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Slash Your Risk of NAFLD by Breaking THIS Harmful Habit

The AHA! Team — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 05:08:37 +0000

Patrick Tims via NaturalHealth365 – It’s estimated that one in four adults suffers from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a condition where excess fat accumulates in the liver without alcohol being a factor. While alcohol is a well-known culprit of liver disease, a recent study published in the Annals of Hepatology highlights another surprising contributor: soft drinks. The research reveals a strong link between increased soft drink consumption and a higher risk of developing NAFLD, raising concerns about the impact of sugary beverages on liver health. The alarming link between soda consumption and liver disease: What the latest study reveals If you’re someone who can’t resist soda, you’re not alone – soft drinks, sugary sports beverages, and other sugar-filled bottled drinks are highly addictive. However, the latest study published in the Annals of Hepatology raises serious concerns: drinking more soft drinks is linked to a significantly higher risk of developing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The data also highlights that men are more likely to develop liver disease from increased soda consumption than women. The initial data collection occurred between 2004 and 2006, and only participants aged 20 or older were included. A follow-up analysis conducted from 2010 to 2012 added 186 new individuals, with 1,627 participants remaining in the study. Diet sodas or those with zero calories were excluded from the analysis. 28% of men consumed between one and three and a half servings of soft drinks per week. 47.4% of men consumed more than three and a half servings per week. 31.1% of women consumed between one and three and a half servings of soft drinks per week. 26.5% of women consumed more than three and a half servings per week. The median weekly soft drink intake for participants was 3.1 servings. Why NAFLD risk varies between men and women: A key insight from the study The study reveals a significant increase in the risk of NAFLD with higher soft drink consumption, showing a 39% higher likelihood of developing NAFLD when soft drink intake rises from less than one serving per week to more than three and a half servings per week. One of the most striking findings is that men have a higher risk of NAFLD as their soft drink consumption increases compared to women. While both sexes see a rise in risk with greater soft drink intake, the increase is more pronounced in men. This suggests that metabolic differences between men and women may play a key role in how the body responds to soft drink consumption, contributing to the observed variances in NAFLD risk. Simple and natural strategies to kick your soda habit Kicking your soda habit might sound tough, but it’s more doable than you think! Instead of going cold turkey, try weaning yourself off the sugary drinks gradually. A gentle transition can make the process feel less overwhelming. Start by swapping out your soda for sparkling water. The fizz can help satisfy that craving for something bubbly, and you can add a splash of lemon, lime, or cucumber to give it a refreshing twist. If you’re missing the sweetness, flavored waters with natural extracts like mint or berry are a great option, too. Try kombucha if you’re looking for something with a little more punch. This tangy, fermented tea is naturally fizzy and can help curb those cravings while also boosting your gut. Another tasty option is prebiotic sodas – these offer the fizz and a bit of sweetness without the sugar overload. For a more festive alternative, sparkling non-alcoholic champagne or grape juice can be a fun treat that feels like a special occasion, minus the sugar high. And if you’re craving something warm, herbal teas can be a comforting choice. You can naturally sweeten them with some honey or stevia if needed. By gradually replacing soda with these simple, flavorful alternatives, you’ll take steps toward a healthier lifestyle without feeling like you’re missing out! Sources for this article include: Sciencedirect.com NIH.gov News-medical.net To read the original article click here.

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ALERT: How Drinking Soda Can Damage Your Kidney Function, Study Warns

AHA Publisher — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 07:00:21 +0000

News Staff via NaturalHealth365 – We’ve all seen advertisements of people guzzling ice-cold soft drinks on a hot summer day. But, while drinking a cold soda on a hot day may sound appealing to some people, a recent study published in the American Journal of Physiology warns that it may damage your kidneys. In fact, the study warns that drinking soda in the heat can have a particularly adverse effect on your kidney function. What Happens to Your Body When You Exercise in the Heat? When it’s hot, your body reacts by sweating more to cool off. If you exercise in hot weather, your body reduces blood flow to your kidneys so it can conserve water and regulate blood pressure. When blood flow to your kidneys is sharply reduced, your kidneys get less oxygen, and consequently, acute kidney injury can occur. Research shows exertion in high temperatures causes an increase in biomarkers of kidney injury. So exercising on a hot summer day already puts your kidneys at risk of dehydration and harm, even before adding soft drinks into the mix. But if you do reach for that cold soda, the risk to your kidneys is even more profound. Why Drinking Soda Is Damaging to Your Kidneys According to the study, drinking soda after laboring or exercising in hot weather increases dehydration, putting your kidneys in danger. In the study, volunteers performed manual labor in 95-degree Fahrenheit weather. Biomarkers for kidney function were measured before and after exercise. Some participants drank water immediately after exertion, and some drank soda. Researchers saw a jump in dehydration and markers for kidney injury in the participants who drank soda, including higher levels of uric acid and vasopressin. Researchers concluded that drinking soda during and immediately after exercise in heat does not rehydrate the body. Instead, soda induces acute kidney injury. In addition, because soda contains high amounts of fructose and often caffeine, it does much more harm than good. These findings are startling. Many people consume much higher amounts of fructose than what is safe and more protein than necessary, which can also imperil kidney function. Additionally, processed foods, in general, are detrimental to our health and children’s health. How to Protect Your Kidneys So how can you keep your kidneys safe and healthy in the summer heat and beyond? A few simple dietary habits can ensure you’re taking care of your kidneys as well as possible. Drinking plenty of clean, pure water is essential. When you choose water over high-fructose drinks, you’ll help keep your kidneys hydrated and functioning smoothly. Eating a diet rich in organic fresh fruits and vegetables has many health benefits, including lowering blood pressure, which is good news for your kidneys. Several super foods are especially good for your kidneys, including cherries, red bell peppers, watermelon, and kale. To support optimal kidney function, you might also want to add these great foods into your diet: ginger, turmeric, nettle, and yarrow. Your kidneys are vital for good health. They work hard daily to filter your blood and flush out impurities through urination. Opting for a tall glass of cold filtered water over highly processed sugar-filled soft drinks will help prevent kidney injury and keep these precious organs working well. Sources for this article include: ChildrensHealthDefense.org Journals.physiology.org To read the original article click here.

