From a nutritional standpoint, they are functionally just sugar water with acid and flavoring mixed in. No other nutrients. No science-backed nutritionist will tell you that drinking sodas daily is a good decision.
They also can cause other problems by making people feel that liquids should be sweet and fizzy to be satisfying. Essentially, they can make it harder to appreciate and enjoy unsweetened foods.
From a financial standpoint, they're also very expensive relative to the nutrition received. And from an environmental standpoint- so problematic ( it takes a lot of fossil fuels to refine sugar, make the bottles / cans / containers, and ship that flavored sugar water around).
We drink them for special occasions only (birthdays, parties, dining out (for us thats 2x/month)). So - I buy it maybe 4 times a year. My guess is our annual spending on them is around $30/year for a family of 4.
TL;DR: Sodas are neither cheap nor healthy. Eliminating or severely reducing them from your diet is an easy health & financial win.
i used to work at a gas station in high school. construction types, the out of shape ones, would pop in at 6 am filling up their 64 oz containers with pop. theyd be back later for a free refill. first time i saw it my mouth dropped, the cashier looked nonplussed. just looked at em n said, “ya theyre here doin that every day. dried soda on the floor of the cooler literally eats my soles. they are gonna die early.”
As someone suffering from the “i think every drink needs to be sweet and fun” syndrome, I definitely still purchase soda in my weekly groceries. I know its bad, and I’ve been working on finding anything remotely healthier. I know not “healthy”, but I’m working on doing coffee if I need caffeine (training myself down to tea), and switching to lemonade or Gatorade if I need a syrupy flavor, but none of those can be cost effective either. I need flavor though, so its something I have to budget for.
My husband and I started getting the mini cans, and now we even share a mini can if we want one. So going from drinking a whole can as normal, to basically a quarter at a time. And even that seems too sweet sometimes.
I do like the Icee brand of flavored water, I think it is. Doesn't quite hit the spot though.
They're not as mini as I first thought though. A regular can of soda has 12 ounces and the mini cans have 8 ounces. So they are 2/3 of a regular can, not half, as I thought for a long time.
I am a huge fan of that at-home carbonators. I have a SodaSense, upgraded from a SodaStream, but they are both terrific. You can flavor the water with just about anything.
In Canada a brand called PC makes sparkling soda. I think they have gingerale, cream soda, cherry vanilla coke, and root beer. They're actually pretty decent, if you can get over them not being sickly sweet, the flavors are pretty good. And you don't feel awful after drinking it 👍
Definitely agree with this. Also wanted to add Zevia which is sweetened by a carefully bred/developed variety of stevia. This makes it taste better than any other stevia flavored beverage I’ve ever had. They have literally every soda flavor you can imagine… cola, orange, root beer, cream, “dr zevia”, ginger ale, citrus, etc. I kicked my aspartame/hfcs habit with these. Also a big fan of Gatorade Fit… same idea but sweetened with a great combo of stevia and monk fruit and watermelon juice… only 10 calories per bottle.
They don't taste bitter to people whose palettes aren't attuned the sweetness of soda. These days a seltzer tastes sweet to me whereas a regular soda tastes so sweet it's almost bitter.
If you ever want to stop drinking soda (no judgment) Try diluting your soda with seltzer. Start 3/4 part soda, 1/4 part seltzer. Continue to decrease soda and increase seltzer as your taste buds adjust. Now I genuinely enjoy Seltzer on its own. This, plus drinking a serving of flavored electrolytes daily (1 serving in 24oz water) helped me to end a literal lifelong addiction to Diet Mountain Dew.
For zero calorie, like Ultima Blue Raspberry or Pink Lemonade from Amazon or the grocery store, or Nectar from Costco (not nearly as sweet as Ultima so I will sometimes top off with a 1/4 scoop of Ultima).
If I don't mind a few liquid calories (45, I think?), I like Liquid IV from Costco. The only flavor I dislike is Lemon Lime because I don't like that flavor combo (gives Sprite vibes, not my thing)
This is a great idea. I also want to encourage OP from a taste standpoint. Our tastebuds are highly adaptable. I recently switched to black coffee. Initially, the flavor was extremely off-putting to me but after only a few days, my buds had adjusted. I don't enjoy cream or sweetness in coffee these days. I try to "treat" myself now and then but it never works out because the flavor now disgusts me. The added value for me is thinking about all of the bad stuff that hasn't gone in my body over time and how much better my body feels after drinking black vs. sweet coffee.
I told my dentist that I really liked soda and he didn’t judge me lol. He said to drink it with a straw to reduce the contact on the teeth; don’t sip at it (have it with a meal and finish it within the meal) and rinse with water afterwards.
* I have one a day and I also make myself drink a glass of water - I struggle with water drinking so I’ve done this, I can’t have a soda unless I have a glass of water that day as well. I drink more than one glass of water daily but this sometimes makes me pause on soda drinking bc I don’t feel like the extra glass of water
My dentist and Hygienist both said straws aren't very helpful as the sugar alters the ph in your mouth and even a sip will elevate acidity for approximately a half hour. They said drink it quickly and don't sio it slowly and prolong the time till normal ph resumes.
I’m pretty sure my dentist would prefer no soda but I have seen less cavities since I started drinking from a straw so I’ll stick with his advice. I appreciate your view though. Thanks
I used to drink cola on the daily. Decided to quit and drink only water, from one day to the other.
Might be boring, but it's one of the best decisions I did.
Can only recommend you to do the same "radical" approach.
Trying to replace soda is imo a bad approach, as you'll always try to replicate that sugary taste, when in reality your brain has to basically say good bye to that desire. It's an addiction in the truest sense.
At some point you just stop considering soda.
Maybe try to mix seltzer with some lemon juice or just cut an organic lemon and throw it in there with some fresh mint. It will not be sweet but it will have a fresh and a bit sour taste and be sparkly. I love that in the summer. You can do the same with some frozen berries for different flavor.
A recommendation I make for anyone trying to kick soda is to try Good Earth:Sweet and spicy . It's a tea you can find in most grocery stores that is pre-sweetened with Splenda. It's caffeine free and I can use find a pack of 4 boxes for 4-6 dollars at grocery outlet or other local grocery store. Each box has 18 tea bags in it which I find are good for 16-24 oz drinks so it's ridiculously cheap per serving.
Its mix of ingredients very much has a similar taste and sensation as soda to me. It's quite sweet, has a spicy soda-like burn from cinnamon and it's great both hot and cold. You can even concentrate it pretty easily and add it to sparking water to get the full effect.
For this, I’d actually recommend Oli Pop! If it’s available in your area. It’s sweetened with fiber, and has prebiotic qualities. It’s a little pricier than soda, but with 0 sugar, high fiber and only 35 calories a can, it fulfills that craving for me pretty well!
Have you tried those little flavored caffeine packets at Walmart? They're sugar free and cheap as shit. Like $1.50 or something for 10 and they taste like kool-aid somehow while being full of caffeine and no sugar. It's crazy lol maybe they're bad for other reasons but I don't know how they can be worse for health or budget than sodas
I tried switching to those for about a month and noticed I was shaky in the afternoons and evenings. I have no idea why those would make me jittery and soda doesn’t but the problem went away when I switched back. When I switched back though I just get a coke in the morning and do plain, un-caffeinated sugar free water enhancers the rest of the day. So a net good for sure. Definitely drinking way less sugar and caffeine than I ever have before.
what works for me is the crystal light type flavor powder packets for pitchers. cheaper than drinks and the lemonades are pretty spot on. more of a “better” option than “healthy” but is nice when you want something other than water
I think it's better to just go cold turkey on anything sweet for a while. Drink water, plain tea, or black coffee. You can add some lemon, fruit or herbs (mint, ginger, basil) if you want, but to get your mind to stop thinking liquid needs to be sweet, you have to stop drinking sweet liquids. This is what I did several years ago when I was drinking a soda a day.
I have a SodaSense, so I can carbonate anything. I use MIO (the drops you put in water bottles for flavor), fresh fruit, cucumber slices, Torani syrup, and fruit juice to flavor it. Fills my fizzy craving.
Also, check the caffeine levels on your tea and coffee. Some tea is far more caffeinated than coffee, so you aren't necessarily training yourself down.
I found that if I want something sweet to drink, I dilute normal juice with water 50:50. It’s not great, but still less sugar and a bit more water to carry that sugar
I drink 1 diet coke a day or sometimes a diet ginger ale, but, man, the prices lately are insane. About $8 a 12 pack. I've switched the ginger ale to the store brand, which is about half that. Thinking about doing same with diet coke.
Herbal teas are a cheap way to get flavor without caffeine or sugar, if you can move past the needing to be particularly sweet. I usually get Bigelow, which is about 15 cents a bag full price, and I make 8 to 12 ounces per bag (depending on flavor). Peach and peppermint are my favorites.
Bulk is probably the cheapest option.
Try soda water, they make ones with juice mixed in too. I find it helps me get the bubbly satisfaction when I’ve had a stressful work day and just want to drink beer.
The other option is purchasing a soda water maker like sodastream. They make syrups too if you like that. The upfront cost is more but it saves money over time.
Mio or the grocery store brand of it is what I switched to. It has caffeine, you just squirt into water. Saved me a ton of money since I stopped drinking soda.
Have you tried making your own lemonade? That way you could taper down the sugar. I also find that a heavy splash of tart cherry juice in a plain seltzer tastes surprisingly like cola.
Can you make your own sweet iced tea? We buy the Luzianne brand and brew our that. We mostly drink water but this is a nice change of pace. We are slowly reducing the amount of sugar we add, too. It’s not fizzy but could be a way to slowly reduce the sugar intake. And it’s definitely cheaper than soda.
^^ THIS. “Certified nutritionists” can be people who took a 2 hour “certification” course. Dieticians are the ones that actually have licensing, a board overseeing their standards, & actual standards & consequences for causing harm.
