My Anti-Soda Rant

I like soda. It's sweet. It's bubbly. It's candy in liquid form. Do I eat candy for breakfast? No. But I sure see plenty of people having Coke for breakfast.

(Give me a second to climb up on my soapbox. OK, I'm there.)

News about the overwhelming obesity crisis in the United States is on the news constantly. And every time I see one of those stories, I think about how soda fits into the equation. I'd bet money that if everyone who struggles with their weight gave up soda in favor of water, they'd drop ten pounds within the month.

And weight is just one factor. The other factor is that soda is just plain not good for you. Pick your poison, regular or diet, it all shakes out the same way: soda is nothing but empty calories edging out room in your stomach for something with actual nutritional value.

It breaks my heart when I see elementary school aged kids running around with cans of Mountain Dew or Dr Pepper. That's 40 grams of sugar they're holding (the equivalent of 10 packets of sugar), and don't even get me started on the caffeine.

A few years ago I received a tip in an email forward that said, "If you're ever driving your car, and the windshield is sprayed with oil, pour a can of Coke all over the windshield. It will cut the grease and make it easy to clean the oil off."

So if the ingredients in soda can cut through greasy oil on a windshield, what is it doing to my insides when I drink it?

Here are "8 Ways Soda Fizzles Your Health":
http://waterforlifeusa.com/blog/uncategorized/8-ways-soda-fizzles-your-health/

And if you have a few minutes, here's why diet soda is no better for you than regular soda:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpoAtwVyzZI

In the words of Tony Horton, "Drink your water, people!" Add a squirt of lemon or lime if you need to jazz it up!