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 ♥
Hehe wow felt so guilty since I just had a can of coke😂 good thing is I drink it maybe once or twice a month … but it’s insane with sugar and all calories.
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Yeah, that’s a truly pleasure, sadly, a guilty one :))
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Like I use to say; you don’t get fat from one burger now and then, and don’t get skinny from a salad now and then. We need to enjoy some but in lesser amounts👍
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True! Reduced use of it all could bring so much of change😄
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I have been very straight with my kids about soda and energy drinks. One of my sons actually prefer water with ice😂
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Oh, that’s such a great choice! 😀
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This topic deserves great attention…thanks for the good news…hope people will make changes…
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Thank you very much!🌟
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Lovely post
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Thank you!😄
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It is scary isn’t it? I am so happy I’m soda free as I simply don’t like it! Hope you enjoy your Sunday! 😊
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Oh yes, those statistics are pretty terrifying. And thank you!♥
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Great post! I’ve never been a soda drinker personally. I love sparkling water though!
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Thank you💕! And it’s so good you’re not soda addicted, too many people can’t imagine their life without it
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This is how most of my family is! It’s the sugar! My husband craves sodas a lot and he started drinking Zevias. I haven’t been tempted but he likes them.
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Oh, Zevia is truly one of the best choices cause of natural sweeteners 🙂 it’s so great that your husband chose it!
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Soda is definitely poison. Bad! Bad! Bad! For anyone. Thanks for the reminder.
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Thank you!💕
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Soda is so cheap in our grocery stores, sometimes I feel like they are giving it away. Buy two, get three free, etc. I know of someone who drank a ton of free soda at work and many years later switched to diet soda. He became a diabetic. I recently learned that when a diet product is introduced, it fools the pancreas into thinking it’s sugar and when it figures out it’s not sugar, then when sugar or the diet product gets used, the pancreas ignores it and doesn’t send insulin. Sad.
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Yes, diet products are sometimes much worse than usual ones
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I consider soda to be toxic, including the so-called diet ones. The artificial sweeteners are neurotoxins.
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That’s absolutely true!
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I’m addicted to pepsi but I’m cutting it low and it’s been three weeks without having any… I have been reading more bou sugars and all and I’m sure your blog is a go to source for that…
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Oh, pepsi used to be my fave 😀 and I’m glad you’re going without it! Keep it up!♥
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Thanks😊
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Thanks for enlightening us. I had forgotten how unhealthy it is. 😝😀
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Thank you!♥♥
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My friend Dave lost 40 pounds without working out. He gave up drinking regular soda and switched to diet. I’m addicted to Coke Zero and drink it at meals. I had seriously cut back but then they started running these insane deals at the grocery store and I fell for it and was back to my old ways.
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Yes, such huge weight loss is a perfect example of how cutting out soda from life could be great 🙂
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Seems mostly doesn’t like soda 😁
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Yeah, I’m pretty much surprised 😮
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I love soda 🍼
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Oh yes, that’s a guilty pleasure🥃
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Yeah the fuck with sodas now… way too much sugar… water is the fucking best!
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YEEEEEES!!!
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