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What Age is Good For Soda? [Should Kids Drink It]

What Age is Good For Soda

Soda – some of us hate it, others can’t live without it.

However, one thing we can all agree on is that it isn’t particularly good for your health.

With all of the revelations about the risks of soda that have been published in recent years, it can be difficult to know when can kids drink soda.

There is no certain nor defined age at which children can drink soda or carbonated drinks, but as it’s mostly inevitable then it should be delayed for as long as possible (at least until well after toddlerhood).

When children do begin to drink soda or soft drinks, should you allow them to and before they’re of age to make their own decisions, then it should be done in moderation?

It should also be done in line with a nutritious diet, with plenty of healthy activities and all of which minimize any potential health impact.

Every parent wants what’s best for their child, and it can be difficult to strike the balance between protecting their health and allowing them the occasional treatment.

This article will take you through the health risks of drinking too much soda for both adults and children, which will hopefully help you make the right decision.

Can Kids Drink Coke?

how old do you have to be to drink soda

Many ask if can kids drink soda. The answer is not sure, because they are so harmful to the kids that you need to avoid them for a healthy Diet. 

On the other hand, kids are not prohibited by any means to drink soda. Many of them are obsessed with sodas and coke.

Drinking too much added sugar, particularly from sugar-sweetened sodas, could boost a child’s risk of obesity, tooth decay, and a variety of other health issues.

If children consume a lot of these drinks, particularly soda and energy drinks, it can have an effect on their bone health.

What Makes Soda Harmful?

What Makes Soda Harmful

There are three main components of soda that make excessive consumption bad for your health (no matter your age): sugar, acids, and caffeine.

Sugar

Nowadays we’re becoming more aware of the risks that too many Grams Of sugar poses or the intake of sugar to our health, and many sodas are now sugar-free.

Shockingly, a 12oz can of Coca-Cola soft drink contains 39 grams of sugar, which is more intake of sugar than the recommended daily intake for adults in the UK!

These are the most important things to keep in mind about sugar:

  • You can develop a dependency on the energy boost intake of sugar brings (while many call this an “addiction”, there is little evidence to prove that you can be addicted to sugar in the same way as tobacco, alcohol, etc.)
  • High sugar consumption is one of the biggest contributing factors to Type 2 diabetes
  • Fluctuating sugar levels in the body can negatively impact your mood and cause irritability, urinary stones, anxiety, and depression
  • The intake of sugar has no nutritional value whatsoever so it just contains “empty calories”

By drinking even one can of sugary soda daily, you put yourself at a significantly higher risk of these complications.

Acids

Three main acids can be found in most sodas, Sports Drinks, or soft drinks:

  • Carbonic acid is what makes soda fizzy
  • Phosphoric acid slows the growth of bacteria/mold and is also used to give Coca-Cola its sharp flavor
  • Citric acid is used to flavor citrus-based drinks such as Sprite

Excessive consumption of soda will cause these acids to wreak havoc on your health.

In particular, the acids found in soda and sugar-sweetened beverages put you at risk of the following:

Caffeine

Like sugar, many big-name sodas or sugary drinks are opting to remove caffeine from their product; you need to be careful, though, because sugar-free sodas often contain more caffeine. Caffeine can cause mental health issues in children.

In small doses, caffeine is useful for improving concentration and giving you energy.

However, soda or energy drinks contain excessive amounts of caffeine and, if you drink lots of it, you’re at risk of the following:

  • Increased anxiety
  • Shaky hands
  • Insomnia and fatigue
  • Tachycardia (fast heartbeat)
  • Digestive problems

If you drink a lot of soda and energy drinks you may also develop a caffeine addiction due to its Addictive Property. Moreover, when you attempt to wean yourself off it, the mental and physical side effects can be dire. the chances of kidney stones can also be raised.

The main thing to know is that there is no nutritional benefit to drinking soda no matter what age you are. However, studies show that caffeine decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

It’s best to only have it occasionally, otherwise, you are at risk of some serious diseases like heart disease. 

The Biggest Dangers of Drinking Too Much Soda

The Biggest Dangers of Drinking Too Much Soda

As nice as it tastes in the moment, too many soda and fruit drinks or sweet drinks can pose serious risks to the physical and mental health of children and adults alike.

