The chronic ingestion of these ingredients causes imbalances in the body's systems that may result in debilitating illnesses that show up after many years of abuse. Many of these problems are then mistakenly labelled as just signs of "normal ageing". So, how can a soft drink make you sick? What do these ingredients in soft drinks do?

PHOSPHORIC ACID is a strong acid. It disturbs the delicate balance of important elements in the blood such as between calcium and phosphorus. This causes excess amounts of calcium to be lost in the urine. As the body tries to compensate for this, several calcium related problems like osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, bursitis, gout, bone spurs, bunions, kidney stones may occur. In addition, excess acidification of the body, will itself cause many attendant
problems.

CAFFEINE is an addictive drug that has the ability to stimulate mental alertness and overcome fatigue and is probably a major cause of hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder (ADD) in children. It causes rapid heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, excessive urination and constricts the blood vessels to the brain. It increases the release of adrenaline, stresses the adrenal glands and elevates the blood sugar. Excessive doses will cause aggression, recklessness and shouting (sounds like road rage).

SUGAR ­ lots and lots of sugar. A twelve ounce can of soda contains 11 teaspoons of sugar. Can something so common and so tasty be unhealthy? Sugar is vital to the body. One sugar, glucose, is the main source of energy for our cells. But excess sugar consumption is disastrous. Excess sugar causes the body to lose calcium and several other minerals, setting the stage for osteoporosis and arthritis. Excess sugar creates high blood sugar levels. This leads to excess insulin production followed by insulin resistance and eventually exhaustion of the pancreas. The end result is a disease called diabetes.

ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS are often worse than sugar. The most popular one, Aspartame (Nutrasweet /Sweet and Low) breaks down in the body into substances like formaldehyde that are damaging to the nervous system. Saccharin, another sweetener, causes cancer in animals and the National Academy of Sciences has concluded that saccharin is a potential cancer-causing agent in humans. A newer sweetener, Splenda, has not been associated with any side effects. My choice of artificial sweetener is a plant called Stevia, which has 70 times the sweetening power of sugar while containing beneficial vitamins and minerals

ARTIFICIAL COLOURING: Caramel is the colouring commonly used in the dark looking beverages. Research has demonstrated negative genetic effects and cancer causing properties with this substance. Several other substances commonly used for colouring are suspected of having adverse effects on human health.

CARBON DIOXIDE is a waste product that the body expels each time we breath out. Failure to eliminate carbon dioxide effectively from the blood results in a chemical imbalance in the body. Why should we be consuming something the body is trying to eliminate?

ALUMINIUM gets into soft drinks because the phosphoric acid eats away the aluminium containers now used for soft drinks. The industry claims to have solved the problem by plastic coating the interior of the cans. Nevertheless, toxic amounts of aluminium still leach into the beverage and the added plastic may create problems of its own. Aluminium is deposited in the brain and bone and is implicated in Alzheimer's disease and osteoporosis. Incidentally, the other common sources of ingested aluminium are antacids and processed cheese.

WATER: This was the healthiest part of the soft drink, before the soft drink manufacturer got hold of it. So my humble suggestion is ­ drink more water and less soft drinks. The average sized person in the tropics should drink at least 8 glasses per day. Your body will thank you.