soft drink

A soft drink is a drink that usually contains Carbonated

water, carbohydrate, a Sweetener, synthetic food colors,
and a natural or artificial flavoring.
The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup,
fruit juice, a sugar substitute.
Soft drinks may also contain caffeine, colorings,
preservatives, and other ingredients.

Soft drinks are called "soft" in contrast with

"hard" alcoholic drinks. Small amounts of
alcohol may be present in a soft drink, but the
alcohol content must be less than 0.5% of the
total volume of the drink in many countries
and localities if the drink is to be considered
non-alcoholic.
 Carbon-dioxide is responsible for the formation of
froth on shaking the bottle. When dissolved in water
to form carbonic acid this is also responsible for the
tangy taste.
The tangy taste is the thing that gets people addicted to
drinking soft drink.
 Carbohydrates are the naturally occurring organic

Terminology
 The term "soft drink" is commonly used in
product labeling and on restaurant menus, in
many countries these drinks are more commonly
referred to by regional names, including
carbonated drink, cool drink, cold drink, fizzy
drink, fizzy juice, lolly water, pop, seltzer, soda,
coke, soda pop, tonic, and mineral. Due to the
high sugar content in typical soft drinks, they
may also be called sugary drinks.

History
The origins of soft drinks lay in the development of fruit
flavored drinks. In the medieval Middle East, a variety
of fruit-flavored soft drinks were widely drunk, such as
sharbat, and were often sweetened with ingredients
such as sugar, syrup and honey. Other common
ingredients included lemon, apple, pomegranate,
tamarind, jujube, sumac, musk, mint and ice. Middle
Eastern drinks later became popular in medieval
Europe, where the word "syrup" was derived from
Arabic.

Carbonated drinks
In the late 18th century, scientists made
important progress in replicating naturally
carbonated mineral waters. In 1767,
Englishman Joseph Priestley was first to
discover a method of infusing water with
carbon dioxide to make carbonated water
(also known as soda water) is the major
and defining component of most soft
drinks.

Flavoring
It was not long before flavoring was
combined with carbonated water. The
drinking of either natural or artificial
mineral water was considered at the time
to be a healthy practice, and was
promoted by advocates of temperance.
Pharmacists selling mineral waters began
to add herbs and chemicals to unflavored
mineral water. They used birch bark (see
birch beer), dandelion, sarsaparilla, fruit
extracts, and other substances. Flavorings
were also added to improve the taste.
Health concerns
The over-consumption of sugar
sweetened soft drinks is associated with
obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes,
dental caries, and low nutrient levels.
Experimental studies tend to support a
causal role for sugar sweetened soft
drinks in these ailments, though this is
challenged by other researchers.
"Sugarsweetened" includes drinks that
use high fructose corn syrup, as well as
those using sucrose.
Many soft drinks contain ingredients that
are themselves sources of concern:
 Caffeine is linked to anxiety and sleep
disruption when consumed in excess.
 Sodium benzoate has been
investigated by researchers at
University of Sheffield as a possible
cause of DNA damage and
hyperactivity.
  Other substances have negative health
effects, but are present in such small
quantities that they are unlikely to
pose any substantial health risk
provided that the drinks are consumed
only in moderation.

In 1998, the Center for Science in the

Public Interest published a report titled
Liquid Candy: How Soft Drinks are Harming
Americans' Health. The report examined
statistics relating to the increase in soft drink
consumption and claimed that consumption
is "likely contributing to health problems". It
also criticized marketing efforts by soft drink
companies. In 2005, the CSPI called for
warning labels on soft drinks, similar to
those on cigarettes and alcohol.

Pesticides in India
In 2003, the Delhi non-profit Centre for Science and
Environment published a disputed report finding
pesticide levels in Coke and Pepsi soft drinks sold in
India at levels 30 times that considered safe by the
European Economic (EU) Community. This was found in
primarily 12 cold drink brands sold in and around New
Delhi. The Indian Health Minister said the CSE tests were
inaccurate, and said that the government's tests found
pesticide levels within India's standards but above EU
standards.
A similar CSE report in August 2006 prompted many
state governments to have issued a ban of the sale of
soft drinks in schools. Kerala issued a complete ban on
the sale or manufacture of soft drinks altogether.
(These were later struck down in court.) In return, the
soft drink companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi have
issued ads in the media regarding the safety of
consumption of the drinks.