What is your favorite soda? Coke? Do you know what's in soda? Reducing your soda consumption can be the start of a healthy lifestyle. Studies show that soda, although it tastes good, has many negative effects that outweigh the positive ones. Sodas, especially diet sodas, are harmful to your body's health. My cousin's teacher did an experiment with coke. She put a tooth in coke and left it for at least a week. The next time they checked, the tooth had disintegrated. The coke had eaten away the tooth. If this can happen to a tooth, imagine what it does to your body. How healthy are these drinks, which provide lots of sugars, calories and caffeine, but no significant nutritional value? And what happens if you drink a lot of it from a young age? Soda is a sweet, carbonated, sour, and often caffeinated drink. Forty-five gallons of soda are consumed per person per year by the average American. Even adults are just as vulnerable to tooth decay if they drink excessive amounts of soda, even if they have good enamel and well-calcified teeth. In the United States, soda makers are the largest users of sugar. Each box contains at least ten 12-ounce teaspoons, providing you with the maximum recommended sugar intake per day. Sugar creates insulin which tells the body to store all carbohydrates as fat. The sugar in soda can cause increased cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, weight gain and premature aging. (Mercola)Sugar isn't the only thing in soda that's bad for teeth, but the acids in many soft drinks eat away at enamel and make teeth more vulnerable. The pH, a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, of regular and diet sodas ranges from 2.47 to 3.35, the lower the pH, the more acidic it is. The pH of our mouth is normally between 6.2 and 7, slightly more acidic than water. A pH of 5.2 to 5.5 or lower can dissolve the hard enamel on our teeth. Phosphoric acid is present in all sodas and interferes with the use of calcium, which can lead to osteoporosis. Phosphoric acid also neutralizes hydrochloric acid and therefore digestion cannot take place properly. Aspartame is another ingredient in soda, especially Diet Soda. Aspartame is carcinogenic and becomes wood alcohol also called methanol. In large quantities, aspartame can cause a person who constantly drinks diet soda to feel depressed, tired, dehydrated and/or hungry...