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Ever since welcoming his daughter last year, Post Malone is making his health a priority and it shows. The rapper has lost 55 pounds and he addressed concerned fans in April. "I wanted to say that I'm not doing drugs, I've had a lot of people ask me about my weight loss," he wrote in an Instagram post. Instead, he's making healthier choices and quitting bad habits. "I guess dad life kicked in and I decided to kick soda and start eating better so I can be around for a long time for this little angel," he continued while adding, he's "never felt healthier."
On a recent sit down on the Joe Rogan Experience, Post revealed how cutting way back on soda helped him go from 240 pounds to 185 pounds. "Soda is so bad. It's so good, but so bad," said Post. "[If] I had a great show, and you know what, I'm feeling a little bit naughty. I'm gonna have myself a Coke on ice." Turns out soda is really that bad for you and science supports the fact that soda can lead to obesity and is linked to serious health problems. Eat This, Not That! spoke with health experts, who have never worked with Post, but can explain what to know about drinking too much soda and the major long-term issues it can cause.
Post hasn't given details on how much soda he drank, but he did say he will still have a Coke every now and then but has really cut back. "I take a hard line when it comes to soda—the worst of the worst junk foods out there," Dr. Stacie Stephenson, a leader in functional medicine, certified nutrition specialist and bestselling author of Glow: 90 Days to Create Your Vibrant Life from Within, states. "I wouldn't even call it a food. In my opinion, knowing what it does to the body, any soda is too much soda. If there is one thing I believe is harmful even in moderation, it is soda. There is so much research on the links between sugar-sweetened beverages and serious chronic health problems that really, there is no doubt how harmful it is."
Besides causing weight gain, drinking too much soda often leads to other serious health issues. According to Dr. Stephenson, "There is quite a lot of research linking soda consumption with serious chronic health issues, from high blood pressure and heart disease to rheumatoid arthritis. Perhaps the biggest risks and most clearly proven associations are with metabolic disorders like diabetes and obesity, and liver disease. Most recently, a large 2023 study looked at nearly 100,000 women over an average of more than 20 years and showed that women who drank 1 or more sugar-sweetened beverages daily had a significantly higher incidence of liver cancer and death from liver disease than those who drank 3 or fewer sweetened drinks per month. Older research that surveyed multiple studies concluded that the association between soda consumption and metabolic issues like diabetes and obesity was 'clear and consistent.'"