Can Drinking Soda Increase Your Cholesterol Levels?
We've been told that eating healthy foods, getting plenty of exercise and adding natural supplements to our diet is the way to improve our health.
And we need to be aware of any food group that might increase our chances of heart disease and other serious illnesses such as strokes and arteriosclerosis But we like the idea of soda; it fills us up and tends to reduce our appetite, meaning that we eat less of those fatty foods.
Soda lovers might even argue their favourite drink has an overall positive impact on our health; unfortunately experts agree that soda is extremely bad for anyone aspiring to a healthy lifestyle.
But before you start thinking another favourite food is off limits let's take a moment to understand the type of potential problems that soda drinks can cause.
That way, if you're armed with the information you need, you can decide for yourself.
Soda and Cholesterol Sugar from any food has the potential to increase our triglyceride levels, especially if it's not a balanced intake matched up with exercise, natural supplements and generally healthy eating.
Soda contains sugar which is really just energy stored in fat cells as triglycerides.
They float around our blood stream ready for release when we might need the extra energy.
If we don't need the extra energy, then we put on weight as we store the additional calories.
Increased triglyceride levels can impact on the artery walls, making them thicker and narrowing the blood flow.
This situation can lead to the potential for blood clots which can then increase the likelihood of strokes and heart disease.
The good news is that sugar doesn't directly increase your cholesterol levels.
But that doesn't mean drinking soda isn't a problem.
Increased sugar consumption increases weight, and that causes our liver to produce more cholesterol.
Research into the impact of soda indicates that having a regular soda drink increases your chances of having strokes and other illnesses and your chances are 10% better if you stick to caffeine.
• The sugar in soda causes weight gain • Additional weight means more cholesterol • Increased triglycerides narrows and hardens our arteries There's an opportunity cost in drinking soda as well; for every soda drink you consume, that's one less glass of water, or one less piece of fruit you're eating.
What About Diet Sodas? You might think that any 'diet' branded food is going to be okay.
And while diet sodas will not add to cholesterol levels they have been shown to have a negative impact on kidney function.
Research indicates that regular consumption of diet drinks can increase your chances of developing type 2 Diabetes by nearly 67%.
Summary We've now added soda drinks into the mix of foods that we need to be careful about.
While drinking soda doesn't directly impact our cholesterol levels, the decision to avoid soda drinks can have an overwhelmingly positive impact on our general health.
And we need to be aware of any food group that might increase our chances of heart disease and other serious illnesses such as strokes and arteriosclerosis But we like the idea of soda; it fills us up and tends to reduce our appetite, meaning that we eat less of those fatty foods.
Soda lovers might even argue their favourite drink has an overall positive impact on our health; unfortunately experts agree that soda is extremely bad for anyone aspiring to a healthy lifestyle.
But before you start thinking another favourite food is off limits let's take a moment to understand the type of potential problems that soda drinks can cause.
That way, if you're armed with the information you need, you can decide for yourself.
Soda and Cholesterol Sugar from any food has the potential to increase our triglyceride levels, especially if it's not a balanced intake matched up with exercise, natural supplements and generally healthy eating.
Soda contains sugar which is really just energy stored in fat cells as triglycerides.
They float around our blood stream ready for release when we might need the extra energy.
If we don't need the extra energy, then we put on weight as we store the additional calories.
Increased triglyceride levels can impact on the artery walls, making them thicker and narrowing the blood flow.
This situation can lead to the potential for blood clots which can then increase the likelihood of strokes and heart disease.
The good news is that sugar doesn't directly increase your cholesterol levels.
But that doesn't mean drinking soda isn't a problem.
Increased sugar consumption increases weight, and that causes our liver to produce more cholesterol.
Research into the impact of soda indicates that having a regular soda drink increases your chances of having strokes and other illnesses and your chances are 10% better if you stick to caffeine.
• The sugar in soda causes weight gain • Additional weight means more cholesterol • Increased triglycerides narrows and hardens our arteries There's an opportunity cost in drinking soda as well; for every soda drink you consume, that's one less glass of water, or one less piece of fruit you're eating.
What About Diet Sodas? You might think that any 'diet' branded food is going to be okay.
And while diet sodas will not add to cholesterol levels they have been shown to have a negative impact on kidney function.
Research indicates that regular consumption of diet drinks can increase your chances of developing type 2 Diabetes by nearly 67%.
Summary We've now added soda drinks into the mix of foods that we need to be careful about.
While drinking soda doesn't directly impact our cholesterol levels, the decision to avoid soda drinks can have an overwhelmingly positive impact on our general health.
