What happens to your skin when you stop drinking soda

Q: What happens if you quit drinking soda cold turkey?

If you go cold turkey, its very likely that you will experience withdrawal symptoms like headaches, fatigue, and nausea. Start by replacing one of your daily sodas with water or unsweetened tea, and then gradually reduce the number until youre drinking none at all.

Soda enjoys a special spot in the American diet. It finds its way into mixed drinks, floats, and it pairs great with a hot slice of pizza. Depending on where you are, finding a bottle of soda may even be easier than finding a bottle of water.

According to the CDC, 30 percent of people in the US consume one sugary drink like soda or lemonade every day. Another study from 2013 showed that 43 percent of young adults drink at least one beverage with added sugar every day.

“Despite being so readily available, soda is far from healthy,” said Geisinger dietitian Gina McArdle RDN, LDN. “In fact, soda and other sugary soft drinks may be one of the leading causes of obesity. While having an occasional soda isn’t going to have lasting long-term effects, having one or more sugary drinks every day will.”

Here’s how your body changes when you stop drinking soda.

You’ll be more hydrated
If you’re drinking soda to quench your thirst, you may be doing more harm than good.

“Soda contains caffeine, which is a diuretic,” said McArdle. “As a result, drinking soda will actually dehydrate you. This can strain your body to find sources of water—which puts a good deal of stress on your kidneys. If you need something to quench your thirst and rehydrate, water is always the best choice. If you prefer something with more flavor, try adding fresh fruit to your water.”

Your teeth will thank you
The sugar and acid content in soda can eat away at tooth enamel. The average soda has a PH of 2.5—making it about as acidic as lemon juice.

“Enamel is the first line of defense for your teeth—and once the enamel wears off, your teeth become susceptible to decay and eventually tooth death,” said McArdle. “You can’t get enamel back once it’s lost, either, so you need to preserve the enamel you have.”

Cutting out soda can help to spare your enamel and teeth from decay. Talk to your dentist if you notice high levels of sensitivity in your teeth.

You’ll cut your sugar and calorie intake
Sugar and calories tend to be like smoke and fire—if there’s a lot of one, there’s probably a lot of the other.

A 12-ounce can of soda has about 140 calories and 39 grams of sugar (3 grams more than the American Heart Association’s recommended daily intake of 36 grams for an adult male).

Excessive sugar and calorie intake leads to weight gain and other metabolic issues like high blood pressure. These metabolic changes in turn can make it harder to burn fat and lose weight.

By cutting soda out of your diet, you lower your risk for weight gain, and may possibly lose weight as well.

You’ll lower your diabetes risk
One of the largest risk factors for diabetes is your intake of added sugars.

“Soda often contains sugar in the form of fructose and sucrose, which are two common forms of sugar,” said McArdle. “Still, all forms of added sugar are linked to diabetes when consumed in high quantities. High quantities of sugar cause stress on the pancreas, which leads to insulin resistance, and in turn, diabetes.”

Drinking one to two sugary drinks every day increases your risk of type 2 diabetes by about 25 percent—so cutting out soda is a good way to lower your risk of diabetes.

Your risk for heart disease drops
Soda also puts you at risk for heart disease. One study concluded that soda drinkers may have up to a 20 percent higher risk of coronary heart disease.

Diet soda drinkers aren’t safe either—one study showed that of 2500 people who drank one or more diet sodas every day, 61 percent had a higher incidence of heart disease and stroke.

Especially if you’re already at risk for heart disease, cutting soda out of your diet is a good way to stay healthy.

So many moments in life seem to call for soda. It pairs well with movie theater popcorn, is the drink of choice on long road trips, and all but materializes along with a plate of fries in restaurants. It's also a lunch staple, for many folks, and a go-to beverage at dinner. And all of that can make it tricky to cut out soda from your everyday diet.

Lots of changes occur in the body once you make the switch to something less sugary — like water or tea — and it can be uncomfortable at first. "When your brain doesn't get the sweet taste in foods or drinks, it will initially miss this," Dr. Mike Dow, a psychotherapist, nutrition expert, and author of Sugar Brain Fix, tells Bustle. "Additionally, your brain was also getting both serotonin and dopamine from the sugar and caffeine, respectively. So, you'll be irritable and get headaches and really be craving that soda."

