The Effects Of Unhealthy Beverages

In the first part of our three-part series on healthy and unhealthy drinks, we took a look at some of the drinks that are actually pretty bad for you despite seeming fairly harmless. In this second part, we’re going to talk about what drinking unhealthy drinks can do. You might be surprised to find out that the issues in question aren’t the simple risk of weight gain. In fact, regularly indulging in certain beverages can lead to mental health issues as well as physical health issues. Let’s take a look at how unhealthy drinks can affect your health.

 Diabetes & Insulin Resistance

Regularly drinking beverages loaded with sugar can have catastrophic effects for your body. In addition to short term and more immediately noticeable issues like energy spikes or crashes, consuming so much sugar in a short time can also wreak havoc with your blood sugar. Over time, it’s possible that these sugary drinks could lead to diabetes or insulin resistance – and that’s not something you want to experience if you can help it.

 Dental Problems

While this is, admittedly, an issue that most people associate with soda, it’s important to understand that any sugary drink has the potential to cause your teeth issues. While this is doubly true when it comes to soda due to the high acid content that eats away at teeth enamel, even drinks without acid can eventually lead to poor dental hygiene and cavities. You only get one set of teeth – treat them well!

 Mental/Emotional Issues

There is an ever-growing body of research that suggests that a diet high in sugary drinks can lead to mental health issues. There are a number of reasons for this, and we’ll do our best to talk over a few of them here so that you understand the potential risk.

The issue with sugar and your brain is that instead of boosting cognitive ability (one of the reasons that many individuals drink soda or other sugary drinks), over time it can actually decrease cognitive ability. This happens due to decreased BDNF levels in the brain, which in turn leads to poor memory. Additionally, there has been evidence to suggest that sugary drinks can increase your risk of developing things like depression. More study is needed to definitively state this, of course, but there seems to be a link between high sugar consumption and mental disorders like depression and anxiety.