Consider the hard facts about soft drinks: soda consumption could lead to various health problems, and scientists are adding to the list seemingly every day.

Here are 10 reasons to put down the cola and quit adding to the 13 billion gallons of soda consumed in the United States annually:

•  Dehydration. Because caffeine is a diuretic, it leads to an increase in urine volume. So, when you drink a caffeinated soda to quench your thirst, you will actually become thirstier.

•  High calories. A can of regular cola contains over 150 calories. Not only are these calories devoid of any nutritional value, but they also deplete your body of vital nutrients

•  Caffeine addiction. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say when people don't get their usual dose of caffeine, they can suffer a range of withdrawal symptoms including headache, fatigue, muscle pain and inability to concentrate.

•  Acid. The amount of acid in soda is enough to wear away at the enamel of your teeth, making them more susceptible to decay. In tests done on the acidity levels of soda, certain ones were found to have PH levels as low as 2.5. To put that into perspective, consider that battery acid has a pH of 1 and pure water has a pH of 7.

•  Money. A person who drinks just 2 cans of soda a day will pay $206 over the course of a year to keep the habit going. If there is more than one soda drinker in the household, that yearly total could quickly double or even triple.

•  Weight gain. Researchers at the University of Texas say artificial sweeteners can interfere with the body's natural ability to regulate calorie intake. This could mean that people who consume artificially sweetened items are more likely to overindulge.

•  Artificial sweeteners. Many people opt for diet sodas to cut out the calories, but some research shows the sweeteners may cause additional harm, such as cancer, while others dispute any risk. The jury is still out.

•  Mineral depletion. Colas contain phosphoric acid and caffeine, which drain calcium from the bones. Also, because caffeine increases urine volume, more minerals end up leaving the body before having a chance to be properly absorbed.

•  Diabetes. Some scientists believe that the unceasing demands a soda habit places on the pancreas may ultimately leave it unable to keep up with the body's need for insulin – which could eventually lead to diabetes.  While no studies have definitively proven this, the daily consumption of soda does contribute to other problems, such as obesity – a leading cause of diabetes.

•  A replacement for healthier drinks. In the 1950's, children drank three cups of milk for every cup of a sweet drink. Today that statistic has flipped. Less amounts of milk in the average diet could account for lower bone density and higher occurrences of osteoporosis - "brittle bones" - later in life.

Diet soda and heart disease?

Now, scientists at Boston University’s medical school say people who drink more than one regular or even diet soda each day develop the same risks for heart disease. Dr. Ramachandran Vasan, the lead researcher, says he found that among 9,000 middle-aged people, those who drank more than one soda per day had a 48 percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome.

"Metabolic syndrome" is the term that refers to a group of symptoms that increase the risk for heart disease, such as a large waistline, and high blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides. The presence of three or more of the factors increases your risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease, health experts say.

And those people in Vasan's study who showed no signs of metabolic syndrome and quaffed more than one soda a day were 44 percent more likely to develop the cluster of conditions four years later, according to an article in the latest Circulation, a journal published by the American Heart Association.

What’s more, people who drank more than one soft drink a day were between 25 and 31 percent more likely to become extremely overweight, have larger waists, and develop higher levels of triglycerides and lower levels of “good” cholesterol than folks who drank only one daily soda, according to the findings. 

'Contradictory evidence'

However, Vasan says his study doesn’t prove diet sodas drive up the risk of heart disease, but the link is worth exploring. Other nutritionists, however, aren’t so sure.

Barry Popkin, a nutrition expert at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill who helped developed last year beverage consumption guidelines, says many people who drink diet sodas also have bad habits that lead to higher heart disease risks. They turn to diet sodas because they realize they need to lose weight, he adds.

"There's too much contradictory evidence that shows that diet beverages are healthier for you in terms of losing weight," Popkin says.