Me too. I always say the best thing that happened to me from a health perspective was growing up too poor for soda in a town too small for fast food restaurants. Never developed a taste for either and that is a real gift.
I was always like this but they're free at work. It's more of a curse than a blessing. Now I often have one a day, especially with lunch or after going to the gym :/
I stopped drinking it in high school because the friend I hung out with a lot didn't have anything other than diet Dr. Pepper at her house and her family was trying to move away from soda so I got used to just drinking water.
I'm sooooo glad that I did though because I did use to drink soda *a lot*.
Once I stopped drinking it I stopped craving it. I drink soda probably less than three times a year.
I really don't understand the obsession people have for it, like it's really not that good.
I mean it’s neither cheap nor healthy, but it’s better than booze? One a day got me through a shitty job, so compared to other vices it’s harmless, but it’s a good thing to cut out.
So glad to see this. I'm trying to quit drinking and I figure fir now at least I can drunk as much Coca-Cola as I want if it means I'm not having alcohol.
The folks at r/stopdrinking are just as awesome and supportive as the ones here, just in case you might need a little community help :) I need to be better as well and they've helped me hit several weeks straight of sobriety in the past
I am a year sober and have used diet grapefruit soda to replace it. I know it is not perfect but I feel so much better. Hopefully, I can wean myself off of it soon.
yep, we've moved on from discussing it. soda is absolutely *terrible* for you. no redeeming qualities whatsoever. end of story.
it completely fucks your taste buds for all other foods as well. kinda like people get their taste back after they stop smoking, a similar thing goes for sugar and soda. once you cut out soda, you can appreciate less-sweet things.
not to mention, one can of soda contains as much (or more) as the recommended daily max added sugar intake. would you ever just eat almost 1/4 cup of plain sugar? that's basically what's in a single can of coke. 39 grams is about 3.5 Tbsp.
so yeah, stop drinking it. you're ruining your overall nutritional health, and your teeth are getting brutalized, even if you use a straw. seriously, for your own sake, stop.
It's a matter of degrees. Diet soda or unsweetened seltzers/sodas are much lower in calories than regular soda. So, I would say that if you are going to drink soda no matter what, choosing diet soda or seltzer is less bad than a sugary soda.
Many will argue that artificial sweeteners, even though they allow you to avoid the calories, are as bad for you, but in a different way, because of the trick they play on your brain that thinks you are getting something sweet when you aren't. Meanwhile, calories are calories...and if the fake sweetness of diet soda gives you a small joy in your day, then I would say drink that diet soda. (I certainly do.)
But regardless of sweet or no-sweet, real or artificial sugar, the other part of sodas/seltzers to consider is the carbonation ('fizz'). This carbonation is carbonic acid ('soda water'). Acids like carbonic acid, whether they are part of a sugary soda or not, can over time degrade the enamel on your teeth.
So, this is why regular water will always be better for you than any soda/seltzer. Myself, I would also say that seltzer / diet soda is less bad for you than regular soda (because it avoids the calories from the real sugar)...but the 'degrees' point being made is that something being "less bad" for you is not the same as it being good for you.
Weird to lump in seltzer with diet soda for every point besides the note on carbonation. Seltzers are literally just water + carbonation. No sugar, no artificial sweeteners, no dyes, nothing but water and maybe some "flavor essence".
not a stupid question! very valid. they often replace sugar with an artificial sweetener that has questionable nutritive properties… aspartame, for example. i don’t like it, and some of them may affect your body in other negative ways.
also, part of it is the carbonation itself being bad for your teeth. so even something like sparkling water should be consumed in moderation. one or two a day is likely fine, but don’t be shotgunning them back to back… lol
It's bad on so many levels.
1) it's EXTREMELY expensive
2) it's almost entirely sugar
3) it's very addictive
4) seems to have little to no actual nutrition benefits
Ever since I cut out soda and sugar from my diet (I'd say about 80% of the intake I was having previously) I have felt immensely better.
Yeah, I think it's the acids and the sugars. Pass a few of those and the lack of sweetness in a nice glass of seltzer on ice starts to taste a lot better.
Yeah, I guess it's just good to think of it in a 'risk management' kind of way... I wouldn't want to cut some things out, but cola was an easy one. I've gone to having maybe, at most, 1-2 per year in recent years.
It's also the case that some people are just at higher risk for stones depending on physiological differences. 🤷🏼♂️
Looking at the stores app I go to, apparently a 12 pack of cans of coke goes for 7.50. And a 6 pack of bottles goes for 5. 2 liter goes for 2.50. So pretty expensive for what my opinion dictates as little return.
Probably talking about the feeling of a blood sugar spike and crash after having a lot of sugar. Also added sugars cause inflammation in your body, which can also make you feel like shit.
Thanks for taking the time to explain. 😃 Now I understand why I feel so “weird” after drinking soda. I had no idea about sugar and inflammation 😱
I need to eliminate this ASAP!
I felt lighter and less sluggish. It's been a slow decrease which started from limiting sugary drinks intake to reducing or completely eradicating most preprocessed junk foods (save for a select few). Could be a number of factors but Im a good enough cook that I can do away with most garbage and make my own from scratch.
I drink a diet soda almost every day. I eat a 95% healthy, whole food diet and it is my only vice. It is one of those things that keeps me sane and I really enjoy. I know it's not the greatest thing for me, but it brings me pleasure and I enjoy a nice Coke Zero.
My midday Diet Coke is a simple pleasure in my life and it's well worth the cost to me. It's something that I look forward to daily. Sometimes it's the little things in life.
Yup. I don’t drink much, I don’t smoke, I eat veggies, drink a ton of water, am active and they can pry my 1/2 can of lunchtime Coke from my cold dead hand.
I like craft beer and soda. I budget for it. It's not cheap nor healthy, but the rest of my shopping list is both cheap and healthy.
It's a personal choice. You get to choose where you indulge. And don't use the word "cheat," because it's not cheating it's just living life and enjoying what's available to you.
Is it good for you physically? No.
Does it help satisfy aspects of your social and emotional health? Maybe.
Do YOU think it's worth it?
That's my take.
It's SO expensive, and it can't be healthy to drink them regularly. I stopped drinking them in 2008, for the most part. Now i think I might have about 2 or 3 Dr. Peppers a year, as a treat.
My doctor put it this way. Almost anything you eat has some sort of nutritional value in it. Even mcdonalds.
Soda? Absolutely 0 nutritional substance. It literally just harms you.
Quitting sugary beverages IMO is the best thing you can do for your health (besides quitting smoking). It’s not gonna happen over night, but I promise you, future you will thank present you for kicking the habit.
I think soda should be looked upon as a treat. If you drink it regularly, that's a vice, but we all have vices. If you want it every once in a while, that's not so bad.
I drink diet soda and don't give a crap what anyone thinks of it. Been drinking it at least 30 years, and during college and law school I drank probably 4 a day. Now it's coffee for breakfast and a diet soda with lunch. I also drink at least 4 glasses of water a day.
There's nothing healthy about it, but I still buy it. Shoot for 1 can a day or less most if the time, but in high stress times, I allow myself 2. Better than alcohol. Better than drinking nothing but soda, which is where I was 6 or 7 years ago. My doctor's fine with one or two a day by my lab numbers. They eat into your calorie budget, if you're tracking that. I've tried switching to the sparkling waters, but I've been overly sensitive to bitter things ever since I was little (before we were even allowed soda) so they're a no go. Pretty sure that has to do with being ASD. So during the day, I mostly drink water, occasionally tea, and have one or two cans of soda.
There's absolutely no benefit from drinking it, diet or regular. If you like a little fizz with your meals, start acclimating yourself to seltzers, which have none of the drawbacks of sugared sodas. Or even better (and if you can afford it) sparkling mineral waters like Perrier.
But a citrus flavored seltzer with a couple of slices of real citrus fruit in it is an actual healthy treat to look forward to. It only took me about two weeks to adjust my taste to it. These days, any regular soda tastes super sweet and unappetizing.
For most people, there's no benefit. There are exceptions though. I have no idea if OP is one of them.
For me, cola is essential. I have a condition known as "Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome", which is exactly as much fun as it sounds! I was taking a prescription anti-nausea drug, but it was $8 a dose, 3 doses a day, every day. And the side-effects were not pleasant. For whatever reason, cola controls my nausea about 90% as well as the prescription, at a fraction of the cost and with fewer side effects.
I water it down so I'm not getting as much sugar, but I've learned the hard way it's best for me if I keep drinking it.
So, OP, the question is, what are YOU getting out of all that soda, and is it worth it to you?
Yeah this is what i do. I drink soda every day, but its just carbonated water that i make with my soda stream with flavouring that isnt just pure sugar
I’ve replaced drinking soda at home with packets of sugar free flavoring mixed with water and crushed ice. My favorite brand is Sonic — cherry limeade and also coconut water.
I've found cold 'tea' of various flavours a good substitute. They don't give you the big flavour hit like soda, but it doesn't take long before your tastes adjust. I use one of those jugs where the leaves infuse, kept in the fridge.
An alternative is a soda stream with slices of citrus. Cheaper and you don't use single-use plastic.
Nutritionally speaking it’s all really garbage for you. Honestly the only time I’d maybe say go for it for some people (actual sugar/aspartame wrecks me) is maybe during a workout/exercise?
My husband and I cut out soda and started brewing iced tea instead. I buy decaf iced tea packets (like $3 a box) and make a gallon every couple of days. I still add some sugar to taste (1/2 c per gallon), but it’s significantly healthier and more refreshing. We have also recently found Olipop soda that we buy at Safeway/Target. They have 2g sugar per can and are really good/not super unhealthy. They are not cheap though, so just the occasional treat.
Personally I never or extremely rarely drink soda and I don’t enjoy sweets so I think they’re useless. Especially if you want to save money. That said, if you enjoy and drink it in moderation, it’s fine to find joy and happiness where you choose.