Obesity

Society’s high sugar consumption or intake of sugar per day in carbonated drinks has led us to an obesity epidemic and Upset Stomach.

It’s thought that the average American adult gets at least 10% of their daily caloric intake from soda alone!

Obesity often then leads to other complications such as:

  • Type 2 diabetes
  • High blood pressure/cholesterol
  • Coronary heart disease
  • Heart attack/stroke

An American Academy of Pediatrics told that With a large amount of sugar in soda, it’s unsurprising that drinking Carbonated Beverage or Sugary Beverage can be a contributing factor to becoming obese.

Cancer

The chemical Benzene is derived from benzoic acid, the levels of which usually go unregulated in soda or in energy drinks.

Benzene is known to increase your risk of cancer, especially leukemia and other cancers that attack the blood cells and may cause mental health issues.

Additionally, some of the artificial sweeteners used in sugar-free soda or v are thought to increase your risk of colorectal cancer.

Kidney Stones

If you drink a lot of soda, or soft drinks, the sugar, dehydration, and intake of carbohydrates can lead to developing kidney stones or urinary stones.

Passing these kidney stones and urinary stones can be excruciatingly painful and, if they’re too big to pass naturally through the urethra, you may need surgery to remove these urinary stones.

how old do you have to be to drink pepsi

Infertility

Many light-colored sodas and fruit drinks contain a chemical called BVO (brominated vegetable oil) which has been banned in Japan and Europe.  Always check the ingredients

An American Academy of Pediatrics Research suggests that BVO can impact your ability to conceive naturally.

Insomnia

If you struggle with falling/staying asleep at night, consider cutting down on soda or v  in the evening.

Caffeine can take many hours to leave the system which can disturb the natural sleep rhythm.

Long-term sleep deprivation carries its own separate health risks.

Premature Ageing

Bad news: drinking soda or sweet drinks and intake of carbohydrates can cause you to age faster! It shortens the telomeres (buffers at the end of our chromosomes) earlier than it would happen naturally, causing our cells to age at an accelerated rate.

Externally, excessive soda or fruit drinks consumption can lead to dry skin, as well as more fine lines and wrinkles.

With all of the risks that come from drinking too much soda, we must ask ourselves at what age children can safely have it.

What Age Should a Child Drink Soda?

Can Three-Year-Olds Drink Soda

People ask, when can kids have soda?
Many parents are hesitant to introduce their toddlers to soda, and rightfully so; the truth is that soda or sweet drinks should not be given to toddlers.

Their fragile bodies are growing and developing, which means that the health risks of giving kids soda
and intake of carbohydrates can be even worse than in adults.

Here are just a few reasons not to give soda to a three-year-old.

Tooth Decay

Toddlers are extremely susceptible to tooth decay if they drink soda or fizzy drinks since the enamel on their teeth has not yet been fully developed.

Additionally, a lot of children don’t brush their teeth correctly which gives the sugar and acids ample opportunity to erode them.

Poor Nutrition

If a toddler drinks a lot of soda and does intake of carbohydrates they are consuming empty calories.

The caffeine and carbonation work as an appetite suppressant, so your little one might not want to finish their meals.

If a child favors soda and other fizzy drinks over real food, they can become deficient in vital vitamins and minerals.

Drinking soda at such a young age can be the start of lifelong unhealthy eating habits.

Emotional Problems

Soda is known to impact the behavior of young children, and it can make them prone to aggressive outbursts.

In addition, children who drink lots of soda and intake of carbohydrates tend to have issues with concentration and paying attention in class.

Precocious Puberty

This is another side effect of the BVO chemical; it has been linked with early-onset puberty.

Not only is this emotionally difficult for young children, but it can cause physical problems like long-term stunted growth.

So, the question remains: At what age can children start to have soda?

This poll says that most mothers consider eight years old to be an acceptable soda age to introduce soda to their children.

No matter the age, though, children should not have soda in excessive amounts.

You should try to keep your child away from soda and other fizzy drinks for as long as possible, offering healthy alternatives like fruit juice, milk, and water.

If they do have soda it should be very occasional and consumed in moderation.