The heart surgeon labelled one of the world’s most widely consumed drinks “liquid death” (Image: Getty)
A heart surgeon has issued a stark warning about one of the planet’s most popular beverages, branding it “liquid death” and saying people should avoid it entirely — “period”. Dr Jeremy London, who is board-certified in general surgery, vascular surgery and thoracic surgery, frequently shares health advice through social media and media appearances.
His concerns echo those of many health experts who have warned about the potential damage fizzy drinks can cause to the body. In a post on Instagram, Dr London listed “four things I absolutely avoid as a heart surgeon”, naming smoking, alcohol, breads and pastas, and soft drinks.
Addressing smoking first, he said: “Number one, smoking: no question the single worst thing you can do for your entire body. Destroys your lungs, causes lung cancer, high cardiovascular risks, heart attacks and strokes, don’t smoke.”
Alcohol was the second item on his list. He said: “Hate to break it to you [but it’s] toxic.
“Toxic to every cell in your body. Your body, your rules, you decide for yourself. For me personally, removing alcohol from my life has probably been one of the most transformative decisions I’ve made as an adult.”
Soft drinks came next, with Dr London offering an uncompromising assessment. He said: “Liquid death. Just don’t drink them. Period. Done.”
Concluding his guidance, he added: “Avoid breads and pastas. Avoid the refined flours and wheats. Eighty percent of weight control is diet, 20% is exercise. I guarantee you can out-eat any exercise that you do.”
Dr London (right) listed four things he would “absolutely avoid as a heart surgeon” (Image: Getty)
In a subsequent interview with Today, Dr London stood by his stance on soft drinks (also commonly known as fizzy drinks), though he conceded that labelling them as “liquid death” was designed to capture attention: “I think that soft drinks are just a scourge in our society, and so I was really trying to get some attention.
“Obviously, high-calorie soft drinks and ingesting a lot of calories that people don’t realise they’re getting with the sugar-based soft drinks is a big no-no.”
Yet, he is far from the only distinguished medical expert who considers fizzy drinks to pose a greater health threat than most individuals appreciate.
Dr William Li recently told the Zoe podcast: “Soda is everyone’s favourite whipping boy. Rightfully so. The preponderance of clinical evidence, public health evidence, shows that high consumption of soda is associated with everything from metabolic disease to cardiovascular disease to cancer risk.
There’s one particular drink shoppers should avoid buying (Image: Luis Alvarez via Getty Images)
“But is it the sugar? Is glucose that demonic element that we need to crucify? Answer’s no. Soda is not just water, otherwise that’d be just carbonated water.
“But soda itself has all these additives, colours, flavourings, preservatives, stabilisers… that is accumulated exposure to toxins. It’s not one exposure, it’s the chronic exposure over time.”
The NHS advises that children should steer clear of sugary fizzy drinks, squash and juice drinks altogether, as they can damage their teeth. Furthermore, youngsters who consume large quantities of sugary beverages are at a greater risk of becoming overweight.
As an alternative, they recommend switching sugary drinks for diet, sugar-free or no-added-sugar varieties. Better still, stick to water to stay hydrated.