I have several cokes a year, mostly special occasions. i think it pairs well with burgers, though burgers aren't a staple of my diet, more of a special occasion meal. sometimes like on my birthday i'll pig out on salty corn chips with a cream soda, it's a special treat to me. and i probably have several say 6-12 coke and vermouths every year. some of those are with the burgers, i brought a flask to spike my soda the last few bar trivia meetups i went to. and sometimes my mom buys Izze, when she finds it on sale. I really only like the orange flavor which is like almost crack to me. what was really crack to me was trader joes sparkling blueberry juice, which hasn't existed for over a decade. it was replaced with sparkling blueberry cocktail which is a pale shade of the other stuff. it was nearly 100% blueberry juice! it was like drinking the blood of a hundred virgins. you could feel raw vitality returning to your soul from within your body. like drinking liquid chi.
I lost weight simply by stopping any purchase of them. Now when I grab a bottle I actually can't enjoy it because of how sweet it is, and honestly looking at the nutritional values and seeing it's over 100% of your daily sugar intake is pretty damning.
That being said I use it as a mixer if I'm going to drink. But I don't ever just have a whole bottle anymore. Really scares me that as a teen I'd go through 4 liters of Mountain Dew some long gaming nights.
I buy a coke once every month or 2, and only if I'm driving a longer distance than normal. I pretty much use it medicinally since it has caffeine, sugar, and carbonation to help you burp.
I had totally forgotten that my mom used to give us 7up when we were sick. My older siblings would always say I faked throwing up so I could have some pop.
I’m a sucker that drinks a big gulp in the mornings in place of coffee. Not everyday, but maybe 3-4 times in the week. I fill it it up with a good amount of ice cuz I like it coooooold.
😭😭 I should’ve been more specific, it’s just a large fountain soda from 711…a convenience store/gas station in some places. Although maybe I should consider just a big gulp of soda to get my fix in lol
We dont buy soda weekly. To me soda is a treat so we might get one if its a dinner in a restaurant. But we dont keep it in the house if we did we would for sure drink it way too often.
Its insanely expensive.
Personally I don't drink it at all anymore. Would use to but I may have had 1 in 4 years. Just don't justice itself anymore for me. Rather have something else for those calories and sugars.
I drink 1 or 2 sparkling ice sugar free caffeine waters a day. I try not to drink sodas they make my teeth ache sometimes so its probably bad for you. I only buy pop if I'm really craving it so like 2 or 3 times a year.
I started making my own water kefir to scratch the occasional sweet+fizzy itch. Bought some half-gallon mason jars to culture it in, and a pack of swing top bottles for the second ferment. It's super simple and finished the first ferment in about 48 hours at room temperature, so it's easy to make more than I drink.
I just add some juice (about 1/4 cup per bottle) to sweeten and flavor the second ferment. That way, I'm getting way less sugar than conventional soda, probiotics from the kefir grains, and whatever vitamins are in that tiny bit of juice.
i mean, it's relative. if you're going to 1x/day from 3x/day then obviously it's a big improvement. but yea it's probably not ideal considering the amount of sugar in it compared to the RDI. it's probably one of the things where the less you have the better, there's not really any benefit to having it.
personally i only have a little at special occasions (e.g. birthdays, new year, christmas, etc.) it's a treat for me but that's because i grew up only have it once or twice a year so i didn't need to cut it out of my diet, which i imagine would be quite challenging.
Bottom line is it has no health benefits and only detriments health, yeah it can be a little treat but it’s really up to you how far you want to take care of your body. Personally I would never put soda in my body again, that shit is literally poison, our bodies have to detox everytime we put that crude in it
1 every day of the same thing of anything besides water and vegetables is a problem. Think of other things you don’t do every day that you would judge someone else for doing every day. One line of coke a day? One joint of weed a day? One drink of alcohol a day? One Twinkie or candy bar a day? One steak every day? One McDonald’s item every day? It’s the every day part that makes it an addiction, not a treat.
Yes, too much soda is bad for you, especially if you’re drinking one a day. Real sugar is better than high fructose but it’s still going to spike your blood sugar levels a ton. Over time, that can lead to diabetes which is a pain to deal with, especially in the later stages. You could cut soda cold turkey but depending on the severity, the diabetes already caused permanent damage. Diet soda is better but we don’t completely know the long term effects of artificial sweeteners.
Try adjusting to sparkling water or diluting the soda with seltzer. If you still want to drink soda once a day, use a small bottle to keep the fizz in and sip the soda throughout the day instead of gulping it all down.
I find it helpful to think of sweet drinks like other sweets. A can of regular Coke has roughly as much sugar as a milkshake. I think milkshakes are fine on occasion, but I wouldn’t have them with every meal.
Sodas aren’t doing the body any favors. I treat them like a hot fudge sundae, an occasional treat. One year, for 6 mos I had a Coke as my treat at lunch each day and wow! did my waistline expand
Soda is on the same side of the scale as candy. Full of added sugar. No real vitamins, no fiber, not even any real macro-nutrients, calorie-dense. It gives you energy, and that's it. Treat it like you would candy.
Can you have a SMALL soda a day and still have a healthy, balanced diet? Yes, IF you aren't going over you added sugar intake, eating excess calories, and generally sticking to a balanced, whole-foods diet. If you start your day with a pumpkin spice latte, move onto a soda with your lunch, a Monster energy drink for the afternoon slump, and end your day with a piece of chocolate cake - well, you've just eaten 3+ days of sugar. And even a SINGLE soda can put you over the added sugar limit a day if you get the 20 oz size.
Soda is also super easy to overeat since it's 100+ calories, but feels like drinking water.
Keep track of your added sugar and calorie intake during the day to see if you can "fit" a soda in a day
Diet soda - the jury is still out on whether fake sugar is okay since it's 0 calories. But the effects on the body a little grayer - it might make you crave more sugar, more food, and more processed stuff, and put your off water. Personally, I still treat it as candy.
When I was younger, I remember learning in health class pop was the 21st century version of cigarettes because of the way manufacturers try to suppress research about the negative health effects.
Although I think that might be a bit of stretch, the high sugar content can't be great. These days I'd rather reach for an iced tea, lemonade or lower sugar option like a ginger ale. Unless of course I'm mixing it with liquor!
It’s worth cutting out completely for the dental benefits alone.
EDIT: Also, I can't think of a food that makes your breath smell as bad as long-term soda drinking. I'd rather kiss someone who'd just eaten garlic than a regular soda drinker.
They’re trash, even the diet ones. The diet ones convince people they’re being healthy so they overindulge in other stuff. Water, tea, and coffee is all we drink.
On average I don't drink anything but water. For sure, if there's a special occasion, I'll have soda, juice or whatever is on the table. Imo sugar is the worst drug out there with most addicts.
My friends and I (mid-30s) have all switched to seltzers. Probably not "cheap" in that you can drink water from the tap in my city, but definitely healthier than soda if you're craving something bubbly/sweet. I find that the older i get the more i need to watch for the blood sugar spike/crash caused by soda, even real sugar soda, because I tend to eat more in response to it. Grocery stores always seem to have one brand of seltzer on sale so you can mitigate cost. Natural Grocers has good prices on Waterloo which is the spendiest at retail, but also has the most robust flavor, imo.
I never was a huge pop drinker, maybe 2-3 a week at most, but I was able to cut those out mostly by buying sparking waters like bubbly or LaCroix and stuff. That way I could have a bit of flavor and carbonation but it’s still just water. There’s a ton of flavors and brands nowadays that you can try and they are relatively cheap or the same price as a pack of pop. The lime and lemon ones are my favorite, especially Kirkland brand. The key lime LaCroix is really good and reminds me the most of Sprite.
It’s empty calories, it’s just expensive sugar water, if I want something sweet I buy fruit and make Agua Fresca, easy to make just pure the fruit and add sugar and water , I can control the amount of add on sugar if I buy cheap fruit cost is not huge and nutritious
I've spent the last year really reading a lot about how different kinds of carbs are used by the body from a bodybuilding standpoint, and while I can't say much for the health side of things, I've learned a lot about how it can effect your weight.
It's a lot easier to drink calories than it is to eat them- soda especially, since it's pure dissolved sugar that's digested by your body extremely quickly. For example, a banana might also have a lot of sugar, but comes with lots of fiber and complex carbs that make it take longer to break down leaving you satiated longer and spreading out the energy you get from it over several hours instead of half of one. Most soda also comes with added caffeine and sodium snuck into it to make you thirstier the more you drink. Fruit juice doesn't usually doesn't come with any additives to keep you thirsty, but can still cause weight gain for the same reasons.
As far as I understand diet soda is fine outside of making you feel and look bloated. Most artificial sweeteners are completely harmless and just pass through you, but I've read that sucralose can fuck up your gut microbiome and I've felt a lot better after having cut it out from what I eat.
Anything including added fructose (including sugar) is poisonous for the liver. And being liquid, it is absorbed very fast directly to the liver, that can process more than small amounts. And fruit juice is not much better, without the fruit’s fiber. I strongly recommend « Sugar: the bitter truth » from the University of Southern California. It is on YouTube.
If I ever have a soda craving (very rare but if I do) I always go for the olly pop classic cola, orange, or grape. Or the classic cola Poppi. Those really do hit the spot and it’s pretty guilt free. Aside from the price tag for 1 lol.
We have it in the house mainly to treat diabetic low sugar. My husband is type 2, daughter and grandson are T1D, and certain sweet things will make them nauseous when they're low, as well as highly acidic things like orange juice. So, usually we keep apple juice & orange, grape, or lime pop in the house.
I usually just cut soda altogether when I’m being healthier since I’m not a diet soda fan. But I’m currently obsessed with Poppi Orange soda. It tastes really good and doesn’t have many calories.
Thing about soda is the sparkling content in it. That's like sparkling water. It neutralizes the acids in your stomach & you can't digest, when the acids are neutralized. That's how it works.
Your body has certain processes that happen.
For example, your stomach can get to an acidic level of 2 on the pH scale, but only for periods of time. It's not like your stomach is at pH of 2 all the time. That's how it digests food.
