Dr Jeremy London outlined the four things he ‘absolutely avoids as a heart surgeon’
A cardiac surgeon is urging people to stay away from a particular beverage, calling it ‘liquid death’.
Surprisingly, the drink in question contains no alcohol.
Dr Jeremy London, a board-certified general, vascular and thoracic surgeon, regularly shares practical tips for better health on social media. In one of his posts, he listed “four things I absolutely avoid as a heart surgeon.”
The first three points are unlikely to surprise many people.
“Number one, smoking: no question the single worst thing you can do for your entire body,” Dr London began. “Destroys your lungs, causes lung cancer, high cardiovascular risks, heart attacks and strokes, don’t smoke.”
Next, he addressed alcohol, saying: “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.”
Third, Dr London advised against consuming breads and pastas made with refined flours.
“Avoid the refined flours and wheats,” he explained. “Eighty percent of weight control is diet, 20 percent is exercise. I guarantee you can out-eat any exercise that you do.”
It was the fourth item that stood out most. Dr London singled out what he calls ‘liquid death’.
You might assume he was referring to strong liquor or shots, but according to the heart surgeon, the real culprit is something else entirely.
It’s soft drinks — or fizzy drinks.
“Just don’t drink them. Period. Done,” he said.
After sharing his warning on Instagram, Dr London spoke with TODAY and explained why he chose such a dramatic nickname for sugary, carbonated beverages.
“I think that soft drinks are just a scourge in our society, and so I was really trying to get some attention,” he explained. “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.”
Dr London is not the only medical expert warning about soft drinks. During a recent appearance on the Zoe podcast, Dr William Li said:
“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.”
He continued: “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.”
What should you drink instead of fizzy drinks?
The Heart Foundation recommends drinking water when you feel thirsty.
Other healthier alternatives include:
- Sparkling water (try adding chopped fruit or herbs; for example, fresh mint)
- Unflavoured milk
- Plant-based milks with added calcium, like soy, almond, oat, rice milk
- Tea
- Coffee
- Small glass (125ml) of 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice
