(Newswire.net — October 20, 2014) — The regular consumption of effervescent drinks accelerates cellular aging of tissues, according to a new study by American scientists. Scientists from the University of California in San Francisco, studied a group of over 5000 healthy adults, the ages of 20-65 years old. The focus group had no history of diabetes or cardiovascular diseases.
The study results showed that the biological age of those who have been drinking carbonated drinks daily had increased, thus potentially shortening their life cycle.
Researchers based their study on the examination of telomeres. A telomere is a region of nucleotide sequences, which protects the end of the chromosome from deterioration or from fusion with neighboring chromosomes. Over time, due to each cell division, the telomere ends become shorter, which is linked with the human life cycle.
Scientists found that constant or habitual consumption of soda or other carbonated drinks makes telomeres physically shorter, which decreases the consumers life cycle. In addition, the sugar sweetened sodas are linked to the development of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and some forms of cancer.
However, the sugar sweetened sodas are the main factor that causes the cell changes. Scientists found that telomeres were not affected by diet soda, and that fruit juices actually lengthened telomeres.
The over-consumption of soft drinks has long been linked to a variety of health problems and most commonly to obesity, which is recognized by WHO, as an epidemic disease.
Many countries health organizations are striving to regulate the use of soft drinks but have to fight the multibillion dollar corporations that produce them.
Russia’s Public Chamber came up with an initiative to ban selling sodas to children under 14 years of age. However, the proposition is still under government review, which could take months.
Energy drinks are also in the spotlight. Earlier this year, Lithuania voted to make the sale of energy drinks to people under the age of 18 illegal. Parliament in Lithuania voted to ban highly caffeinated beverages to minors, becoming the first EU country to enact a prohibition.