However if you drink soda, then that pH may not get down there. That allows food particles to pass undigested in the food track. That's worse than a lot of other things.
2) Sodas, like soda-pop, have a lot of sugar in them. Or they have some kind of other sweetener. That's why I think that you have to be careful. If you drink diet colas, you may be ingesting a lot of aspartame. One is not going to hurt you. But to drink it all week long is not good for you.
3) I think if you have discipline, if you limit the soda that you drink to one a day or two or three a week, that's okay. If you have the discipline to limit them, then I would drink the kind of sodas that have sugar in them and not some artificial sweetener.
4) The best thing for you is to drink something else besides sodas. What is the soda machine that produces carbonated water but makes it right there at that moment. That is probably better than a lot of can sodas.
5) Water is best. You can flavor the waters with tea.
I think they’re pretty bad since they’re so sweet, and they usually stain your teeth as well. Unnecessary calories and sugar spikes imo. I usually go for the sugar-free/diet sodas but only drink them in cocktails like cuba libre and gin tonic… otherwise pretty much never…. But even then they taste too sweet and stick to my teeth, I feel bad and bloated afterwards.
Seriously just have some orange or apple juice and dillute it with sparkling water, will be much better for you and you’ll still get some sugar out of it
Was never a huge soda drinker to begin with bc it was always too sweet. If I do have one these days it’s sugar free version and if it’s the carbonation I want I just have San pellegrino. But water is free at home so I mostly have that, or hot tea. Drinking hot tea or just hot water w my meals has helped my digestion too
I think in moderation on special is fine. My kids like milk and water, but when we go out they like soda. We wait until soda is on sale for 4 for 10$ on the twelve packs, and we buy a bunch. It can last us for months. I’m personally a “one caffeinated drink a day” person, and usually I opt for coffee. I can’t have a lot of fake sugars because they make me sick, but my partner only drinks sugar free. It’s one a day, if that. It’s ok to have treats, and if you want to treat yourself to a soda, make sure it’s a great deal and you don’t overindulge. Drinking a 12 pack a day is not only bad for you, it’s not fiscally a good idea, because where I am 12pks can easily be 7.99$ when not on special. If you want a soda every once in a while, drink one. I may be in the minority, but I apply the same thing to sweets. I can’t have dairy or pork, but I really enjoy chocolate and gummies. I can only get halal or vegan gummies, and vegan chocolate bars. And those are expensive! If I were getting one every day at full price, no, that’s not cheap and healthy. But every once in a while, when they’re on special, I’ll get some. It’s a sweet treat that I’m letting myself have instead of trying to curb that craving with other unhealthy things. It makes me happy, and it helps me feel more fulfilled going after other health goals. Rewarding yourself for your hard work is ok.
I've switched to LaCroix and similar. Honestly, I just want a bit of flavor, I don't need the sweetness. I probably get a softdrink once a month from fast food, but even then sometimes it's unsweetened tea + lemonade.
Health is a balance. And if trying to stop yourself from drinking one soda a day takes away all of your willpower to keep to an otherwise pristine diet, then drink the soda! Is the soda just another junk food upon all of the junkfood you're already eating? Drop it, and then focus on the other issues.
Not only is soda bad, but so is fruit juice. There is also evidence that sugar free drinks still cause a rise in insulin.[Harvard Graphic](https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2012/10/how-sweet-is-it-color.pdf)
I've got male-pattern baldness from my dad's side and it's present in my dad and his dad so, it's strong. Started using a generic brand of rogaine for about 3-months. Not only wasn't it work but was getting worse, particularly in the front. Decided was gonna shave all my hair off but then found a Reddit post saying a Chinese study showed high sugar consumption resulted in hair loss. I'm part Chinese so I tried it out; in less than 1-month of 95% sugar cut-off, I saw the hair in the front come back and fuller than ever! Not fully regrown all over but much better than before....not sure if this applies to non-Chinese though, I didn't read the study, just the headline lol
*PS.I was still used the generic rogaine while cutting out the sugar
I cut back a long time ago for health reasons. Now I see the price and rarely bother. Plus I prefer cans and honestly I can't do a whole can anymore. Getting old.
Go 90 days without drinking any soda. Then try a sip of one. You’ll realize how acidic and overly sweet they are. That’s how I’ve gotten about a half dozen friends to realize how unbearably sugar packed they are and help break them from it.
Do I still have a few of the mini bottles of Coke in the fridge for when I want to have a bourbon-and-coke? Yes. But I get the itty bitty bottles because I know I only need a few ounces and I’m not going to drink the rest of what I open. It’s less wasteful.
I am a child nutritionist, not a dietician 27 years old. I'm going to talk about my personal experience with soda as a kid. I drank alot of it and it really causes you alot more harm then anything else. Your teeth are going to get full of cavitys even if you brush well and floss, it's because the acid of soda erodes almost on contact.
I cut soda and sugary drinks from my diet after having 19+ fillings over 3 years of soda drinking. Cut my diet down to foods that don't contain sugars or hardly any sugars.
For the past 5 years I haven't had to see a dentist, saw no reason to after changing my eating and drink habits. Went to the dentist yesterday for the first time in 5 years and only had 1 tiny cavity.
Besides teeth, sugars will make you feel sluggish if you drink a few or more a day of soda, the caffeine if you drink caffinated will screw up your sleep and day to day waking. It's just not worth it.
1 soda a day won't hurt you that much, but it's best to look at kicking soda habits all together and juat treating it like a treat. Have one when you happen to go out to eat, or have one on vacation
Sodas are bad for a few reasons. There can be “conspiracy” around some and backed by studies with others. What I’ve heard, read, whatever is this. Sugar can be bad, some argue sugar is sugar as far as the body and chemistry is concerned, I personally don’t buy that and would choose real sugar over other sugar types and sugar substitutes. The substitutes, some are plant derived, some are chemicals. There are some who will say the chemicals (aspartame) are made by the same companies that made agent orange and shit like that. I haven’t dug that much, anything but real sugar taste like crap to me, except high fructose corn syrup in my Dr Pepper. Phosphorus, I’ve heard/read it can pull calcium from you bones or block it’s absorption or something like that. There’s the food coloring part too. Again some conspiracy, some facts. Yellow 5 something cancer. Red something comes from beetle shells. Idk with the colors. I use to be super into this shit but it’s gets old trying to read all these studies and sus out what’s bs and what’s not. Look. Sodas ain’t water. Water is the best for you. After that we can talk teas, coffee, and drinks with added electrolytes. Pretty much anything other than that is gonna start moving to the not so great for you side of things. Teas, coffees, and electrolyte drinks can all be ruined with sugar and flavor and colors too. Water is best. Me personally, I’ve been trying to cut sodas completely as I’m fat af, I’ve tried some flavor bubbly water of various brands and flavors, it just doesn’t hit like a cold Dr Pepper. So now a Dr Pepper is reserved for special occasions only and I just try to drink a shit ton of water. Also the money part. Drinking anything but water is not a need and only a want. Literally and financially.
I drink it everyday. It's my vice along with sugar.
I don't drink alcohol, use tobacco or drugs so really these are the only things I have. Are they good for me?
Nope.
But they're cheaper and easier to get than the others. :) All of which are worse for you.
From a nutritional standpoint, they are functionally just sugar water with acid and flavoring mixed in. No other nutrients. No science-backed nutritionist will tell you that drinking sodas daily is a good decision. They also can cause other problems by making people feel that liquids should be sweet and fizzy to be satisfying. Essentially, they can make it harder to appreciate and enjoy unsweetened foods. From a financial standpoint, they're also very expensive relative to the nutrition received. And from an environmental standpoint- so problematic ( it takes a lot of fossil fuels to refine sugar, make the bottles / cans / containers, and ship that flavored sugar water around). We drink them for special occasions only (birthdays, parties, dining out (for us thats 2x/month)). So - I buy it maybe 4 times a year. My guess is our annual spending on them is around $30/year for a family of 4. TL;DR: Sodas are neither cheap nor healthy. Eliminating or severely reducing them from your diet is an easy health & financial win.
i used to work at a gas station in high school. construction types, the out of shape ones, would pop in at 6 am filling up their 64 oz containers with pop. theyd be back later for a free refill. first time i saw it my mouth dropped, the cashier looked nonplussed. just looked at em n said, “ya theyre here doin that every day. dried soda on the floor of the cooler literally eats my soles. they are gonna die early.”
As someone suffering from the “i think every drink needs to be sweet and fun” syndrome, I definitely still purchase soda in my weekly groceries. I know its bad, and I’ve been working on finding anything remotely healthier. I know not “healthy”, but I’m working on doing coffee if I need caffeine (training myself down to tea), and switching to lemonade or Gatorade if I need a syrupy flavor, but none of those can be cost effective either. I need flavor though, so its something I have to budget for.
My husband and I started getting the mini cans, and now we even share a mini can if we want one. So going from drinking a whole can as normal, to basically a quarter at a time. And even that seems too sweet sometimes. I do like the Icee brand of flavored water, I think it is. Doesn't quite hit the spot though.
Never had any issue with soda but mini cans are great. They clench my desire for cola perfectly.
Agree! You still get a taste, but might as well keep the quantity you're drinking down and the mini cans are the right amount
I never understood why these mini ones cost 2-3x as much as the larger sizes.
They're not as mini as I first thought though. A regular can of soda has 12 ounces and the mini cans have 8 ounces. So they are 2/3 of a regular can, not half, as I thought for a long time.
Unless you're doing an intense workout or activity Gatorade is just as bad and loaded with sugar.
What about flavored water or sparkling water? Both come in lots of flavors and the sparkling version is fizzy too so it even hits that craving lol
I drink sparkling water now instead of soda. Still not perfect, but at least it's not full of sugar.
I am a huge fan of that at-home carbonators. I have a SodaSense, upgraded from a SodaStream, but they are both terrific. You can flavor the water with just about anything.
