7 Ways Aerated Drinks Are Affecting Your Child’s Health

Of late, it has become normal for parents to give unhealthy foods and drinks to their children. Feeding children with junk food such as instant noodles, biscuits, chips and aerated drinks have become common for parents, without realising how harmful they can be for the child’s health. Speaking of aerated drinks specifically, they are made up of sugary soft drinks, carbonated water, and extreme chemical additives. Sugar content in aerated drinks is alarming and so are the calories in it. When the body experiences such a sudden increase in the sugar level, it triggers insulin fluctuations in the body, hence causing immense hunger. This motivates the child to eat unhealthy food items along with aerated drinks. Together, they are one of the leading causes of childhood obesity.
Aerated drinks entice children because it is hard for them to understand the side effects of it on their body. But it is up to the parents to teach their child the possible harms soda could do to them.
So, here are 7 ways in which aerated drinks are deteriorating your child’s health
1. A bottle of soda contains zero nutritional value. Yes, zero. It does not benefit the body and in fact worsens health and fitness. Sugar content in aerated drinks can lead to childhood obesity. Such obesity can cause problems in children often found in adults, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and high cholesterol.
2. Children who engage in frequent drinking of aerated drinks such as soft drinks, fruit drinks, sports drinks etc. tend to lose their appetite towards nutritious food. This inhibits fulfillment of necessary requirement of vitamins, calcium and other vital nutrients in a child’s body. In fact, high amount of phosphorus in soda leads to depletion of calcium from child’s bones and makes him/her more prone to bone problems in the future.
3. Aerate drinks cause severe tooth decay in children. Its sugar content causes cavities while its acidic nature causes enamel erosion in children. Added to this, it deprives teeth of necessary amount of calcium needed to be strong and healthy. Acid in soda drinks can dissolve tooth enamel in just 20 minutes cause tooth sensitivity in your child.
4. Aerated drinks may not only physically effect on your child, but also affects the child mentally. It may make your child moody and restless. If consumed regularly and in large proportions, soda drinks can prove fatal to your child’s learning capacities and hamper his cognitive abilities. It can trigger aggression and even ADHD in a child.
5. Caffeine is an addictive drug which should be prohibited for children. Soda drinks contain about 35 to 38 milligrams of caffeine per 12-ounce can. Caffeine affects the brain of the child and to some extent, inhibits growth and development of the brain. Caffeine can also leads to adrenal exhaustion in children.
6. Aerated drinks lead to weakening of kidneys and liver. Presence of phosphorus acid in the drinks causes kidney stones and many other renal problems along with causing impairment in the functionality of the kidneys. High content of sugar and fructose leads to problems in the liver.
7. Since children take soda drinks to be an alternative to water, they don’t realize how much it can dehydrate them. Sodas, as we know have no health benefits for the body and on the top of that, they dehydrate the body. Children need the proper amount of water in their body since they engage in heavy physical activities throughout the day.
Encourage your child to follow a healthy pain from the very beginning so as to ensure a fit future for them.