Dr Jeremy London, a triple board-certified heart surgeon, has gone viral online by revealing the four things he refuses to consume. In an Instagram post, he listed smoking, alcohol, fizzy drinks, and refined carbohydrates as habits he avoids.
What the heart surgeon avoids
Smoking came first on Dr London's list. He said: '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 followed. He acknowledged it was a personal choice but 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.'
Fizzy drinks ranked third. 'Liquid death,' he said flatly. 'Just don't drink them. Period. Done.'
Finally, refined carbohydrates: '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.'
'A scourge in our society'
In an interview with Today, Dr London explained that the phrase 'liquid death' was deliberate. 'I think that soft drinks are just a scourge in our society, and so I was really trying to get some attention,' he said. He called the hidden calorie load of sugary drinks 'a big no-no.'
A standard 330ml can of cola contains around nine teaspoons of sugar, close to the NHS's recommended daily limit for an adult.
The science backing up his concerns
Dr William Li, a physician and scientist, told the Zoe podcast that the evidence against fizzy drinks is overwhelming. 'Soda is everyone's favourite whipping boy. Rightfully so,' he said. '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.' But he warned the danger is not just sugar: 'Soda itself has all these additives, colours, flavourings, preservatives, stabilisers… that is accumulated exposure to toxins.'
Researchers are increasingly looking at the effect of artificial ingredients in both full-sugar and diet varieties.
What the NHS says
The NHS warns that children should avoid sugary fizzy drinks, squash, and juice drinks altogether due to tooth damage and increased risk of obesity. For adults, regular consumption is linked to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and certain cancers. Even artificially sweetened drinks have come under scrutiny for potentially disrupting gut bacteria.
Health experts recommend water as the best alternative, along with herbal teas, sparkling water with lemon, or diluted no-added-sugar squash. The NHS advises six to eight glasses of fluid a day, with water, lower-fat milk, and sugar-free drinks counting toward that total.
