Been drinking exclusively (give or take) no-sugar caffeinated sodas since a child. Not obese or diabetic. Mid-thirties now. How bad is this?
Been drinking exclusively (give or take) no-sugar caffeinated sodas since a child. Not obese or diabetic. Mid-thirties now. How bad is this?
Not the answer to your question but: Have you tried water? It’s really not that bad. Some even like it.
As for your question: Mayo clinic says “It’s not known if drinking diet soda every day is harmful. The evidence on diet soda’s health effects isn’t clear”. So no one knows, but I thank you for your contribution to this experiment. Hope it works out well.
Yea but what does a mayonaise clinic know about sprite
Yes. It tastes foul. I’m addicted to caffeine. I’ve tried to cut back over the years and I just can’t.
How about fizzy water? (Carbonated water)
Salt always seems to be added to fizzy water. There’s probably a reason. It’s very noticeable and unpleasant. In other carbonated drinks the saltiness is masked. (All carbonated drinks seem to have salt.)
I’m not convinced drinking seltzer is any better than a no-sugar cola. One still has the concerns of carbon dioxide making bones more brittle. Issues about artificial sweeteners and over consumption of caffeine are removed, but at that point just drink water.
Water isn’t addictive, neither is seltzer, but caffeinated drinks are. This advice to just drink seltzer/water is just as helpful as telling a life-time cigarette smoker, “just suck on a stick and pretend you’re smoking”.
It was more about it having a flavour, to help you move away from sofa.
One of the ways I cut back was to have water sitting next to my soda for the first few months. Just have water right next to it. I would always make sure it was fresh, cold water with ice if possible. I would alternate between them so I was getting more water, but also so I could get used to the taste again.
Now, if I ever have a sweet drink, I follow it up with a glass of water after. Even if you just balance it between the two, it’s better than drinking only soda. Moderation is better than nothing at all.
I’m using this strategy too. I have bladders of water around and my water consumption has increased, but that’s more an addition to the soda consumption.
Have you tried various flavored waters or seltzers? Long term the caffeine addiction probably isn’t that great for you either.
You don’t have to go cold turkey, but if I were you I would try to taper down your soda consumption and see how that makes you feel. You may also be slightly dehydrated and a little water (as in flavored waters, if you can handle it) may make you feel a little better.
The salt content of fizzy waters makes me gag. You might as well drink sea water. I perhaps should have specified it’s coke, but when money’s an issue it’s whatever’s cheapest: pepsi or whatever clones can be found. All sugar free though. I don’t like sweet drinks and that includes flavoured water. I either drink water or a no-sugar cola. Anything else is in the ‘omg this tastes absolutely aweful why do people drink this’ territory, but that includes water and colas.
There’s been points in my life where I’d drink in excess and the ‘normal’ flavour of the cola is gone, replaced with a heavy grass taste. It’s actively unpleasant.
Pepsi’s caffeine content must be higher than coke’s, because I absolutely feel dehydrated consuming that. It’s too sweet too. It’s my least favorite cola to consume. Coke would be my favourite.
Tap water is genuinely terrible in some areas. Have you tried bottled water?
My family uses a water softening filter on our tap water and it makes it go from awful tasting to pretty good. We just store water in a jug after filtering and it really helps and is far cheaper than bottled water.