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| Recent Study Shows: Sugary Sodas Shorten Lives (photo by LivligaHome). |
A recent study performed by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and published in the American Journal of Public Health found that regular consumption of soda pop actually ages our cells. All it takes is drinking 20 ounces of sugary soda a day to age your body almost by 5 years in a matter of months. Diet soda does not have the same effect. Interestingly, the study showed that it didn't matter whether you were overweight or at your ideal weight, those that drank the sugary sodas aged at the same rate.
The aging of our bodies most notably takes place in our chromosomes. As we age the telomeres at the tips of our chromosomes shorten. How short our telomeres are is a great way of understanding our age and the aging process of our bodies. What scientists are now discovering is that certain environmental factors can age us much more quickly. Because of this study sugary soda pop has been put in this category.
When we age we are more susceptible to disease. Not only are we shortening our lives we are also increasing our vulnerability to becoming chronically ill with diabetes, heart disease and various cancers. As Elissa Epel, PhD, professor of psychiatry at UCSF and senior author of the study states in a recent UCSF article, “Regular consumption of sugar-sweetened sodas might influence disease development, not only by straining the body’s metabolic control of sugars, but also through accelerated cellular aging of tissues."
Anyway you look at it, sugary sodas are not good for our health. If you are hooked on sodas, its time to acquire a taste for diet soft drinks. You will feel better and live longer if you do.
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