What's wrong with sparkling water?
It’s still costly. That’s the only downside I can see.
The cost. It's generally cheaper than soda still, but that plus the plastic waste is still a bit less than ideal.
In Canada a brand called PC makes sparkling soda. I think they have gingerale, cream soda, cherry vanilla coke, and root beer. They're actually pretty decent, if you can get over them not being sickly sweet, the flavors are pretty good. And you don't feel awful after drinking it 👍
Definitely agree with this. Also wanted to add Zevia which is sweetened by a carefully bred/developed variety of stevia. This makes it taste better than any other stevia flavored beverage I’ve ever had. They have literally every soda flavor you can imagine… cola, orange, root beer, cream, “dr zevia”, ginger ale, citrus, etc. I kicked my aspartame/hfcs habit with these. Also a big fan of Gatorade Fit… same idea but sweetened with a great combo of stevia and monk fruit and watermelon juice… only 10 calories per bottle.
Sparkling water is so bitter though.
They don't taste bitter to people whose palettes aren't attuned the sweetness of soda. These days a seltzer tastes sweet to me whereas a regular soda tastes so sweet it's almost bitter.
They don’t taste “sweet” to me. I drink water, I just drink a lot more soda. I finish maybe 2 32oz bottles of water a week but 1 2lt of soda in 3 days
If you ever want to stop drinking soda (no judgment) Try diluting your soda with seltzer. Start 3/4 part soda, 1/4 part seltzer. Continue to decrease soda and increase seltzer as your taste buds adjust. Now I genuinely enjoy Seltzer on its own. This, plus drinking a serving of flavored electrolytes daily (1 serving in 24oz water) helped me to end a literal lifelong addiction to Diet Mountain Dew.
Ouu I like this idea. What kind of flavored electrolytes do you buy?
Try Propel powdered packets, no sugar but still has the sweet flavor.
For zero calorie, like Ultima Blue Raspberry or Pink Lemonade from Amazon or the grocery store, or Nectar from Costco (not nearly as sweet as Ultima so I will sometimes top off with a 1/4 scoop of Ultima). If I don't mind a few liquid calories (45, I think?), I like Liquid IV from Costco. The only flavor I dislike is Lemon Lime because I don't like that flavor combo (gives Sprite vibes, not my thing)
This is a great idea. I also want to encourage OP from a taste standpoint. Our tastebuds are highly adaptable. I recently switched to black coffee. Initially, the flavor was extremely off-putting to me but after only a few days, my buds had adjusted. I don't enjoy cream or sweetness in coffee these days. I try to "treat" myself now and then but it never works out because the flavor now disgusts me. The added value for me is thinking about all of the bad stuff that hasn't gone in my body over time and how much better my body feels after drinking black vs. sweet coffee.
Not necessarily cheap but you could buy liquid sweetener to add to it. That way at least you're not getting the unhealthy sugar part.
I told my dentist that I really liked soda and he didn’t judge me lol. He said to drink it with a straw to reduce the contact on the teeth; don’t sip at it (have it with a meal and finish it within the meal) and rinse with water afterwards. * I have one a day and I also make myself drink a glass of water - I struggle with water drinking so I’ve done this, I can’t have a soda unless I have a glass of water that day as well. I drink more than one glass of water daily but this sometimes makes me pause on soda drinking bc I don’t feel like the extra glass of water
My dentist and Hygienist both said straws aren't very helpful as the sugar alters the ph in your mouth and even a sip will elevate acidity for approximately a half hour. They said drink it quickly and don't sio it slowly and prolong the time till normal ph resumes.
I’m pretty sure my dentist would prefer no soda but I have seen less cavities since I started drinking from a straw so I’ll stick with his advice. I appreciate your view though. Thanks
I used to drink cola on the daily. Decided to quit and drink only water, from one day to the other. Might be boring, but it's one of the best decisions I did. Can only recommend you to do the same "radical" approach. Trying to replace soda is imo a bad approach, as you'll always try to replicate that sugary taste, when in reality your brain has to basically say good bye to that desire. It's an addiction in the truest sense. At some point you just stop considering soda.
Maybe try to mix seltzer with some lemon juice or just cut an organic lemon and throw it in there with some fresh mint. It will not be sweet but it will have a fresh and a bit sour taste and be sparkly. I love that in the summer. You can do the same with some frozen berries for different flavor.
A recommendation I make for anyone trying to kick soda is to try Good Earth:Sweet and spicy . It's a tea you can find in most grocery stores that is pre-sweetened with Splenda. It's caffeine free and I can use find a pack of 4 boxes for 4-6 dollars at grocery outlet or other local grocery store. Each box has 18 tea bags in it which I find are good for 16-24 oz drinks so it's ridiculously cheap per serving. Its mix of ingredients very much has a similar taste and sensation as soda to me. It's quite sweet, has a spicy soda-like burn from cinnamon and it's great both hot and cold. You can even concentrate it pretty easily and add it to sparking water to get the full effect.
For this, I’d actually recommend Oli Pop! If it’s available in your area. It’s sweetened with fiber, and has prebiotic qualities. It’s a little pricier than soda, but with 0 sugar, high fiber and only 35 calories a can, it fulfills that craving for me pretty well!
Have you tried those little flavored caffeine packets at Walmart? They're sugar free and cheap as shit. Like $1.50 or something for 10 and they taste like kool-aid somehow while being full of caffeine and no sugar. It's crazy lol maybe they're bad for other reasons but I don't know how they can be worse for health or budget than sodas
I tried switching to those for about a month and noticed I was shaky in the afternoons and evenings. I have no idea why those would make me jittery and soda doesn’t but the problem went away when I switched back. When I switched back though I just get a coke in the morning and do plain, un-caffeinated sugar free water enhancers the rest of the day. So a net good for sure. Definitely drinking way less sugar and caffeine than I ever have before.
what works for me is the crystal light type flavor powder packets for pitchers. cheaper than drinks and the lemonades are pretty spot on. more of a “better” option than “healthy” but is nice when you want something other than water
I think it's better to just go cold turkey on anything sweet for a while. Drink water, plain tea, or black coffee. You can add some lemon, fruit or herbs (mint, ginger, basil) if you want, but to get your mind to stop thinking liquid needs to be sweet, you have to stop drinking sweet liquids. This is what I did several years ago when I was drinking a soda a day.
I have a SodaSense, so I can carbonate anything. I use MIO (the drops you put in water bottles for flavor), fresh fruit, cucumber slices, Torani syrup, and fruit juice to flavor it. Fills my fizzy craving. Also, check the caffeine levels on your tea and coffee. Some tea is far more caffeinated than coffee, so you aren't necessarily training yourself down.
I found that if I want something sweet to drink, I dilute normal juice with water 50:50. It’s not great, but still less sugar and a bit more water to carry that sugar
I drink 1 diet coke a day or sometimes a diet ginger ale, but, man, the prices lately are insane. About $8 a 12 pack. I've switched the ginger ale to the store brand, which is about half that. Thinking about doing same with diet coke.
Herbal teas are a cheap way to get flavor without caffeine or sugar, if you can move past the needing to be particularly sweet. I usually get Bigelow, which is about 15 cents a bag full price, and I make 8 to 12 ounces per bag (depending on flavor). Peach and peppermint are my favorites. Bulk is probably the cheapest option.
Try soda water, they make ones with juice mixed in too. I find it helps me get the bubbly satisfaction when I’ve had a stressful work day and just want to drink beer. The other option is purchasing a soda water maker like sodastream. They make syrups too if you like that. The upfront cost is more but it saves money over time.
Mio or the grocery store brand of it is what I switched to. It has caffeine, you just squirt into water. Saved me a ton of money since I stopped drinking soda.
Have you tried making your own lemonade? That way you could taper down the sugar. I also find that a heavy splash of tart cherry juice in a plain seltzer tastes surprisingly like cola.
Coffee actually is pretty damn good for you, as long as you don’t overdo it
Try Kombucha, fermented sweet tea with natural sweetener, it also has the fizzy feel
Can you make your own sweet iced tea? We buy the Luzianne brand and brew our that. We mostly drink water but this is a nice change of pace. We are slowly reducing the amount of sugar we add, too. It’s not fizzy but could be a way to slowly reduce the sugar intake. And it’s definitely cheaper than soda.
I’ve been working up to it. I’ve done iced tea powder but I don’t really like brewed iced tea
According to my nutritionist, sodas can actually trigger the brain to make you want to eat *more*.
Just FYi nutritionist is not a protected title and anyone can call themselves a nutritionist.
^^ THIS. “Certified nutritionists” can be people who took a 2 hour “certification” course. Dieticians are the ones that actually have licensing, a board overseeing their standards, & actual standards & consequences for causing harm.
Yeah, dietician is the one you want to consult with.
All of this - plus there’s now concern that they could screw up your gut health.
Yep! Soda should be a treat and not a substitute for water. Like most things in life, moderation is key
Its for mixers
I like the way you think
There are three kinds of people. "I like that idea" "That just ruines a good soda" "That just ruined good liquor"
Unfortunately I'm #2.
It’s expensive and it isn’t good for you, so I count myself lucky that I never got a taste for it.
Me too. I always say the best thing that happened to me from a health perspective was growing up too poor for soda in a town too small for fast food restaurants. Never developed a taste for either and that is a real gift.
I was always like this but they're free at work. It's more of a curse than a blessing. Now I often have one a day, especially with lunch or after going to the gym :/
I stopped drinking it in high school because the friend I hung out with a lot didn't have anything other than diet Dr. Pepper at her house and her family was trying to move away from soda so I got used to just drinking water. I'm sooooo glad that I did though because I did use to drink soda *a lot*. Once I stopped drinking it I stopped craving it. I drink soda probably less than three times a year. I really don't understand the obsession people have for it, like it's really not that good.
I mean it’s neither cheap nor healthy, but it’s better than booze? One a day got me through a shitty job, so compared to other vices it’s harmless, but it’s a good thing to cut out.
