I was listening to the news yesterday and they had a study that said that even having 1 diet soda increases your chances of developing type 2 diabetes by over 30%! The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and conducted by France’s National Institute of Health it said that drinking just ONE 12-oz can of diet soda a week increases your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 33%. Crazy.
I’m already a huge un-fan {is that a word} of diet sodas. There are way too many chemicals in there for me but for a lot of people it seems like the safest way to get their soda fix without the sugar high or extra calories. That’s just not the case though. It’s still messing with your body, just in a different way.
Part of the evolution towards a healthier life is realizing that there are some things just not worth doing even if they are fun… or in this case taste good.
Drinking soda is just not worth it to me so I’m giving up sodas. I am the biggest believer in everything in moderation. I tell my girls that if they are really craving something you should eat or drink it. For some reason when I have Mexican food I am desperate for a soda. That’s the extent of my soda drinking at this point… but even that is too much. I’m going to really try to cut it out completely.
I also always try to remember not to drink my calories.
Meaning that if I want something sweet…
eating a piece of fruit is a better choice,
and will actually fill me up more than drinking tons of sugar will.
Having 1 soda can equal 12 teaspoons of sugar!
My path towards a healthier and more natural life will not include sodas. I believe that the happiest people indulge here and there so I will allow for the occasional indulgence if my family members want to have a soda. For me though, if I get desperate for a soda I’ll be sticking with natural sodas. There are some really awesome ones out there so it won’t feel like I am making a sacrifice if I drink one. These will be my new soda. This is one of my favorites:
Here is an interesting infograph about how sodas impact your health. Does this make you want to avoid or drink less of them?
Via: TermLifeInsurance.org
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About Heather
Interesting…I drink diet caffeine free soda, but very rarely. Basically, only time I want a soda is if I’m eating pizza, and even then I try to avoid it if possible
I’m like that too… but with Mexican food! I think {hoping} the natural sodas will fill that craving!
I really struggle with soda. I have one diet soda a day. I try to limit it to that. I know I need to give it up but someone those bubbles just do me in.
Ellen, I totally agree… those bubbles sometimes sounds so good!
Soda is my downfall sometimes! I used to drink it all the time, until I had some cavities that were painful to fill, so the dentist told me to drink coffee instead. So then I drank several cups a day! Usually decaff, but it’s still too much. With my active lifestyle, water is a better choice, so I’m trying to make sure I drink enough. I even bought a water bottle that has a compartment inside the bottle for frozen fruit so it will infuse into my water. That’s helping! I still get cravings, and I give in to the soda every once in awhile, and I still drink at least a cup of coffee a day. My runs are a lot less successful on days where I drank a lot of coffee, or even had a soda, so that’s some good motivation to help me out!
I don”t drink soda very often but when I do it is NEVER diet soda. Many people have problems with the aspartame that they use to sweeten soda and it can cause some major health problems. The izze stuff is good and really does the trick without all the crappy chemicals.