Oh Those Soda Temptations

Soda is somewhere around the corner every day. No matter what’s the name of it – Cola, Pepsi, Fanta, 7up, Sprite, Mountain Dew, Dr Pepper – it surrounds us with its sweetness, fulfillment and pleasure everyday. Sadly, with sugar, calories and guilt, too.

A lot of you guys admitted you could probably go sugar free if not soda. I personally never loved it too much, tho when I was younger it used to be my best friend in parties, ofc, altogether with pizza, oh yes. So I decided to take a look at that soda thing a little bit more carefully.
Turns out that Americans consume over 1.7 million tons of sugar each year from Coca-Cola alone. This is equivalent to 50kg (10.8 lbs) of sugar per person, per year. Soda is the largest source of added sugar in American diets.

This doesn’t sound very well. And there’s some more facts that are surprising in not the most pleasant way:

• it’d take 50 minutes of running or 8km (5 miles) of walking to burn the calories in a 500ml (20 fl oz) bottle of soda;
• a 500ml (20 fl oz) bottle of soda contains the equivalent of approximately 16 teaspoons of sugar;
• over the past 30 years, adult diabetes rates in the USA have nearly tripled; in the same period, soda consumption doubled;
• adults who drink one portion of soda (or more) a day are 27% more likely to be overweight or obese;
• and among children, those who drink one or more soda beverages daily have 55% greater odds of being overweight or obese;
• plus children who frequently consume soda are at increased risk zone for dental caries, asthma, headaches, muscle problems and developmental delays;
• this whole thing also costs a lot – medical costs for people who are obese/have diabetes are dramatically higher than those of normal weight; and those increase every year

 

So these few statements are obviously not the ones that’d make you want to refresh yourselves with a bottle of cola.

But are there any healthier alternatives to use instead of ‘proper soda’ ones?

Ofc, cola zero/ diet coke are much healthier ones than cola in some ways. But those will definitely make an impact after longer time of use.

So the only great alternative in this whole thing is homemade lemonade (ha, combined Bey with Lorde). I know, for some people it’d sound lame. But natural carbonated (sparkling) water with few drops of your beloved fruit could be a nice drink-to-have in those hot summer days. After all, there are lots of great recipes from our grandmas. Cut out added sugar from them and here you go – great taste, great choice.

Well, if it’s soooo damn not sweet, add stevia, erythritol, inulin, xylitol or monk fruit. I know, these might sound like names of ancient African tribes or chemical engineering transformations, but they’re the best sweeteners so far according to many scientists.

 

Have great soda free Sunday then

Maria ♥