The Story with Soda

Nothing can quench your thirst better than a Sprite.

By Candy

Nothing calms your sweet tooth better than a Diet Pepsi.

Nothing caps your night better than a Rum and Coke.

So you’re in love with a beverage. But don’t be blinded by your infatuation; soda might just be your unhealthiest boyfriend.

He fattens your waistline. Each 12-oz. can has about nine teaspoons of sugar and about 150 calories. The average American drinks two of these a day. That’s more than 2,000 calories extra a week. Whoa, Momma!

He lessens your cash flow. The dollars spent yearly on sweetened soft drinks continues to increase. A 1997 USDA study showed that Americans spent more than $54 billion to buy 14 billion gallons of soda. This means, on average, each American consumed 576 cans a year.

He lowers the nutrition in your diet. Soda, sweetened teas and “sports drinks” displace nutrients from healthy beverages like milk and fruit juice, rendering your body deficient in calcium and vitamins C and D. Even though these sweetened drinks contain a lot of calories, they do nothing to curb the appetite. Therefore, you are likely to consume too many calories each day.

It won’t be easy, but you should probably kick soda to the curb and hook-up with someone genuine and rich (in antioxidants), like pomegranate juice.