Soda Opinion
The last time I popped open a soda and chugged away, I was grossly uninformed over what I was pouring into my body. The next day I saw a report that said drinking a soda a day meant you would gain 10 pounds in a year. Yes, 10 pounds.
So that was it, I haven’t touched the stuff for nearly four years.
I was never a huge fan of the carbonated treat most people crave, but I would always enjoy a can every now and then.
Since I quit the habit, I realized the sugar rush I so enjoyed was only a momentary pleasure compared to the crash that was soon to come. I found out that the less I drank, the less I craved drinking. And I learned there are other ways to satisfy thirst, sugar cravings or a caffeine buzz.
I now saturate my body with Nalgenes full of water. And a little dark chocolate or a scoop of ice cream tastes so much better than the sugary carbonation. And of course, there’s always coffee to perk me up in the morning, or afternoon or evening.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m no health nut, and I’m certainly not saying I’ve found the key to losing 10 pounds a year. It’s simply my humble opinion that we abandon the syrup-filled, carbonation-ridden drink that seems to have the nation, maybe even the world, in its clutches.
Think about it.
Did you see a soda ad on TV today? How many vending machines did you walk by on campus? How often did you hear the pop and hiss of a soda opening?
I think it’s time we part with our cravings (yes, diet drinkers included) and move on to something a little better for our health.
Drinking a soda means ingesting calories without nutritional value. Are you cutting out something worth about 200 calories or more every time you drink a soda? No, you want to drink the soda and eat the calories. At least I know I do.
In this age of obesity it might be a wise idea to shelf the liquid candy and bite into a better method of consuming calories.
And diet soda drinkers, I’d like to include you, too. While you might not be getting the calories, I’m still worried about what you’re drinking.
Doesn’t it seem fishy that something can taste so good and not be as bad for you as the original?
Even though experts seem to be divided on what exactly NutraSweet and other artificial sweeteners do to your body, I think you should stop just to be on the safe side.
But I don’t think the root of all evil comes from soda. Next time you drink lemonade, iced tea or even a sport drink, turn the bottle around and check out the nutrition facts. I think the result will be a little startling.
And yes, I drink all those wonderful things like lemonade, iced tea and Gatorade. I just can’t seem to kick that habit quite yet.
So my plea is that we cut the soda out and replace it with something more worth our while, and our weight. If I’m going to gain 10 pounds a year, I want to gain it because I’m savoring a pint of Ben & Jerry’s a day, or munching on hundreds of candy corn or eating 20 Hershey’s Kisses a day.
But to be perfectly honest, now that I’ve been thinking about soda for a while, I’m all set to run out to the grocery store and by a six-pack of Sprite, or maybe Dr. Pepper. Pepsi sounds pretty good right now, too.
I guess these cravings are harder to break than I thought.
Maybe I’ll head to A&W and grab a root beer float instead. Then at least I’d get the ice cream too.
Campus Press Staff Writer Maggie McDermott can be reached at Maggie.McDermott@thecampuspress.com
