Heart doctor reveals one drink is 'liquid death' and it's not alcohol

A cardiac surgeon has attempted to steer people away from a particular beverage, branding it 'liquid death'.

Oddly, however, the popular drink in question contains no alcohol.

Dr Jeremy London, a board-certified general, vascular and thoracic surgeon, often shares his neat tips and tricks on improving wellbeing on social media - including when he outlined 'four things I absolutely avoid as a heart surgeon'.

Now, the first three points he makes shouldn't come as a huge surprise.

"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."

Dr London shared a warning to his followers (Getty Stock Images)

Next up, he turned his attention to booze, adding: "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."

And thirdly, Dr London attempted to dissuade his followers from lacing their diets with breads and pastas.

"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 then that the social media medic honed in on another threat he's given the nickname 'liquid death'.

You might be picturing high-volume liquors or spicy shots like tequila - but according to Dr London, it's not just boozy bevs that can have a detrimental impact on a person's wellbeing.

It's soft - or fizzy - drinks.

He described fizzy drinks as 'liquid death' (Instagram/@drjeremylondon)

"Just don't drink them. Period. Done," he said.

Not long after posting his Instagram warning, Dr London spoke to TODAY, where he admitted the eerie nickname he's given to sugary, carbonated drinks was done in a bid to draw further attention to deeper issues.

"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 isn't the only online medic to issue a warning on the alleged threat of soft drinks.

During a recent appearance on the Zoe podcast, Dr William Li noted: "Soda is everyone's favourite whipping boy. Rightfully so.

Other medics have issued similar warnings (Getty Stock Images)

"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 went on to hit out: "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 urges people to simply drink water when they're feeling thirsty.

However, alternatives to these high-sugar drinks can 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