(Natural News) Just like cigarettes, carbonated drinks are dangerous to your health, the environment, and your wallet. If you got used to drinking sodas with your meal, you better watch out – you’ll be more likely to develop obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

Jillian Michaels, a celebrity fitness trainer, spoke against the dangers of drinking soda. She says that drinking sodas is much worse than smoking cigarettes, and we all know that cigarette smoking is extremely unhealthy. She goes on to say that switching to sparkling water replaced her habit of drinking sodas, which is definitely healthier than those carbonated sugar mixtures.

Sodas may just be drinks, but they can be a form of addiction too. The caffeine or sugar content is highly addictive, and more so when combined. A single can of soda may have up to 40 grams of added sugar (not natural), higher than the American Heart Association‘s (AHA) recommended sugar intake of 35 grams per day. Most Americans have to admit, they don’t have just one can per day. One way to get rid of a bad habit is to replace it with a good one, such as what Michaels did with her soda habit.

Forty-eight percent of the total population of Americans drink sodas on a daily basis, at a rate of 2.6 glasses per day. Fastfood diets combined with unhealthy soft drinks make for an unhealthy population. Statistics also show that 35 to 40 percent of male and female Americans are obese, and one in five American deaths are associated with obesity. If these numbers do not affect your views on soda drinking, then you might have a problem in your hands.

Aside from sugar and caffeine, sodas also have various chemicals in its concoctions. Since soda companies don’t really reveal their recipes, you’ll never know what they actually put in them. Some of these ingredients are phosphoric acid, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, Bisphenol-A (BPA), sodium benzoate, caramel color and artificial dyes, and caffeine. If you don’t know what most of them are, you’re better off avoiding those drinks than gaining pounds and risking your health drinking them.

It may be difficult at first, but replacing soda with water isn’t that difficult. Michaels offered some advice, saying that you can add some natural juices to your water if you find it too bland. Adding some cucumber slices, oranges, or lemon to your water helps with consuming a full glass. You can even variate your glass with other fruits. If you have the time, prepare your own natural fruit and vegetable drinks. While they may add calories to your diet, they are natural, and the sugars in those fruits are healthy. Another replacement for soda would be tea. Green tea is not only delicious, but is also an antioxidant.

The Institute of Medicine in Nepal recommends a total of 2.7 liters of water per day for women, and 3.7 liters of water per day for men. That’s 21.6 glasses of water for women and 29.6 glasses of water for men. If you’re not having enough, you should rethink your priorities. Besides, drinking water has a lot of health benefits:

It increases your energy level and relieves fatigue.

Drinking water promotes weight loss by reducing your food intake.

Water flushes out toxins in your body through excretion

It improves your skin complexion, a natural anti-aging solution.

It maintains proper digestions and prevents constipation.

It boosts your immune system by hydrating your internal organs and providing enough oxygen to your blood cells.

It’s a natural headache, back ache, and migraine reliever.

Proper hydration keeps your joints lubricated and helps keep muscles elastic, preventing painful cramps.

Water puts you in a good mood by making your body function properly.

And simply, it saves you tons of money!

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

HuffingtonPost.com

MindBodyGreen.com