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Amount of Sugar Sold in Soft Drinks Drops by 29% in the UK

AHA Publisher — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 08:00:43 +0000

University of Oxford via EurekAlert – Lead researcher Lauren Bandy and her colleagues looked at the nutritional information of a range of soft drinks in the UK, including carbonated drinks, concentrates, 100% juice, juice drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and bottled water, and combined this with sales data from 2015-2018. There has been considerable pressure on the industry to reduce the sugar content of soft drinks and in April 2018, the British government introduced the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) to help tackle childhood obesity. Bandy said: ‘This study is not designed to evaluate the specific effects of the SDIL, but nonetheless shows that sustained pressure on business, including using fiscal measures, has led to a striking reduction in the sugar content of soft drinks in the UK.’ The research, published in BMC Medicine, shows that individual soft drink companies in the UK are making a sizeable contribution to sugar reduction, with eight out of the top 10 companies reducing the sugar content of their products by 15% or more. The two biggest companies, Coca-Cola and Britvic, had reduced the total quantity of sugars they sold in drinks by 17% and 26% respectively, although the sugar content of their flagship brands Coca-Cola and Pepsi remained unchanged. There were increases in volume sales of sugars in drinks sold by Innocent and Red Bull; the sugar content of their products was largely unchanged, but the companies had seen increases in overall volume sales. The analysis shows that nearly three-quarters (73%) of the reduction seen in the amount of sugar sold in soft drinks was due to reformulation of existing products or the introduction of new, lower sugar drinks, and 27% was due to changes in purchasing behaviour. Lead researcher Lauren Bandy said: ‘It is encouraging to see such a large reduction in sugars sold in soft drinks. This is largely a result of change in the composition of drinks but there have also been shifts in consumer purchasing behaviour, with more consumers choosing drinks with low, or no, sugar content. These changes are likely to be due to a combination of government action, mostly through the SDIL, changes in marketing practices on the part of the soft drinks industry, and greater awareness of the harms caused by sugary drinks amongst consumers. They show that it is possible for improvements in public health to be consistent with successful business practices.’ Co-author Susan Jebb, Professor of Diet and Population Health at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, said: ‘National and international governments are calling for change in the food industry to improve public health. This new method allows researchers to monitor the progress being made and to make this information available to the public. This external scrutiny will hopefully encourage more positive and rapid action by the food industry to achieve healthier diets.’ To read the original article click here.

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All Sodas Including Diet Increase Risk of Premature Death

AHA Publisher — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 07:00:14 +0000

