries. It is said that the Soft Drinks can remove rust from a car bumper or other metal surfaces so imagine what it’s doing to our digestive tract as well as the rest of our body when we drink it. Also, soft drinks are extremely acidic, and they can eat through the liner of an Aluminum Can and leach Aluminum from the Can if it sits on the shelf too long. In many Alzheimer patients who have been autopsied, have high levels of Aluminum in their brains. 

     There are many other disadvantages of consuming soft drink or soda like dehydration, high-sugar intake, weight gain and calcium depletion. Sixty percent of our body weight is comprised of water. We lose water when we sweat, urinate and breathe. To continue functioning properly, our body must replace the lost water with ingested fluids. It is seen that Sodas are often consumed in place of water or other hydrating fluids to compensate water in our body. Often, sodas contain caffeine, which acts as a diuretic, increasing urination and leaving the body with less available fluid to carry out important functions. Also, some diet sodas contain significant amounts of sodium, which may draw water from the cells and promote dehydration.  

      Another, health affects due to consumption of soda and soft drinks is weight gain. If we consume more calories than our body burns then it can cause imbalance in our health system.  If these calories are not burned, our body may gain more than 12 pounds in one year. The Harvard University states that the increased consumption of sugary drinks, such as soda, is one of the major factors in the growing obesity epidemic. The excessive weight gain puts us at risk for diabetes, certain cancers, arthritis, heart disease and stroke. Dr. Mary Ann McLaughlin, medical director of the cardiac health program at Mount Sinai, told Fox News that the sodium and caffeine in soft drinks put our heart at risk. Sodium causes our body to retain fluid and caffeine elevates our heart rate and blood pressure. Also, an analysis published in 2012 in “Circulation” discovered that those who drank one sugary drink a day had an increased risk of heart attack compared to those who rarely or never drank sugary beverages. 

       The next disadvantage of soft drink and soda is bad dental health. The bacteria in our mouth thrive on sugar and they feed on it and produce an acid that wears away our teeth enamel causing cavities, dental decay and teeth loss. Similarly, the soft drinks and soda can cause Gout and this Gout is a condition in which our body has too much uric acid, causing our joints to become swollen and inflamed. An analysis of data from the Nurses' Health Study, published in 2010 in the “Journal of the American Medical Association,” reported that women who drank one sugary beverage a day had a significantly increased risk of gout compared to those who rarely drank sugary beverages.

      Our body needs Calcium as an essential mineral for strong bones and teeth and consuming high amounts of phosphoric acid, which is one of a common ingredients in sodas, can deplete the calcium from our bones and decrease calcium absorption. This can cause among women, poor bone development or osteoporosis, brittle and weak bones.

         Now let us discuss about some of the advantages of soft drinks and soda. In our daily lives, soft drink consumption has become an essential habit and we often serve soft drinks to our guests at home apart from serving other snacks and drinks. The children also like soft drinks very much. It is easy and handy to store the soft drinks in our Refrigerator and it can be consumed or served easily whenever needed. During Summer, one cannot resist to sip chilled soft drinks. In contrary to the above mentioned disadvantages, there are certain advantages of soft drinks and soda which are mentioned below: 

      The Caffeine is a stimulant that is found in soft drinks. Though, in large amounts of Caffeine can have detrimental effects on our health but it also has numerous benefits like the Caffeine stimulates your central nervous system, helps breakdown fatty acids in our liver, boost our mood and eliminate headaches. Also, the people who regularly ingest caffeine are less likely to develop Parkinson's disease, colon cancer, gallstones, and cirrhosis of the liver. The next advantage is that Carbonated water is a primary ingredient of soft drinks and Carbonated water has proven to have many benefits for the gastrointestinal tract. Carbonated water eases stomachaches, quells nausea and has been proven to alleviate constipation. Similarly, the Sodium is another product found in soft drinks and this Sodium is an important mineral found in almost all natural foods. Sodium helps our body retain water, helps avoid and treat muscle cramps, keeps electrolyte balance, prevents the effects of aging of our skin and prevents the drop of our blood pressure.

      Thus, the above discussion may enlighten some of us and remind us to be careful in consuming soft drinks and soda. It is better if we use alternate drinks or juices in place of soda and commercially produced soft drinks. The big companies invest huge money in soft drinks and soda industries and maintaining quality has been always a challenge so often the product coming out of factories and supplied to market in different climate and atmosphere have different affects. However, let us not be discouraged and take care in choosing right soft drinks and sodas, keep balance in consuming and always be regular in physical exercise so that a healthy body can be maintained in adverse situation also. 

   

Is the use of heater or blower harmful ?

Is the use of electric heater or blower harmful ?

            This is a big question whether the use of electric heaters and blowers is safe or not? Many people say that there is harm in using them whereas some people negate this version. There are also some people who advise that using heaters and blowers with some precautions has no disadvantage. Let us discuss this issue because most of us would be displeased and feel uncomfortable during chilled winter season, if we are told that using heaters and blowers affects our health badly.  

          First of all, let us have some introduction to the electric heaters and blowers. Actually, the electric heaters and blowers are the electric devices that work by electrical resistance i.e. the electricity passes through a resistive element or register, making it glow and to produce heat. In other words, it can be said that heating through electric is a process in which electric energy or current is converted to heat energy. The production of heat through electrical resister is based on the principle of Joule heating. There are various use of electric heating like -room heating, cooking through heat, water heating and other industrial use of heating. Most of the electric heating devices use nichrome wire supported by ceramic insulators. 