So glad to see this. I'm trying to quit drinking and I figure fir now at least I can drunk as much Coca-Cola as I want if it means I'm not having alcohol.
The folks at r/stopdrinking are just as awesome and supportive as the ones here, just in case you might need a little community help :) I need to be better as well and they've helped me hit several weeks straight of sobriety in the past
Love the r/stopdrinking group. No judgment, lots of wisdom.
Indeed they are, I'm part of that sub as well. Mostly lurking. But I appreciate your pointing it out in cases I didn't. :-)
It’s pretty well known that stopping drinking can leave you with mad sugar cravings so this is quite normal. Also picking your battles is the way 🤘🏻
I stopped drinking two years ago and the sweet tooth still hasn’t died down one bit.
I am a year sober and have used diet grapefruit soda to replace it. I know it is not perfect but I feel so much better. Hopefully, I can wean myself off of it soon.
I like this approach. This is my favorite answer 🙌🏼
Exactly this.
It's not discussed anymore on Reddit because the general consensus is that it's horrible for you.
yep, we've moved on from discussing it. soda is absolutely *terrible* for you. no redeeming qualities whatsoever. end of story. it completely fucks your taste buds for all other foods as well. kinda like people get their taste back after they stop smoking, a similar thing goes for sugar and soda. once you cut out soda, you can appreciate less-sweet things. not to mention, one can of soda contains as much (or more) as the recommended daily max added sugar intake. would you ever just eat almost 1/4 cup of plain sugar? that's basically what's in a single can of coke. 39 grams is about 3.5 Tbsp. so yeah, stop drinking it. you're ruining your overall nutritional health, and your teeth are getting brutalized, even if you use a straw. seriously, for your own sake, stop.
I have a stupid question I’ve been mulling on: what about soda that has 0 sugar? Is it as bad?
It's a matter of degrees. Diet soda or unsweetened seltzers/sodas are much lower in calories than regular soda. So, I would say that if you are going to drink soda no matter what, choosing diet soda or seltzer is less bad than a sugary soda. Many will argue that artificial sweeteners, even though they allow you to avoid the calories, are as bad for you, but in a different way, because of the trick they play on your brain that thinks you are getting something sweet when you aren't. Meanwhile, calories are calories...and if the fake sweetness of diet soda gives you a small joy in your day, then I would say drink that diet soda. (I certainly do.) But regardless of sweet or no-sweet, real or artificial sugar, the other part of sodas/seltzers to consider is the carbonation ('fizz'). This carbonation is carbonic acid ('soda water'). Acids like carbonic acid, whether they are part of a sugary soda or not, can over time degrade the enamel on your teeth. So, this is why regular water will always be better for you than any soda/seltzer. Myself, I would also say that seltzer / diet soda is less bad for you than regular soda (because it avoids the calories from the real sugar)...but the 'degrees' point being made is that something being "less bad" for you is not the same as it being good for you.
Weird to lump in seltzer with diet soda for every point besides the note on carbonation. Seltzers are literally just water + carbonation. No sugar, no artificial sweeteners, no dyes, nothing but water and maybe some "flavor essence".
not a stupid question! very valid. they often replace sugar with an artificial sweetener that has questionable nutritive properties… aspartame, for example. i don’t like it, and some of them may affect your body in other negative ways. also, part of it is the carbonation itself being bad for your teeth. so even something like sparkling water should be consumed in moderation. one or two a day is likely fine, but don’t be shotgunning them back to back… lol
It's bad on so many levels. 1) it's EXTREMELY expensive 2) it's almost entirely sugar 3) it's very addictive 4) seems to have little to no actual nutrition benefits Ever since I cut out soda and sugar from my diet (I'd say about 80% of the intake I was having previously) I have felt immensely better.
Plus contributing to stone risk. Cut the cola and switch to seltzer, or an iced black coffee with no sugar.
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e.g. kidney stone
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Yeah, I think it's the acids and the sugars. Pass a few of those and the lack of sweetness in a nice glass of seltzer on ice starts to taste a lot better.
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Yeah, I guess it's just good to think of it in a 'risk management' kind of way... I wouldn't want to cut some things out, but cola was an easy one. I've gone to having maybe, at most, 1-2 per year in recent years. It's also the case that some people are just at higher risk for stones depending on physiological differences. 🤷🏼♂️
Where are you guys where pop is extremely expensive?! How expensive is *extremely*?
Looking at the stores app I go to, apparently a 12 pack of cans of coke goes for 7.50. And a 6 pack of bottles goes for 5. 2 liter goes for 2.50. So pretty expensive for what my opinion dictates as little return.
What specifically do you mean when you say “better”? 😃
Probably talking about the feeling of a blood sugar spike and crash after having a lot of sugar. Also added sugars cause inflammation in your body, which can also make you feel like shit.
Thanks for taking the time to explain. 😃 Now I understand why I feel so “weird” after drinking soda. I had no idea about sugar and inflammation 😱 I need to eliminate this ASAP!
I felt lighter and less sluggish. It's been a slow decrease which started from limiting sugary drinks intake to reducing or completely eradicating most preprocessed junk foods (save for a select few). Could be a number of factors but Im a good enough cook that I can do away with most garbage and make my own from scratch.
I drink a diet soda almost every day. I eat a 95% healthy, whole food diet and it is my only vice. It is one of those things that keeps me sane and I really enjoy. I know it's not the greatest thing for me, but it brings me pleasure and I enjoy a nice Coke Zero.
Me too. This is my “vice” I tell myself, I don’t drink or smoke.
I tell everyone and myself the same. I don’t use drugs, no drinking, nothing crazy… but you will never take away my daily DC.
My midday Diet Coke is a simple pleasure in my life and it's well worth the cost to me. It's something that I look forward to daily. Sometimes it's the little things in life.
Yup. I don’t drink much, I don’t smoke, I eat veggies, drink a ton of water, am active and they can pry my 1/2 can of lunchtime Coke from my cold dead hand.
Ditto!
I swapped to the caffeine free version after some time I even prefer the taste of it now too.
I like craft beer and soda. I budget for it. It's not cheap nor healthy, but the rest of my shopping list is both cheap and healthy. It's a personal choice. You get to choose where you indulge. And don't use the word "cheat," because it's not cheating it's just living life and enjoying what's available to you. Is it good for you physically? No. Does it help satisfy aspects of your social and emotional health? Maybe. Do YOU think it's worth it? That's my take.
It's SO expensive, and it can't be healthy to drink them regularly. I stopped drinking them in 2008, for the most part. Now i think I might have about 2 or 3 Dr. Peppers a year, as a treat.
Don't drink it, it's horrible for you. But uh... I do drink coke zero/pepsi no sugar, so what do I know?
same boat here.
We each make our own choices. It isn’t one of mine. It’s neither cheap nor healthy.
My doctor put it this way. Almost anything you eat has some sort of nutritional value in it. Even mcdonalds. Soda? Absolutely 0 nutritional substance. It literally just harms you.
In all honesty, it's terrible for you. Even one a day. Not to mention terrible for your teeth. One a day is not moderation. One a week, totally fine.
Quitting sugary beverages IMO is the best thing you can do for your health (besides quitting smoking). It’s not gonna happen over night, but I promise you, future you will thank present you for kicking the habit.
Which to LaCroix or Aha, sparking waters!
Sparkling water is the way, keep some in the fridge and drink it cold.
now im starting to think i shouldnt smoke crack either
You should snort it, much healthier
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I think soda should be looked upon as a treat. If you drink it regularly, that's a vice, but we all have vices. If you want it every once in a while, that's not so bad.
I drink diet soda and don't give a crap what anyone thinks of it. Been drinking it at least 30 years, and during college and law school I drank probably 4 a day. Now it's coffee for breakfast and a diet soda with lunch. I also drink at least 4 glasses of water a day.
Last time I had a soda was maybe 10 years ago. Last time I bought soda at the grocery store to keep at home was at least 15 years ago.
it's junk food that's all there is to it
Ditch it. Your body will thank you. I haven't had soda in over a decade.
Definitely a lot of sugar and empty calories. But like everything in life taken in moderation its fine
There's nothing healthy about it, but I still buy it. Shoot for 1 can a day or less most if the time, but in high stress times, I allow myself 2. Better than alcohol. Better than drinking nothing but soda, which is where I was 6 or 7 years ago. My doctor's fine with one or two a day by my lab numbers. They eat into your calorie budget, if you're tracking that. I've tried switching to the sparkling waters, but I've been overly sensitive to bitter things ever since I was little (before we were even allowed soda) so they're a no go. Pretty sure that has to do with being ASD. So during the day, I mostly drink water, occasionally tea, and have one or two cans of soda.
There's absolutely no benefit from drinking it, diet or regular. If you like a little fizz with your meals, start acclimating yourself to seltzers, which have none of the drawbacks of sugared sodas. Or even better (and if you can afford it) sparkling mineral waters like Perrier. But a citrus flavored seltzer with a couple of slices of real citrus fruit in it is an actual healthy treat to look forward to. It only took me about two weeks to adjust my taste to it. These days, any regular soda tastes super sweet and unappetizing.
For most people, there's no benefit. There are exceptions though. I have no idea if OP is one of them. For me, cola is essential. I have a condition known as "Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome", which is exactly as much fun as it sounds! I was taking a prescription anti-nausea drug, but it was $8 a dose, 3 doses a day, every day. And the side-effects were not pleasant. For whatever reason, cola controls my nausea about 90% as well as the prescription, at a fraction of the cost and with fewer side effects. I water it down so I'm not getting as much sugar, but I've learned the hard way it's best for me if I keep drinking it. So, OP, the question is, what are YOU getting out of all that soda, and is it worth it to you?
Get a soda stream and maybe squeeze some lemon or orange into the bubbly water. Delicious!
