Soft Drinks are "Poison" period> diet or regular

[James Y]

Tl;dr
Some smokers like to 90 and then triathletes drop dead at 20-
You do what you can for your health, keep yourself happy and given good luck or planing take the former everytime.

This is very true. One of the martial arts teachers I had in Taiwan had probably smoked since age 10, and when I studied under him, he was in his early 70s and still in apparently excellent health. He'd sometimes teach with a cigarette dangling from his lips and was still extremely fit, strong and agile, and never got out of breath. He died at the age of 94 or so.

I've also known people who were almost excessively health-conscious about things like diet, etc., who developed all kinds of maladies.

While I believe smoking is a filthy habit, much about most people's health health has to do with genetics, as well as attitude/mindset. That said, although I'm not a 'health nut' per se, I mostly try to eat and drink what makes me feel good about what I'm taking in without being too hung up on it.

Regarding soda, I gave it up years ago. I used to like Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi and Dr. Pepper. Until I found out how yucky the artificial sweeteners are for the body. They're just as bad as the sugary sodas, and those are horrible. Sodas can also be addictive. I used to think I 'had to' have one every day.

Jim

James, would you say that carbonated drinks that are flavored with fruit essences, such as flavored seltzers that do not contain any sweetening chemicals like aspartame are safe and a good alternative for those who desire the carbonation and flavor but don't want the chemicals or sugars of sodas?

SEF:

I'm not an expert, but I don't see there being much of a problem with that, unless perhaps carbonation gives you stomach upset.

Going a bit OT, eight years ago I had to give up eating products containing gluten, when I discovered I had developed a gluten sensitivity. I discovered it myself through trial and error. Now I have to avoid it and be very careful in what I eat. I do my own cooking. Lots of people assume that going gluten-free is some kind of joke, or some hipster-type of lifestyle choice. Not in my case, nor in many other people's cases, either. It's not easy. I never would have gone gluten-free if I hadn't started experiencing negative physical effects from foods containing gluten (and it's not just limited to bread). Gluten is in everything, including sauces, etc. It limits what and where you can eat, and specifically gluten-free foods (other than fruits and vegetables) cost more than foods that are not. I've known someone with celiac disease whose gluten sensitivity is far worse than mine.

I also had to give up eating chocolate (which I loved as a kid and occasionally ate into adulthood) back in 2007. I started experiencing severe headaches after eating chocolate. It's probably better for me not to eat it, anyway.

Jim

[Bloke]

for those who desire the carbonation and flavor ...

[The Deacon]

Deacon and JD,and anyone else: What are your comments to a person who wants to eat cheeseburgers, French fries, potato chips, milk shakes, ice cream, donuts, cakes, cookies, and those types of foods and drinks, but, does not want any down sides or unhealthy side effects? Are there alternatives they can eat or is it really an issue of moderation and personal restraint because there are at present no alternatives that are healthy ?

Sure, there are "alternatives", but it's highly unlikely any of them will taste as good as the real things. As I've said before, moderation is the key. How much of any of them a given person can eat without "unhealthy side effects" is going to be a question of that person's genes and metabolism. Besides, with the possible exception of french fries and potato chips, there's nothing inherently "unhealthy" about any of the foods you mention except in the eyes of those touting questionable fad diets or in the case of someone with whose genes make them intolerant of or allergic to one or more ingredients in them. There's also the simple fact that not everyone wants to sacrifice the pleasure of good tasting food in the hope of living a few days, weeks, or even years longer.

[Sober_Survival]

I know I'm late to the party... but, After I left active duty, I began drinking heavily. Mainly beer, but it was extremely obsessive. I'm not sure what caused it, I don't have PTSD... but painkillers soon followed. Back then, Pain drs were on every corner and in every strip mall. Anyways, I won't go down that rabbit hole for now, but I ended up quitting everything. First pills then alcohol. HOWEVER COMMA, when I quit drinking alcohol I started drinking Coca Cola, and now that too is in excess. I can't wait to quit drinking sodas and see how my body feels... because for now, I feel like My body is always hurting I. Some way.

Edit: Sorry for the long rant.

[Naperville]

"Let's talk about these "poison" soft drinks and compare them to the old/original formulas."


My grandmother who was months shy of 102yrs old when she passed use to drink 2 - 12oz cans of pop almost every day.

She also drank Lipton tea, and would re-use her tea bags, sometimes having up to three tea bags in a cup.

I follow her lead, and do the same.

[z4vdBt]

Keto sweeteners – the best and the worst 5-20-19 [ diet doctor ]

[SpyderEdgeForever]

I have tried to take the advice of JD and others, and give up most soft drinks like soda. I do, however, like ginger ale at times, and others.

[JD Spydo]

I know I'm late to the party... but, After I left active duty, I began drinking heavily. Mainly beer, but it was extremely obsessive. I'm not sure what caused it, I don't have PTSD... but painkillers soon followed. Back then, Pain drs were on every corner and in every strip mall. Anyways, I won't go down that rabbit hole for now, but I ended up quitting everything. First pills then alcohol. HOWEVER COMMA, when I quit drinking alcohol I started drinking Coca Cola, and now that too is in excess. I can't wait to quit drinking sodas and see how my body feels... because for now, I feel like My body is always hurting I. Some way.

Edit: Sorry for the long rant.

If you're a little bit hooked on soft drinks I would recommend to you to drink the Mexican made Coca Cola. They make Coca Cola with the old fashioned pure cane sugar instead of that poison they call "high fructose corn syrup". As much as I despise most soft drinks anymore I still drink maybe 1 or no more than 2 Mexican made Cokes per month. It truly has a taste from the Coca Cola from the 1960s.

Also in the health food stores like "Sprouts", Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Natural Grocers ect>> they have soft drinks made with "Stevia" instead of sugar or most other conventional sweeteners. A very good old high school friend of mine who had diabetes really bad to where he's on at least 7 medications>> well his specialist ( endocrinologist) just informed him that he could drink moderate amounts of soft drinks sweetened with "Stevia.

Those are two you could use to get off of the really poison soft drinks. Whatever you do stay the **** away from the "diet" soft drinks because they are straight out of ****. And the friend I just mentioned he said his new Doctor also told him to avoid the "diet" soft drinks sweetened with Aspertame completely. The medical community is starting to learn just how horrible that diet soft drinks containing Aspertame really is.