             Now let us discuss the fact that why some people have in their mind that electric heaters and blowers have side effects and health hazards. According to some people the electric heaters and blowers cause dry air and also have potential to risk of fires. The electrics heaters tend to dry out the air inside the room and this may cause various problems to health like dry skin, itchy eyes etc. The glowing resistive element of a heater has also a fire hazard. At one hand, the room heaters and blowers warms the room inside the house on the other, they reduce the moisture contents of the air, making it dry.  Often during the sleeping in bedrooms with electric heaters and blowers on, the breathing of dry air causes respiratory disorders like asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis and sometime nose bleeding due to dried membranes to some people. The mucus membrane is dried up by the dry air caused by heaters and blowers and traps all dust and infection causing agents resulting to their inflammation which can make some people prone to infections as the mucus membrane is damaged. As said above, lack of moisture in the air is harmful to the skin causing itchiness because the skin is already dry during the winter. Due to heaters and blowers running continuously inside the room the dry air evaporates the moisture from the skin of the body and also evaporates tears from the eyes making the eyes difficult to maintain the delicate balance of required moist in the eyes. There is also possibility of electro-magnetic pollution as electric heaters and blowers burn oxygen inside the room and due to which the oxygen level goes down and it can lead to suffocation to some people. Open coil heaters circulate the room air with contaminants like used air, air freshner, dust, and tiny fibres which can burn and cause unhealthy condition inside the room. Also, according to U. S. Consumer Product Safety Division reports that room heaters cause more than 25,000 fires and more than 300 deaths annually.

             Let us now move to the opinions of other people who do not agree with the above contention. To some of the people, the above mentioned facts do not matter as they are not affected by such side effects or problems. However, these people also agree that the electric heaters and blowers are prone to fire incidents, burns, electrocutions in certain situations. However, they have the opinion that most of branded and standard heaters and blowers are safe having safety mechanism to avoid such accidents. Using local made low quality heaters and blowers may cause sparks and flames sometimes due to short circuits. However, with modern technology, the safety measures and better insulation are always there in branded electric devices. There is possibility of psychological reason because if a person after knowing that using heaters and blowers can cause health problem, uses the heaters and blowers but his mind keeps reminding this fact again and again and the person becomes uncomfortable even though nothing wrong had happened. This means that slowly the person becomes sensitive to the electric heaters and blowers and his mind starts accepting this facts and finally whenever some health problem occurs the person claims that cause of such problem was the use of heaters and blowers. Sometimes, claims of electro-magnetic pollution are also greatly exaggerated. The reason behind this, is that some health concerns existed in the past decades however there is no need to such health concerns as the technology has overcome such concerns.

           The next important thing as we all know that every human being is different from other human beings in terms of physical, mental and spiritual capacity. Some people would like a thing and others may hate the same thing. Also, there are many things which are harmless to some people whereas to some people, the same things cause some problems. Therefore, it is very difficult to please all the people who have not equal in their habits, liking and physical or mental capacity.

         Then, what should be kept in mind after knowing the above facts? All right, let us not worry, as taking precaution is just like maintaining safety standards, cleaning and maintenance, which not only increases the life of the electric devices we use but it ensures our good health, keeps our mind free from worries resulting our long life too. If you use branded and certified heaters with advance technology then not to worry but if low priced and local made heaters are used then also it can be alright if the following tips are kept in mind :-

 i) Using branded or certified electric heaters and blowers is always good but if not affordable then do not be careless in using cheap and local made heaters.
 ii) Sleeping just next to the electric heaters and blowers can cause fire in some situations to cloths and household articles therefore keep the heaters and blowers at safe distance while using them. Also, keep half open a window/ventilator so that no condition of suffocation may arise and oxygen level inside the room may be maintained.
iii)  Use a humidifier/vaporiser which increases the moisture inside the room.
iv)  Place bowls filled with water at 2-3 places inside the room while using electric heaters for long hours.
v)   Keep drinking warm/hot fluids to keep nasal passage, airways and throats moist.
vi)  Do not keep inflammable materials, papers, cloths, etc. near the electric heater.
vii) Inspect electric heaters and blowers before use and keep them clean and in good condition. 
viii) Do not use the heaters and blowers keeping on wet & inflammable surface, carpets, wood/plastic furniture. Some portable lightweight are designed for flat surface and if surface is not flat such heaters do not turn on. However, if lightweight heater fall down it may cause shock or fire if handled improperly.
ix)  Do not allow pet animals and children near the electric heaters & blowers to avoid any shock or burn.
x)  Do not insert many plugs in the same socket in which the electric heater or blower is plugged in. Make sure that the heater is not plugged into the same power socket/multiplug with other electrical appliance. Always use wall socket for electric heaters and blowers. 
xi)  Never leave the electric heater unattended and prevent carbon mono-oxide poisoning by turning off the heater and unplug it before leaving room or going to bed. If there is symptoms of carbon-monoxide exposure like headache, dizziness, abdominal pain or discomfort, nausea, vomiting, and weakness switch off the heater.

      Thus, the above mentioned facts can be kept in mind and from time to time the same can be revised as safety tips for keeping a good health. We should also share the above mentioned information to others so that we may make a safe surrounding and a safe world for all living things.


-Denie Darwin Bodra