But this can also have a lot do to with the associations you've created with soda. You may crave the carbonation, Lisa Richards, a certified nutritionist, tells Bustle, "especially at meal times, because of the psychological connection between the two." Drinking flat water might not feel right, if you're used to a bubbly beverage.

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The good news is these cravings will pass. Once soda has a constant presence, the tastebuds recalibrate to prefer super sweet foods, Dow says. But research shows you can change them back, and that it'll take about a month. You will adjust, your brain will stop screaming out for sugar, and you'll eventually be perfectly OK with a glass of water.

And once you do stop drinking soda, other positive changes will start to happen. "You'll feel more calm," Dow says. "Even one soda at 3 p.m. can negatively affect your sleep. But it's not just sleep... it's anxiety and a sense of peace. It's stepping off the roller coaster of highs and lows."

Soda messes with your blood sugar, leaving you feeling spiked one moment and crashed the next. "Simple sugars (like those in soda) are absorbed into the bloodstream very quickly, which can give you a rush of energy," Erica Ingraham, MS, RDN, a registered dietician nutritionist, tells Bustle. "In large doses it may feel similar to anxiety or panic. That's because in fight-or-flight mode, blood sugar levels increase naturally to provide muscles and the heart with extra energy in case you need to make a run for it. If you have a lot of sugar in the bloodstream, it can mimic this stress response, which can lead to elevated blood pressure and heart rate and trigger anxiety."

Once sugary beverages are off the table, you might notice your digestive system starts working better, too. "You'll poop better [...] and won't feel so bloated," Dow says. "Peristalsis (the wavelike contractions that move food through you) and the whole digestive process do better with water and whole foods with fiber."

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Even with all these positives, though, it can still be difficult to cut back on soda. So go ahead and try a few things to make the transition easier. "The first thing you want to do is to get in front of the hydration," Dow says. "Carry a big jug or water (lemon, mint, berries are optional). Don't let yourself get thirsty. When you get thirsty, you'll feel really tempted to reach for soda."

And if you're looking for a way to get through the day, and have noticed that soda has become a main source of energy, find a different way to get caffeine. "Unsweetened iced tea with lemon, coffee with organic cream, matcha green tea," Dow says. "This will prevent the headaches and withdrawal from the caffeine."

From there, think about what else your diet may be missing, and how it might be contributing to your need for soda. "You may be craving the soda because your body is not getting the calories it needs through food," Ingraham says. "Soda offers your brain and body a quick form of energy that is easy to break down and use immediately. If you have a tight deadline and need to focus intensely, you may crave soda to power you through. But if you are eating consistent meals and snacks, your cravings will likely decrease."

Stockpiling other fizzy drinks won't hurt, either. "If you find yourself craving the carbonation of a soda, choose a [...] sparkling beverage like sparkling water or flavored sparkling water," Amanda A. Kostro Miller, RD, LDN, a registered dietician who serves on the advisory board for Smart Healthy Living, tells Bustle. If it's more the bubbles you miss than the sugar or caffeine, this'll help you adjust.

Fizzy drinks can be a good choice, too, if you're someone who "hates" the taste of water, Kostro says. Sugar-free sparkling water with a splash of fruit juice can be a great replacement, she says, as you ride out the cravings. Keep these options on hand and sip away whenever you want to reach for a soda, and it'll be much easier to stick to your plan — and hopefully notice a few positive changes in how you feel.

Study Referenced:

Wise, P. M., Nattress, L., Flammer, L. J., Beauchamp, G.K. (2015). Reduced dietary intake of simple sugars alters perceived sweet taste intensity but not perceived pleasantness. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 103(1) 50-60. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.115.112300

Experts:

Dr. Mike Dow, psychotherapist, nutrition expert, and author of Sugar Brain Fix

Lisa Richards, certified nutritionist

Erica Ingraham, MS, RDN, registered dietician nutritionist

Amanda A. Kostro Miller, RD, LDN, registered dietician who serves on the advisory board for Smart Healthy Living

What happens to your body when you cut off soda?

"When you give up soda, your body will become more hydrated and you'll have less inflammation. By substituting out water and other healthy drinks instead of soda, you increase your metabolism, improve your cardiac health, and you may even lose some weight!"

What happens if you quit drinking soda cold turkey?

If you go cold turkey, it's very likely that you will experience withdrawal symptoms like headaches, fatigue, and nausea. Start by replacing one of your daily sodas with water or unsweetened tea, and then gradually reduce the number until you're drinking none at all.