Soda – a cool, fizzy, sugary beverage, a perfect after dinner drink. But did you know the following facts about soda?

Fact 1: Soda consumption increases your chances of developing osteoporosis! The phosphorus in soda depletes your bones of calcium.

Fact 2: Danish researchers discovered that non-diet soda leads to increases in fat buildup around your liver and skeletal muscles. People who drink a soda every day for a period of six months experienced a 132 to 142 % increase in liver fat, a 117 to 221 % increase in skeletal fat and an approximate 30 % increase in triglyceride blood fats.

Fact 3: An additional soda drink a day increases the likelihood of childhood obesity by 60%.

Fact 4: In men, a soda a day increases the risk of heart disease by 19%.

Fact 5: By consuming one or two sugary soda drinks a day, you increase your chances of developing type 2 diabetes by 25%!

Fact 6: Calories consumed from fruit such as bananas are not the same as calories consumed through soda. Liquid calories contribute more to weight gain than solid calories.

Fact 7: Sugary drinks are the main calorie source in the American diet.

Fact 8: To burn calories acquired through half a liter of coke (20 ounce) it would take an adult over one hour of walking.

Fact 9: Americans consume approximately 38 pounds of sugar through soda drinks each year!

Fact 10: Soda can become an addiction! Just like alcohol and caffeine, consumers can become addicted to soda, which can lead to numerous health problems.

Fact 11: Phosphoric acid in soda causes tooth enamel erosion! This additive, which is responsible for the flavor in soda, leads to bone and tooth decay. Some diet sodas don’t contain this acid, but are rich in citric acid, which can also lead to tooth deterioration.

Fact 12: Soda is fizzy because of carbon dioxide gas, or CO2, which is dissolved into your favorite sugary drink.

Fact 13: In 2006, companies in the U.S. spend $474 million marketing soda drinks directly to adolescents.

Fact 14: Coca-Cola and Pepsi get their familiar color from an artificial caramel coloring which contains two contaminants, 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole, which have been found to cause cancer in animals.

Fact 15: 7 Up originally named “Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda” contained lithium citrate until its reformulation in 1950! Lithium citrate is a mood stabilizing drug used to treat depression and bipolar disorders. Today it is a drug that requires a prescription but years ago it was readily consumed in soda!

Fact 16: Each March and April, Coca-Cola produces yellow capped bottles of Kosher Cola for the Jewish holiday Passover! During Passover, Jews aren’t allowed to consume products containing wheat, corn and other grains, and since soda is packed with corn syrup it is also off the table during the months of this holiday. An Atlanta-based Orthodox rabbi, Tobias Geffen, convinced Coca-Cola in the 1930’s to create a sugar alternative to regular soda and that is how Kosher Cola come to be.

Fact 17: The acid concentration in soda drinks makes them a handy cleaning agent. They can be used to clean your dirty toiled bowl, car battery terminals, to remove dust and remove grease stains from clothes.

Fact 18: In numerous U.S. states, the highway department carries Coke in the truck and uses it to remove blood stains from the highway after a car accident.

Fact 19: Phosphates in cola’s can accelerate aging! A study conducted in 2010 found that excessive phosphate levels found in sodas caused lab rats to die five weeks earlier than rats whose diet did not include soft drinks.

Fact 20: Soda cans are lined with an epoxy resin called bisphenol A (BPA) which is meant to preserve the fizz by preventing the acid in soft drinks from reacting with metal. However, BPA has been linked to interference in hormones, infertility, obesity and diabetes, as well as reproductive cancers.