Should we stop drinking soda?

When I first came to college, I had stopped drinking DrPepper altogether but I still indulged in my Coca-Cola cravings. After my freshman year I stopped drinking them as much, and I noticed that my taste buds changed so I stopped drinking them altogether.

If you’re an East Texan and you enjoy a nice cold soda, the fact that sodas affect health so much might make you stop and take notice. I know it made me take notice.

According to a CNN article,

The biggest risk for regular soda drinkers is the excess calories, says Lona Sandon, RD, assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. "The calories in regular soda are coming entirely from added sugar, and you're not getting any value in terms of vitamins or minerals, or even good quality carbohydrates," she says.

Soda has also been linked to tooth decay and diabetes.

If I’m being honest, I still indulge in a Coke every once in a while, but I don’t consume a soda multiple times a day. I limit the amount of soda I intake by balancing it with water, milk, and other healthier options.

Sandon says switching to diet sodas might be a good first step, but its best to wean yourself off of those as well.

A few helpful tips on decreasing your soda consumption are:

• Wean yourself off slowly

• Drink a glass of water first

• Do the exercise math

“In a 2014 Johns Hopkins University study, researchers placed signs in corner stores stating that a 20-ounce bottle of soda would take 5 miles of walking or 50 minutes of jogging to burn off.”

That would make me think twice about purchasing a soda, what about you?

#soda #EastTexan #sugar