Soda drinking tied to early death, with as little as one per day

Does drinking soda increase your risk for early death?

Yes, according to various reports:

September 4, 2019

Two studies reveal how your diet can have negative and long-lasting impacts on your health in new ways. One study found that a teenager’s extremely poor eating habits caused him to effectively go blind; another found that people who drank at least two sugar-sweetened soft drinks a day had a higher risk of death from digestive diseases. https://news.yahoo.com/negative-health-impacts-drinking-soda-125100923.html

A population-based study examining soda consumption in 10 European countries found that soft drinks were linked to a greater risk of death, as well as the chance of dying from Parkinson disease.

The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, included both sugar- and artificially-sweetened drinks. The study group included 451,743 men and women from Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, comparing those who drank 2 or more glasses per day with those who drank less than 1 glass per month. There was a higher risk of death from all causes during an average follow-up of 16 years, in which 41,693 deaths occurred.

The authors said the findings support public health efforts to limit soft drink consumption; Tuesday’s study follows one published earlier this year in JAMA that found excise taxes on soda sales in Philadelphia reduced overall sales by 38%. …

Drinking 1 or more glasses of soda per day was positively linked with the risk of dying of Parkinson disease (HR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.07-2.36; P = .02); …

While soda drinking has been associated with higher rates of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in the United States, it has been understudied in European populations … researchers said in 2010, the worldwide burden of obesity-associated cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and type 2 diabetes associated with consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks were estimated to be 184,000 deaths. 09/03/19 https://www.ajmc.com/newsroom/large-european-study-links-soda-consumption-to-greater-risk-of-mortality-including-from-parkinson

There are problems with both sugar and sugar-free sodas:

Published September 4, 2019

Here’s some less-than refreshing news about soda: even sugar-free versions were associated with a higher risk of death in a study of 452,000 people in 10 countries.

The study, published Tuesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that people who drank two or more glasses of soft drinks per day were more likely to die from all types of ailments, compared with people who drank less than one glass per month. …

The study found differences in the health effects of drinks that contain sugar versus those that are artificially sweetened. Sugar-sweetened soft drinks were associated with digestive-disease deaths (a broad category that includes diseases of the liver, appendix, pancreas, intestines and other illnesses), while higher consumption of sugar-free versions was associated with deaths from circulatory diseases, including ischemic heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease. …

Drinking more caffeinated soda has also been linked to triggering migraine headaches, and consuming 32 ounces of energy drinks in under an hour spiked the risk of electrical disturbances in the heart for as long as four hours after the drinks were consumed, according to a small study of 34 healthy volunteers between the ages of 18 and 40 published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Sweetened drinks are the biggest source of added sugar in the average American’s diet, according to the American Heart Association, with a typical 12-ounce can of soda containing 35 to 37.5 grams of sugar and between 140 and 150 calories on average. A standard-size Hershey HSY, -0.01% milk chocolate bar has 24 grams of sugar and 220 calories. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/even-sugar-free-sodas-were-linked-to-a-higher-risk-of-death-in-study-of-452000-people-2019-09-03

Generally speaking, there is more money to be made to write papers supporting the food-processing industry than to expose problems with their health risks, synthetic ingredients, etc. So, it is nice to see something that exposing some of the problems of the beverage industry.

For years, at this COGwriter news page, I have warned against things like artificial sweeteners.

Want some biblical support to avoid the artificial “foods” that many promote?

Consider the following scriptures:

2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good (Isaiah 55:2).

Avoiding artificial sweeteners, chemical additives, excess refined sugar, and some other items commonly associated with sodas is consistent with the warning to eat what is good.

As far as obesity goes, notice some of what Moses and Jeremiah wrote:

15 You grew fat, you grew thick,
You are obese!
Then he forsook God who made him,
And scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
16 They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods;
With abominations they provoked Him to anger. (Deuteronomy 32:15-16)

11 “Because you were glad, because you rejoiced,
You destroyers of My heritage,
Because you have grown fat like a heifer threshing grain,
And you bellow like bulls,
12 Your mother shall be deeply ashamed;
She who bore you shall be ashamed.
Behold, the least of the nations shall be a wilderness,
A dry land and a desert. (Jeremiah 50:11-12)

Many people do not often eat what is good. Many eat too many chemically-laced highly processed foods.

Do not kid yourself, drinking sodas is not healthy.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Obesity, processed foods, health risks, and the Bible Does the Bible warn about the consequences of being obese? Is overeating dangerous? Is gluttony condemned? What diseases are associated with eating too much refined foods? A related video would be Eating Right, Eating Too Much, and Prophecy.
Should Christians Exercise? What does the Bible teach? What are some of the benefits and risks of exercise? Here is a link to a related video: The Plain Truth About Exercise.
Ten Simple Rules that Lead to Health Herbert Armstrong gives his opinions on this.
Does God Heal Today? What does the Bible teach? Herbert Armstrong tries to explain this.
Should Christians Smoke Tobacco or Marijuana? Is smoking a sin? What does the Bible teach? What have COG leaders written? Can smokers change? What about marijuana?
Marijuana: Should a Christian Get High? There is increasing acceptance of the use of marijuana. How should Christians view this? Here is a related video titled How Should a Christian View Marijuana?
Alcohol: Blessing or Curse? This is an article from the old Good News magazine that attempts to answer this question.
Binge Drinking, Health, and the Bible Many college students and others overindulge in alcohol. Are there health risks? What does the Bible teach? A related video is also available: Binge Drinking and the Bible.
GMOs and Bible Prophecy What are GMOs? Since they were not in the food supply until 1994, how could they possibly relate to Bible prophecy? Do GMOs put the USA and others at risk? Here is a related YouTube video GMO Risks and the Bible.
The Truth About Vitamins in Nutritional Supplements Nearly all vitamins people take are synthetic.
The Truth about Minerals in Nutritional Supplements Nearly all mineral supplements people take consist of industrially processed ground up rocks.
Chimeras: Has Science Crossed the Line? What are chimeras? Has science crossed the line? Does the Bible give any clues? A video of related interest is Half human, half pig: What’s the difference?
UK Study Supports Daniel Diet Daniel and his companions looked better eating more vegetables and avoiding strange meats. Has modern science confirmed this?
Cannibalism is Wrong, But it is Coming! Is it logical to eat human flesh? Or is it a curse that will return?
The New Testament Church, History, and Unclean Meats Are foods considered to have been unclean in the Old Testament considered to be food in the New Testament? This article discusses this from the perspective of the New Testament. It also has a list of clean and unclean animals. It also answers the question, is pork healthy or is pork dangerous? There is also a sermon-length video on this: Christians and Unclean Meats; a short video is also available: Did Jesus declare all animal flesh food?