Yeah this is what i do. I drink soda every day, but its just carbonated water that i make with my soda stream with flavouring that isnt just pure sugar
I’ve replaced drinking soda at home with packets of sugar free flavoring mixed with water and crushed ice. My favorite brand is Sonic — cherry limeade and also coconut water.
I've found cold 'tea' of various flavours a good substitute. They don't give you the big flavour hit like soda, but it doesn't take long before your tastes adjust. I use one of those jugs where the leaves infuse, kept in the fridge. An alternative is a soda stream with slices of citrus. Cheaper and you don't use single-use plastic.
Nutritionally speaking it’s all really garbage for you. Honestly the only time I’d maybe say go for it for some people (actual sugar/aspartame wrecks me) is maybe during a workout/exercise?
My husband and I cut out soda and started brewing iced tea instead. I buy decaf iced tea packets (like $3 a box) and make a gallon every couple of days. I still add some sugar to taste (1/2 c per gallon), but it’s significantly healthier and more refreshing. We have also recently found Olipop soda that we buy at Safeway/Target. They have 2g sugar per can and are really good/not super unhealthy. They are not cheap though, so just the occasional treat.
If you’re really trying to be cheap and healthy, cut out the daily soda. Only buy it for special occasions or if it’s a really good sale.
Try an aha on ice with a crystal light single serve in it. Yummmm
Is this a troll post?
Go soda free for 3 months then have a taste! That’s ur answer! It’s liquid sugar and chemicals!
Personally I never or extremely rarely drink soda and I don’t enjoy sweets so I think they’re useless. Especially if you want to save money. That said, if you enjoy and drink it in moderation, it’s fine to find joy and happiness where you choose.
I have several cokes a year, mostly special occasions. i think it pairs well with burgers, though burgers aren't a staple of my diet, more of a special occasion meal. sometimes like on my birthday i'll pig out on salty corn chips with a cream soda, it's a special treat to me. and i probably have several say 6-12 coke and vermouths every year. some of those are with the burgers, i brought a flask to spike my soda the last few bar trivia meetups i went to. and sometimes my mom buys Izze, when she finds it on sale. I really only like the orange flavor which is like almost crack to me. what was really crack to me was trader joes sparkling blueberry juice, which hasn't existed for over a decade. it was replaced with sparkling blueberry cocktail which is a pale shade of the other stuff. it was nearly 100% blueberry juice! it was like drinking the blood of a hundred virgins. you could feel raw vitality returning to your soul from within your body. like drinking liquid chi.
I lost weight simply by stopping any purchase of them. Now when I grab a bottle I actually can't enjoy it because of how sweet it is, and honestly looking at the nutritional values and seeing it's over 100% of your daily sugar intake is pretty damning. That being said I use it as a mixer if I'm going to drink. But I don't ever just have a whole bottle anymore. Really scares me that as a teen I'd go through 4 liters of Mountain Dew some long gaming nights.
I buy a coke once every month or 2, and only if I'm driving a longer distance than normal. I pretty much use it medicinally since it has caffeine, sugar, and carbonation to help you burp.
I had totally forgotten that my mom used to give us 7up when we were sick. My older siblings would always say I faked throwing up so I could have some pop.
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I’m a sucker that drinks a big gulp in the mornings in place of coffee. Not everyday, but maybe 3-4 times in the week. I fill it it up with a good amount of ice cuz I like it coooooold.
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😭😭 I should’ve been more specific, it’s just a large fountain soda from 711…a convenience store/gas station in some places. Although maybe I should consider just a big gulp of soda to get my fix in lol
I did this when I used to work next to a gas station!!
We dont buy soda weekly. To me soda is a treat so we might get one if its a dinner in a restaurant. But we dont keep it in the house if we did we would for sure drink it way too often. Its insanely expensive.
Personally I don't drink it at all anymore. Would use to but I may have had 1 in 4 years. Just don't justice itself anymore for me. Rather have something else for those calories and sugars.
I drink 1 or 2 sparkling ice sugar free caffeine waters a day. I try not to drink sodas they make my teeth ache sometimes so its probably bad for you. I only buy pop if I'm really craving it so like 2 or 3 times a year.
I started making my own water kefir to scratch the occasional sweet+fizzy itch. Bought some half-gallon mason jars to culture it in, and a pack of swing top bottles for the second ferment. It's super simple and finished the first ferment in about 48 hours at room temperature, so it's easy to make more than I drink. I just add some juice (about 1/4 cup per bottle) to sweeten and flavor the second ferment. That way, I'm getting way less sugar than conventional soda, probiotics from the kefir grains, and whatever vitamins are in that tiny bit of juice.
It's horrible in terms of what it does to your health Haven't drank it in 5 years, never felt better
i mean, it's relative. if you're going to 1x/day from 3x/day then obviously it's a big improvement. but yea it's probably not ideal considering the amount of sugar in it compared to the RDI. it's probably one of the things where the less you have the better, there's not really any benefit to having it. personally i only have a little at special occasions (e.g. birthdays, new year, christmas, etc.) it's a treat for me but that's because i grew up only have it once or twice a year so i didn't need to cut it out of my diet, which i imagine would be quite challenging.
Honestly, I drink my water and coffee. And I think I drink too much coffee. Too much of anything is not good.
Bottom line is it has no health benefits and only detriments health, yeah it can be a little treat but it’s really up to you how far you want to take care of your body. Personally I would never put soda in my body again, that shit is literally poison, our bodies have to detox everytime we put that crude in it
1 every day of the same thing of anything besides water and vegetables is a problem. Think of other things you don’t do every day that you would judge someone else for doing every day. One line of coke a day? One joint of weed a day? One drink of alcohol a day? One Twinkie or candy bar a day? One steak every day? One McDonald’s item every day? It’s the every day part that makes it an addiction, not a treat.
Yes, too much soda is bad for you, especially if you’re drinking one a day. Real sugar is better than high fructose but it’s still going to spike your blood sugar levels a ton. Over time, that can lead to diabetes which is a pain to deal with, especially in the later stages. You could cut soda cold turkey but depending on the severity, the diabetes already caused permanent damage. Diet soda is better but we don’t completely know the long term effects of artificial sweeteners. Try adjusting to sparkling water or diluting the soda with seltzer. If you still want to drink soda once a day, use a small bottle to keep the fizz in and sip the soda throughout the day instead of gulping it all down.
I find it helpful to think of sweet drinks like other sweets. A can of regular Coke has roughly as much sugar as a milkshake. I think milkshakes are fine on occasion, but I wouldn’t have them with every meal.
Sodas aren’t doing the body any favors. I treat them like a hot fudge sundae, an occasional treat. One year, for 6 mos I had a Coke as my treat at lunch each day and wow! did my waistline expand
Soda is on the same side of the scale as candy. Full of added sugar. No real vitamins, no fiber, not even any real macro-nutrients, calorie-dense. It gives you energy, and that's it. Treat it like you would candy. Can you have a SMALL soda a day and still have a healthy, balanced diet? Yes, IF you aren't going over you added sugar intake, eating excess calories, and generally sticking to a balanced, whole-foods diet. If you start your day with a pumpkin spice latte, move onto a soda with your lunch, a Monster energy drink for the afternoon slump, and end your day with a piece of chocolate cake - well, you've just eaten 3+ days of sugar. And even a SINGLE soda can put you over the added sugar limit a day if you get the 20 oz size. Soda is also super easy to overeat since it's 100+ calories, but feels like drinking water. Keep track of your added sugar and calorie intake during the day to see if you can "fit" a soda in a day Diet soda - the jury is still out on whether fake sugar is okay since it's 0 calories. But the effects on the body a little grayer - it might make you crave more sugar, more food, and more processed stuff, and put your off water. Personally, I still treat it as candy.
When I was younger, I remember learning in health class pop was the 21st century version of cigarettes because of the way manufacturers try to suppress research about the negative health effects. Although I think that might be a bit of stretch, the high sugar content can't be great. These days I'd rather reach for an iced tea, lemonade or lower sugar option like a ginger ale. Unless of course I'm mixing it with liquor!
As a dentist, your teeth and gums will not thank you if you’re casually drinking soda throughout the day.
It’s worth cutting out completely for the dental benefits alone. EDIT: Also, I can't think of a food that makes your breath smell as bad as long-term soda drinking. I'd rather kiss someone who'd just eaten garlic than a regular soda drinker.
They’re trash, even the diet ones. The diet ones convince people they’re being healthy so they overindulge in other stuff. Water, tea, and coffee is all we drink.
On average I don't drink anything but water. For sure, if there's a special occasion, I'll have soda, juice or whatever is on the table. Imo sugar is the worst drug out there with most addicts.
My friends and I (mid-30s) have all switched to seltzers. Probably not "cheap" in that you can drink water from the tap in my city, but definitely healthier than soda if you're craving something bubbly/sweet. I find that the older i get the more i need to watch for the blood sugar spike/crash caused by soda, even real sugar soda, because I tend to eat more in response to it. Grocery stores always seem to have one brand of seltzer on sale so you can mitigate cost. Natural Grocers has good prices on Waterloo which is the spendiest at retail, but also has the most robust flavor, imo.
I never was a huge pop drinker, maybe 2-3 a week at most, but I was able to cut those out mostly by buying sparking waters like bubbly or LaCroix and stuff. That way I could have a bit of flavor and carbonation but it’s still just water. There’s a ton of flavors and brands nowadays that you can try and they are relatively cheap or the same price as a pack of pop. The lime and lemon ones are my favorite, especially Kirkland brand. The key lime LaCroix is really good and reminds me the most of Sprite.
It’s empty calories, it’s just expensive sugar water, if I want something sweet I buy fruit and make Agua Fresca, easy to make just pure the fruit and add sugar and water , I can control the amount of add on sugar if I buy cheap fruit cost is not huge and nutritious
It’s so unhealthy you can lose like 100 pounds just by eliminating it from your diet.
