Stop Drinking Soda: Helpful Hints and Tips

You know it, I know it, the doctor knows it... let's just admit it: drinking soda is a dirty little habit. While companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi try to gloss over the obvious dangers of their super-sugared drinks, the population of Western society tips the scales at higher and higher weights. We all want to be healthy and feel good inside and out, and soda is not helping our pursuit of that.

With ridiculous amounts of sugar and enough caffeine in most sodas to get us addicted, there really is not one thing that could be called "beneficial" about cracking one of these open. So why do we keep on buying them? Why choose a soda at a restaurant rather than a glass of water or tea? The reasons will surprise you.

First off, it's cheap. It's cheaper than milk, juice, and the same price as or less than, bottled water. Not only is it cheap, but it's readily available. Just look around you. There are soda machines at nearly every public place with a wide selection of yummy sugary drinks. Water struggles to look appetizing when it's advertised between root beer and sprite. Which brings up another point -- people are deceived about which drinks are "healthy." You may think that Sprite is less bad for you, since it does not contain caffeine, which is true, but Sprite contains 38 grams of sugar... just one gram less than coca cola.

Add in the fact that we're assaulted every day with advertisements and endorsements, and it's easy to get us in the habit of grabbing a can of soda that was designed to appeal to you.

You may still ask yourself, "how much harm can one little can of soda a day do?" A lot.
Here are just a few:

• Drinking a single 12 ounce per day causes one pound of weight gain per month
• Increased risk of type 2 diabetes
• bone loss and osteoporosis
• Damage to tooth enamel
• Damage to kidneys
• Damage to intestinal tract, due to increased stomach acidity from sodas
• Increased risk of heart disease due to raised blood pressure

And the list goes on...

How do we give it up? How do we break the habit of grabbing a 12 pack of soda at the store? How do we make the right choices when we're at a restaurant, at work, or on an outing?

The first step is to make the right choices. It isn't just one choice where you say, "Ok! I'm done with soda!" It's a constant string of choices to live a healthier life. Second, give yourself options. You know your palate and what flavors appeal to you. Do you live citrus? Keep a few lemons and a few limes in your refrigerator to squeeze into a glass of sparkling water for a refreshing substitute. Try milk or soymilk for a creamy refreshing beverage. Or just be surprised at how much you enjoy ice cold water, after you spend a few weeks readjusting. Still can't quench your sweet-tooth? Find an all natural juice that you like and mix it 50-50 with sparkling water. It will give you the bubbly-sweet taste that you crave, but half of the calories, lots of vitamins, and no caffeine.

Another tip that I've found extremely useful is to post things on my refrigerator. I have a facts sheet of all of the negative side effects of soda along with all of the benefits of drinking water. Just that, is an encouragement to choose water and to make soda suddenly not so appealing.
There's also the miserable side effect from years of soda drinking, of withdrawals. Yep, even a legal and "safe" drug like caffeine has withdrawals -- both physical and psychological. You might experience fatigue,moderate to severe headaches, muscle pain or stiffness, and sometimes even flu-like symptoms such as nausia and vomiting. These withdrawals can be alleviated with over the counter medicines and a little TLC. The symptoms usually last two to four days.

I've found that keeping just a little caffeine in my day-to-day drinks kept me from having awful withdrawals. I usually keep a pitcher of iced tea in my refrigerator, which gives me just enough to keep my headaches under control. The best part is, that I know exactly what goes into every pitcher, since I made it. I can control how much sugar my family takes in, and even add a little fruit juice to add in extra vitamins and sweetening.

There are lots of alternatives to soda, and many benefits to quitting. Do it for your health, your family's health, and to maximize the nutrition potential of everything you consume!