12 more reasons to drink water...

A Dozen Ways Soda Damages Your Health**

1) Weight gain. Soda is a significant contributor to obesity. Drinking a single can a day translates to more than a pound of weight gain every month. And diet soda is just as likely to cause weight gain as regular, if not more. It may sound counterintuitive, but drinking diet soft drinks actually will NOT help you lose weight. Artificial sweeteners induce a whole set of physiologic and hormonal responses that actually make you gain extra pounds. (Not to mention the fact that artificial sweeteners are more dangerous for your health than high fructose corn syrup in many other ways.)

2) Liver damage. Consumption of too many soft drinks puts you under increased risk for liver cirrhosis similar to the increased risk faced by chronic alcoholics.

3) Tooth decay. Soda dissolves tooth enamel and is thought to be responsible for doubling or tripling the incidence of tooth decay. Soda's acidity is even worse for teeth than the solid sugar found in candy.

4) Kidney stones and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Colas of all kinds are well known for their high phosphoric acid content, a substance that changes urine in a way that promotes kidney stone formation. Drinking one quart (less than three 12-ounce cans) of soda per week may increase your risk of developing kidney stones by 15 percent. Soda consumption may also be associated with kidney damage, according to a recent study in published in the journal PloS One.

5) Diabetes. Drinking soda stresses your body's ability to process sugar and increases your risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Some scientists now suspect this may explain why the number of Americans with type 2 diabetes has increased by 90 percent in the last 10 years.

6) Heartburn (acid reflux). Heavy consumption of soda is a strong predictor of heartburn.

7) Osteoporosis. Soft drinks containing phosphoric acid are definitely linked to osteoporosis (a weakening of your skeletal structure) because they lead to lower calcium levels and higher phosphate levels in your blood. When phosphate levels are high and calcium levels are low, calcium is pulled out of your bones.

8) Hypertension (high blood pressure). Experts have reasons to believe that overconsumption of soda leads to an increase in blood pressure. It doesn't matter if the soda is regular or diet.

9) Heart disease. Heavy soda drinkers are more likely to develop risk factors for heart disease. Research shows that drinking more than one soft drink a day is associated with an increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome -- a group of symptoms such as central obesity, elevated blood pressure, elevated fasting blood sugar, elevated fasting triglycerides, and low levels of HDL or "good" cholesterol. Having three or more of the symptoms increases your risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

10) Impaired digestion (gastrointestinal distress). Drinking soda, especially on an empty stomach, can upset the fragile acid-alkaline balance of your stomach and other gastric lining, creating a continuously acidic environment. This prolonged acid environment can lead to inflammation of your stomach and duodenal lining.

11) Mental health problems. One Norwegian study found a clear association between soft drinks and hyperactivity, and additional links to other mental disorders.

12) Gout. Another recent study found that men who drink two or more sugary soft drinks a day have an 85 percent higher risk of gout than those who drink less than one a month. Gout causes painful, swollen joints, usually in your lower limbs, caused when uric acid crystallizes out of your blood into your joints. Fructose is known to inhibit the excretion of uric acid, which may help to explain the study’s findings.

**Copied from mercola.com. I highly recommend this website. Dr. Mercola is a MD but also practices natural medicine. GREAT website!!! Check it out and subscribe today!!