5 Reasons to Stop Drinking Soft Drinks on Earth and in Space

Some people like to sit back and sip on an ice cold soft drink of choice. Some prefer cola, and others prefer a different carbonated beverage to tickle the tastebuds.

Soft drinks my taste good, but there are many good reasons not to drink them.

If you eliminate one soft drink from your diet a day, you would eliminate roughly 50,000 calories over the course of a year.

Here are five very good reasons to stop drinking soft drinks:

1. If you value white teeth, stop rinsing them in cola acid. Dentists can tell who their cola drinkers are. They are the patients with yellow teeth, also referred to as "butter teeth." I don't know about you, but I'd rather not be known for my yellow teeth. Not only that, but the acid from soft drinks soften the enamel, making teeth more susceptible to cavities.
2. If you are trying to shed weight, stop taking in excess soda calories. One soft drink a day will add up to about 50,000 calories in one year. Instead, drink water, and lose the extra weight.
3. Soft drinks cost money. If you buy your soft drinks at $.40 a can, over one year you have spend $292 at two cans a day. If you have a tight budget, this could free up some spending money that you desperately need.
4. Soft drinks are linked to increased blood pressure. According to NPR, the School of Public Health at Imperial College in Londonfound in a study that soft drinks increase blood pressure.
5. Many sodas contain artificial sweeteners, that may cause cancer. Read this hubpage about the dangers of consuming artificial sweeteners. The scary part is that the FDA is aware of the potential harm, yet allows sucralose and aspartame to remain on store shelves.

Myth: Drinking cola in zero gravity negates the harmful dangers associated with soft drinks.

Fact: Astronauts are just as prone to acquire "butter teeth" as any fine, upstanding Earth-dwellers.

Fulton, April. Drinking Soda May Increase Your Blood Pressure. NPR.org.