Take the fizz out of your drink

Eisha Sarkar
Posted on Hello Wellness on Nov 20, 2010

On the Yahoo! Answers forum, one Momo asks, "I am going to a party this Saturday and I am bartending as usual. What can I mix with Coca Cola to make something good?" A certain ThatoneDude responds, "Rum or Jack Daniels. I use rum more than Jack but they are both good." See, that's the problem with the internet. It brings two unhealthy things together and teaches you how to make a potent cocktail that can wreak havoc.

Mixing alcohol with soft drinks and energy drinks is commonplace now. Two things are better than one, we often think. Not quite, we find here:

Thirsty for more!
Like alcohol, soft drinks steal water from the body. They work like diuretics, taking away more water than they can provide to the body. To process the high levels of sugar in soft drinks the body needs to use a considerable amount of water. You need to drink 8-12 glasses of water for every one glass of soft drinks that you consume! What do you do instead? Drink more rum-and-Coke. Soft drinks and alcohol can never quench your thirst, certainly not your body's need for water. Constantly denying your body an adequate amount can lead to Chronic Cellular Dehydration. This, in turn, can lead to a weakened immune system and a plethora of diseases.

Slow digestion
Caffeine and high amounts of sugar in soft drinks virtually shut down the digestive process. That means your body is essentially taking in no nutrients from the food you may have just eaten. Alcohol also irritates the internal lining of esophagus, stomach and duodenum when consumed and can cause inflammation of the gastric mucosa and esophageal mucosa.

Acid test
Soft Drinks are extremely acidic, so much so that they can eat through the liner of an aluminum can. The body naturally exists at a pH of about 7.3. Soft Drinks have a pH of about 3.0. The body has to keep acidic elements as far away from the blood as possible to prevent the blood pH from dropping.  It does this by storing waste it cannot eliminate by urination and defecation. The acid waste is often stored in joints and organs, away from the circulatory vessels, and may result in diseases such as osteoporosis.

You may lose more than just your teeth if you guzzle down soft drinks. Still need to have a glass in hand during the party? Opt for the one of fresh fruit juice.