Angela Betsaida B. Laguipo, BSN via News Medical-Net – Soft drinks are frequently consumed by people of all ages, but whether this consumption is linked with high risk of premature death has not been known, not until now. Do you want to live longer? You may want to ditch drinking soft drinks, a new study says. Drinking carbonated drinks such as soft drinks, sodas and colas has long been dubbed as unhealthy, with all the added sugar they contain. Now, a new study added new information on the bad effects of soft drinks to the health. A team of researchers at the Nutrition and Cancer group of the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) found that drinking two or more glasses a day of sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened soft drinks has been linked to an increased risk of death from all causes. Subsequently, drinking soft drinks more frequently has been associated with deaths from digestive and circulatory diseases. However, the researchers did not find any link between consuming soft drinks and cancer mortality or cancer-related death. None of the participants had diabetes, cancer, stroke, or heart disease before being involved in the study. The study, titled ‘Association Between Soft Drink Consumption and Mortality in 10 European Countries’ and published in JAMA, involved more than 450,000 individuals from ten European countries for about 19 years. It looked at the effects of drinking soda or carbonated drinks on the health. It has been previously known that high blood sugar and taking too much sugar in the diet can impair the gut barrier, leading to a condition called “leaky gut”. As a result, the gut immune system will induce intestinal inflammation, increasing the vulnerability of the person to gut infections. Hence, drinking drinks with added sugars can boost susceptibility to digestive disorders. Aside from cardiovascular and digestive diseases, the increased intake of soft drinks has also been linked to heightened risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, but not with Alzheimer’s disease or cancer. In the study, the researchers defined soft drinks as beverages that fizzy soft drinks like cola and lemonade, fruit squash or cordials, and low-calorie or diet fizzy soft drinks, that are all non-alcoholic concentrated syrups normally mixed with water and sugar. Also, they defined that one glass of soft drink is equivalent to 250 milliliters or 8 fluid ounces. Across the globe, a typical can of soda contains 12 fluid ounces or 355 milliliters of drink. The main results of the study, dubbed as the EPIC study (European Proactive Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition), shows that there were a total of 41,693 deaths in the 16-year follow up. The researchers collected data about soft drink consumption through a nutrition and diet questionnaire between 1992 and 2000. Study Implications The study is important in the society today, since many people are fond of drinking sugary drinks, including soft drinks or soda. Strict regulations should be imposed by health officials on the public, to reduce the consumption of these drinks, especially that many studies have already linked its bad effects to the health. Further, the study findings can help support ongoing public health measures to reduce the consumption of soft drinks. Soft drinks are frequently consumed by people of all ages, but whether this consumption is linked with high risk of premature death has not been known, not until now. The study, however, just like other studies on the link between sugary drink consumption and health risks is observational. It cannot entirely show any cause and effect. The researchers note that there is a major limitation and it’s impossible to determine if the health effect is associated with the use of artificial sweeteners, obesity, diabetes, a type of beverage, or an underlying health condition. How to Cut Back On Sugary Drinks Whether there is an association or not, if you decide to cut back on your soft drink consumption, you can ditch the habit by cutting back correctly. If you find it hard to remove the habit immediately, you can taper the consumption. For instance, you can aim for one drink every other day or drinking just one serving a day. In the long run, you can already remove the habit entirely. There are also fizzy drinks that are not mixed with sugar or artificial sweetener, such as sparkling water or a fruit juice alternative. If you are decided to remove the habit, figure out what the habitual trigger it and replace it with healthier habits. For instance, if you crave for sweets, instead of drinking fizzy sugary drinks, eat a fruit instead. To read the original article click here.

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Cancer-Causing Caramel Color

AHA Publisher — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 04:43:08 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via NutritionFacts – Caramel coloring may be the most widely consumed food coloring in the world. Unfortunately, its manufacture can sometimes lead to the formation of a carcinogen called methylimidazole, which was identified as a cancer-causing chemical in 2007. For the purposes of its Proposition 65 labeling law, California set a daily limit at 29 micrograms a day. So, how much cancer might caramel-colored soft drinks be causing? We didn’t know…until now… My video Which has more Caramel Coloring Carcinogens: Coke or Pepsi? explores these questions and more. Researchers tested 110 soft drink samples off store shelves in California and around the New York metropolitan area, including Connecticut and New Jersey. None of the carcinogen was found in Sprite, which is what you’d expect since Sprite isn’t caramel-colored brown. Among sodas that are, the highest levels were found in a Goya brand soda, while the lowest levels were in Coke products, which were about 20 times less than Pepsi products. Interestingly, California Pepsi was significantly less carcinogenic than New York Pepsi. “This supports the notion that [labeling laws like] Proposition 65…can incentivize manufacturers to reduce foodborne chemical risks…” To protect consumers around the rest of the country, federal regulations could be a valuable approach to reducing excess cancer risk—but how much cancer are we talking about? Johns Hopkins researchers calculated the cancer burden, an estimate of the number of lifetime excess cancer cases associated with the consumption of the various beverages. So, at the average U.S. soda intake, with the average levels of carcinogens found, Pepsi may be causing thousands of cancer cases, especially non-California Pepsi products, which appear to be causing 20 times more cancer than Coke. Of course, there’s no need for any of them to have any these carcinogens at all “as caramel colorings serve only a cosmetic purpose [and] could be omitted from foods and beverages…” But we don’t have to wait for government regulation or corporate social responsibility; we can exercise personal responsibility and just stop drinking soda altogether. Cutting out soda may reduce our risk of becoming obese and getting diabetes, getting fatty liver disease, suffering hip fractures, developing rheumatoid arthritis, developing chronic kidney disease, and maybe developing gout, as well. In children, daily soda consumption may increase the odds of asthma five-fold and increase the risk of premature puberty in girls, raising the likelihood they start getting their periods before age 11 by as much as 47 percent. If we look at the back of people’s eyes, we can measure the caliber of the arteries in their retina, and the narrower they are, the higher the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. Researchers performed these kinds of measurements on thousands of 12-year-olds and asked them about their soda drinking habits. Their findings? Children who consume soft drinks daily have significantly narrower arteries. “The message to patients can no longer remain the simplistic mantra ‘eat less, exercise more.'” It matters what you eat. “[S]pecific dietary advice should be to significantly reduce the consumption of processed food and added sugar and to eat more whole foods.” This article has been modified. To read the original article click here. For more articles by Dr. Greger click here.

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