A type of drink which generates $495 billion globally each year is not safe to be consumed even in moderation, according to a cardiovascular surgeon with 25 years' experience.
Dr Jeremy London detailed four very common things he religiously avoids to protect his longevity in an Instagram post last year, urging people to 'be conscious about what you're putting in your mouth'.
Posting on his social media channel, the doctor started with the obvious: smoking, which was recently overtaken by vaping in the UK. Ten percent of Brits smoke cigarettes, while an additional 10 percent vape, according to the Office for National Statistics.
"Number one, smoking: no question the single worst thing you can do for your entire body," he wrote on Instagram. "Destroys your lungs, causes lung cancer, high cardiovascular risks, heart attacks and strokes. Don't smoke."
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He also says he cuts out breads, pastas, refined flours and wheats from his diet, although a life without a spag bol or a sandwich seems like a bleak existence.
Next on Dr London's list was booze, which he went as far as to label 'toxic to every cell in your body'. While there is a growing number of people going sober, 81 percent of adults in England still drink alcohol, according to Drinkaware.
But if you're considering ordering a soft drink at the pub instead of a pint, that's off the table as well, as according to Dr London fizzy drinks are 'liquid death'.
"Just don't drink them," he urged. "Period. Done."
Interestingly, the healthcare professional spoke to TODAY in a subsequent interview, where he claimed that his extreme attack on soft drinks was an attention tactic.
"I think that soft drinks are just a scourge in our society, and so I was really trying to get some attention," he admitted.
"Obviously, high-calorie soft drinks and ingesting a lot of calories that people don't realise they're getting with the sugar-based soft drinks is a big no-no."
Then there's Dr William Li's proposal that soft drinks are a little under the radar compared to other health-threatening products.
Per the ZOE Science & Nutrition podcast, he doubled down on the sentiment shared by Dr London.
"Soda is everyone's favourite whipping boy. Rightfully so," he declared.
The reason why fizzy drinks are so bad, he said, is that it contains 'all these additives, colours, flavourings, preservatives, stabilisers... that is accumulated exposure to toxins. It's not one exposure, it's the chronic exposure over time'.
Some of the health issues linked to fizzy drinks include:
They're calorie-dense and don't make you feel full
That's because fructose, the simple sugar often found in fizzy drinks, doesn't lower hunger hormone ghrelin in the same way glucose, found in starchy foods, does.
This can obviously lead to weight gain.
They increase insulin resistance
This means your pancreas has to produce more insulin, and this is the first step towards type 2 diabetes.
A 2013 study found that every 150g of sugar consumed per day - roughly one can of fizzy drink - increases the risk of type 2 diabetes by 1.1 percent.
They have been linked to cancer
A 2010 study found that adults who drank two or more fizzy drinks per week were 87 percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than people who don't drink them at all.
They're bad for your heart
Research from Harvard Health found a link between a high-sugar diet and heart disease, with it being found that people who drank at least five sugar-sweetened soft drinks a week were more likely to have early signs of heart disease than people who drank fewer than one weekly.
What should you drink instead?
While it may not be as enticing, the Heart Foundation urges people to simply drink water when they're thirsty, as ultimately that is the most heart-healthy drink.
Healthier alternatives to these high-sugar drinks can include:
- Sparkling water (try adding chopped fruit or herbs; for example, fresh mint)
- Unflavoured milk
- Plant-based milks with added calcium, like soy, almond, oat, rice milk
- Tea
- Coffee
- Small glass (125ml) of 100% fruit or vegetable juice
Topics: Health, Food And Drink, Alcohol, Social Media
Dan Seddon