Grabbing a soda on the way home from work or indulging in a few happy hour drinks may not seem like a big deal, but everything you put in your body has an effect on your overall health. While enjoying certain drinks and beverages in moderation is basically harmless, by binging or indulging on a regular basis, you could be doing serious damage to your body. Whether you're hoping to lose weight, hydrate your body better for exercise or looking to relax on the weekend, your drink of choice could be affecting your body in ways you didn't know.
Water
When it comes to hydrating your body effectively, water is king. Your body simply needs water in order to survive. While you can often get your daily water requirements from drinking soda, juice, tea or coffee, pure water is naturally calorie free and ideal for exercise. Water helps keep toxins flushed from your organs and provides moisture for your ears, nose and throat. Your water intake affects every system in your body, which is why dehydration can take such a toll. Drinking eight 8 oz. glasses of water per day can help you stay properly hydrated.
Sports Drinks
High intensity exercise can have you sweating up a storm in the gym. When you sweat, you release both salt and water from your pores. Drinking water helps to rehydrate your body, but does not replace the sodium and potassium lost from sweat in your body. Sports drinks are typically high in sodium and potassium, which can help create the proper replenishment for sweat when you exercise. While there is no clear advantage for sports drinks over water, sports drinks can help delay muscle fatigue when you plan to exercise more than 60 minutes.
Soda
Both regular and diet soda can affect your body in negative ways. Regular soda is full of sugar. Eating and drinking items high in sugar cause an insulin spike in your bloodstream, which eventually leads to unstable blood sugar levels and calorie storage in the body. Diet sodas can be just as dangerous, as they are flavored with artificial sweeteners. The taste of sweetener without calories can lead to overeating and eventually weight gain. What's more, the acidic nature of soda can erode the enamel on teeth, leading to sensitivity and decay.
Alcohol
An occasional glass of wine with dinner or a beer during a night out won't have much long-term affect on your health, but making alcohol a habit can put your health at risk. Short-term risks include violence, injuries from falls and accidents and alcohol poisoning. Long-term health effects are even more sobering, counting liver disease, neurological issues, certain cancers and psychiatric problems among others. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define heavy drinking as consuming one to two drinks per day habitually. Heavy drinkers are at a higher risk for health problems when compared to those who abstain or enjoy alcohol infrequently.
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