Originally posted by Beer_Guy
I heard (but don't know for sure) that it's the phosphoric acid in the dark drinks.

Fifty years ago the average serving size for a soft drink was a six-ounce bottle. Today, soft drinks are sold in twenty ounce bottles and are consumed in much larger amounts courtesy of the large size of soda fountain drinks available at most stores and restaurants.

Also, the phosphorous that is found in the fizz and bubbles emitted from soft drinks fights with hydrochloric acid in the stomach and causes the stomach to be ineffective. When the stomach can’t digest food, the person will have indigestion, gassiness, or bloating. The carbon dioxide that is emitted in the fizz is consumed when a person drinks a soft drink. Carbon dioxide is a waste product that humans excrete and can be harmful when digested.

. The large amounts of sugar, bubbles caused by carbon dioxide, and phosphoric acid that are found in soft drinks remove nutritious minerals from bones allowing the bones to become weak and increasing the risk for them to break. This is done by the phosphoric acid disrupting the calcium-phosphorous ratio, which dissolves calcium from the bones.

Most carbonated beverages contain caffeine, which is considered to be a mild drug and can have harmful effects, especially on children. Soft drinks are the most consumed caffeine-containing beverage in America. Caffeine is a drug that acts as a stimulant to the central nervous system. Large amounts of caffeine consumption can cause diseases and disorders such as insomnia, nervousness, anxiety, irritability, and deviations from the normal heart rate. Caffeine is an addictive subastance, which causes consumers to need more caffeine. A major concern about caffeine is that it increases the excretion of calcium in urine, which increases the risk for osteoporosis in heavy caffeine consumers. Some preliminary studies show that caffeine increases the risk of birth defects.

Many soft drinks contain caramel coloring to allow them to have their dark appearance. The chemical polyethylene glycol is used to achieve this dark color. Glycol is used in antifreeze. Scientists are concerned that this caramel coloring may be a carcinogen.

Dental cavities are often associated with carbonated beverage. This association is important because the amount of sugars that are consumed is important in forming caries, which is when a cavity effects only the enamel, the outer protective layer of a tooth. Caries are caused by the bacteria mutans streptocci, which is a part of dental plaque. The bacteria attach to teeth and produce high amounts of acid from sugars and other types of acid.