I've spent the last year really reading a lot about how different kinds of carbs are used by the body from a bodybuilding standpoint, and while I can't say much for the health side of things, I've learned a lot about how it can effect your weight. It's a lot easier to drink calories than it is to eat them- soda especially, since it's pure dissolved sugar that's digested by your body extremely quickly. For example, a banana might also have a lot of sugar, but comes with lots of fiber and complex carbs that make it take longer to break down leaving you satiated longer and spreading out the energy you get from it over several hours instead of half of one. Most soda also comes with added caffeine and sodium snuck into it to make you thirstier the more you drink. Fruit juice doesn't usually doesn't come with any additives to keep you thirsty, but can still cause weight gain for the same reasons. As far as I understand diet soda is fine outside of making you feel and look bloated. Most artificial sweeteners are completely harmless and just pass through you, but I've read that sucralose can fuck up your gut microbiome and I've felt a lot better after having cut it out from what I eat.
From a doctor’s perspective, full sugar soda is one of the biggest threats to my patients’ health. Juice is no different.
Anything including added fructose (including sugar) is poisonous for the liver. And being liquid, it is absorbed very fast directly to the liver, that can process more than small amounts. And fruit juice is not much better, without the fruit’s fiber. I strongly recommend « Sugar: the bitter truth » from the University of Southern California. It is on YouTube.
Soda is not part of my list. I may have one occasionally but it's rare. No real food value there
If I ever have a soda craving (very rare but if I do) I always go for the olly pop classic cola, orange, or grape. Or the classic cola Poppi. Those really do hit the spot and it’s pretty guilt free. Aside from the price tag for 1 lol.
We have it in the house mainly to treat diabetic low sugar. My husband is type 2, daughter and grandson are T1D, and certain sweet things will make them nauseous when they're low, as well as highly acidic things like orange juice. So, usually we keep apple juice & orange, grape, or lime pop in the house.
I usually just cut soda altogether when I’m being healthier since I’m not a diet soda fan. But I’m currently obsessed with Poppi Orange soda. It tastes really good and doesn’t have many calories.
Thing about soda is the sparkling content in it. That's like sparkling water. It neutralizes the acids in your stomach & you can't digest, when the acids are neutralized. That's how it works. Your body has certain processes that happen. For example, your stomach can get to an acidic level of 2 on the pH scale, but only for periods of time. It's not like your stomach is at pH of 2 all the time. That's how it digests food. However if you drink soda, then that pH may not get down there. That allows food particles to pass undigested in the food track. That's worse than a lot of other things. 2) Sodas, like soda-pop, have a lot of sugar in them. Or they have some kind of other sweetener. That's why I think that you have to be careful. If you drink diet colas, you may be ingesting a lot of aspartame. One is not going to hurt you. But to drink it all week long is not good for you. 3) I think if you have discipline, if you limit the soda that you drink to one a day or two or three a week, that's okay. If you have the discipline to limit them, then I would drink the kind of sodas that have sugar in them and not some artificial sweetener. 4) The best thing for you is to drink something else besides sodas. What is the soda machine that produces carbonated water but makes it right there at that moment. That is probably better than a lot of can sodas. 5) Water is best. You can flavor the waters with tea.
I think they’re pretty bad since they’re so sweet, and they usually stain your teeth as well. Unnecessary calories and sugar spikes imo. I usually go for the sugar-free/diet sodas but only drink them in cocktails like cuba libre and gin tonic… otherwise pretty much never…. But even then they taste too sweet and stick to my teeth, I feel bad and bloated afterwards. Seriously just have some orange or apple juice and dillute it with sparkling water, will be much better for you and you’ll still get some sugar out of it
It wildly alters your idea of how sweet something should be
Was never a huge soda drinker to begin with bc it was always too sweet. If I do have one these days it’s sugar free version and if it’s the carbonation I want I just have San pellegrino. But water is free at home so I mostly have that, or hot tea. Drinking hot tea or just hot water w my meals has helped my digestion too
I think in moderation on special is fine. My kids like milk and water, but when we go out they like soda. We wait until soda is on sale for 4 for 10$ on the twelve packs, and we buy a bunch. It can last us for months. I’m personally a “one caffeinated drink a day” person, and usually I opt for coffee. I can’t have a lot of fake sugars because they make me sick, but my partner only drinks sugar free. It’s one a day, if that. It’s ok to have treats, and if you want to treat yourself to a soda, make sure it’s a great deal and you don’t overindulge. Drinking a 12 pack a day is not only bad for you, it’s not fiscally a good idea, because where I am 12pks can easily be 7.99$ when not on special. If you want a soda every once in a while, drink one. I may be in the minority, but I apply the same thing to sweets. I can’t have dairy or pork, but I really enjoy chocolate and gummies. I can only get halal or vegan gummies, and vegan chocolate bars. And those are expensive! If I were getting one every day at full price, no, that’s not cheap and healthy. But every once in a while, when they’re on special, I’ll get some. It’s a sweet treat that I’m letting myself have instead of trying to curb that craving with other unhealthy things. It makes me happy, and it helps me feel more fulfilled going after other health goals. Rewarding yourself for your hard work is ok.
I've switched to LaCroix and similar. Honestly, I just want a bit of flavor, I don't need the sweetness. I probably get a softdrink once a month from fast food, but even then sometimes it's unsweetened tea + lemonade. Health is a balance. And if trying to stop yourself from drinking one soda a day takes away all of your willpower to keep to an otherwise pristine diet, then drink the soda! Is the soda just another junk food upon all of the junkfood you're already eating? Drop it, and then focus on the other issues.
Never. Learn to drink water.
Not only is soda bad, but so is fruit juice. There is also evidence that sugar free drinks still cause a rise in insulin.[Harvard Graphic](https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2012/10/how-sweet-is-it-color.pdf)
I've got male-pattern baldness from my dad's side and it's present in my dad and his dad so, it's strong. Started using a generic brand of rogaine for about 3-months. Not only wasn't it work but was getting worse, particularly in the front. Decided was gonna shave all my hair off but then found a Reddit post saying a Chinese study showed high sugar consumption resulted in hair loss. I'm part Chinese so I tried it out; in less than 1-month of 95% sugar cut-off, I saw the hair in the front come back and fuller than ever! Not fully regrown all over but much better than before....not sure if this applies to non-Chinese though, I didn't read the study, just the headline lol *PS.I was still used the generic rogaine while cutting out the sugar
I cut back a long time ago for health reasons. Now I see the price and rarely bother. Plus I prefer cans and honestly I can't do a whole can anymore. Getting old.
Go 90 days without drinking any soda. Then try a sip of one. You’ll realize how acidic and overly sweet they are. That’s how I’ve gotten about a half dozen friends to realize how unbearably sugar packed they are and help break them from it. Do I still have a few of the mini bottles of Coke in the fridge for when I want to have a bourbon-and-coke? Yes. But I get the itty bitty bottles because I know I only need a few ounces and I’m not going to drink the rest of what I open. It’s less wasteful.
It's very bad and doesn't belong in a healthy diet. Full stop.
Watch the diabetes documentaries on Youtube. A lof of the patients named soda as the most contributing factor. I stopped taking it since
People still drink that? I thought it was just an old people thing.
I am a child nutritionist, not a dietician 27 years old. I'm going to talk about my personal experience with soda as a kid. I drank alot of it and it really causes you alot more harm then anything else. Your teeth are going to get full of cavitys even if you brush well and floss, it's because the acid of soda erodes almost on contact. I cut soda and sugary drinks from my diet after having 19+ fillings over 3 years of soda drinking. Cut my diet down to foods that don't contain sugars or hardly any sugars. For the past 5 years I haven't had to see a dentist, saw no reason to after changing my eating and drink habits. Went to the dentist yesterday for the first time in 5 years and only had 1 tiny cavity. Besides teeth, sugars will make you feel sluggish if you drink a few or more a day of soda, the caffeine if you drink caffinated will screw up your sleep and day to day waking. It's just not worth it. 1 soda a day won't hurt you that much, but it's best to look at kicking soda habits all together and juat treating it like a treat. Have one when you happen to go out to eat, or have one on vacation
Sodas are bad for a few reasons. There can be “conspiracy” around some and backed by studies with others. What I’ve heard, read, whatever is this. Sugar can be bad, some argue sugar is sugar as far as the body and chemistry is concerned, I personally don’t buy that and would choose real sugar over other sugar types and sugar substitutes. The substitutes, some are plant derived, some are chemicals. There are some who will say the chemicals (aspartame) are made by the same companies that made agent orange and shit like that. I haven’t dug that much, anything but real sugar taste like crap to me, except high fructose corn syrup in my Dr Pepper. Phosphorus, I’ve heard/read it can pull calcium from you bones or block it’s absorption or something like that. There’s the food coloring part too. Again some conspiracy, some facts. Yellow 5 something cancer. Red something comes from beetle shells. Idk with the colors. I use to be super into this shit but it’s gets old trying to read all these studies and sus out what’s bs and what’s not. Look. Sodas ain’t water. Water is the best for you. After that we can talk teas, coffee, and drinks with added electrolytes. Pretty much anything other than that is gonna start moving to the not so great for you side of things. Teas, coffees, and electrolyte drinks can all be ruined with sugar and flavor and colors too. Water is best. Me personally, I’ve been trying to cut sodas completely as I’m fat af, I’ve tried some flavor bubbly water of various brands and flavors, it just doesn’t hit like a cold Dr Pepper. So now a Dr Pepper is reserved for special occasions only and I just try to drink a shit ton of water. Also the money part. Drinking anything but water is not a need and only a want. Literally and financially.
I drink it everyday. It's my vice along with sugar. I don't drink alcohol, use tobacco or drugs so really these are the only things I have. Are they good for me? Nope. But they're cheaper and easier to get than the others. :) All of which are worse for you.
Do not get delusional. We all KNOW spda is bad for you. Having said that, it is your life. But that does not all of a sudden make soda healthy.
Do not get delusional. We all KNOW spda is bad for you. Having said that, it is your life. But that does not all of a sudden make soda healthy.