If you have listened to my show at all you probably know that I am a huge fan of Mountain Dew. I just can't seem to get enough and I honestly believe that without it I would have a very hard time going on air. I consider my Dew to be like coffee to a lot of other people.

The problem is that it is really bad for the body. People tell me all the time how it is literally killing me but it still doesn't change my mind.

It's in my genes. As long as I can remember I have had a soda in my hand.

Apparently two cans a day can lead to not only cause weight gain but also cause your body to prematurely age by four years, reports NewsMaxHealth.com of research from the University of California at San Francisco. This is bad because I drink a lot more than just two cans a day.

So how does soda make you grow older before your time?

According to their research, sugary beverages shorten telomeres which are the caps on chromosomes that keep them from unraveling and in the process protect DNA from being damaged.

As we age, telomeres naturally shorten so that their length corresponds with our biological aging. The shorter the telomere, the more at risk you are for diseases of aging, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

The study found that sugar-sweetened soft drinks were the only beverage that had such an effect on telomeres which is so incredibly sad to me.

I am not sure if I will ever stop drinking it but at least I know the effects it can do.

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