Since February is a short month, I decided to use the opportunity to quit drinking soda for the month. So far, it hasn't been too bad. I made the decision a few days into the month, after I realized I hadn't had a soda yet. (Please note that this was completely unintentional...I was out of Diet Coke at home. Normally I would have a DC every day at lunch, and usually a Sprite Zero with dinner.) I gave up soda last year for Lent, and it was a looong 40 days! I am hoping the rest of February doesn't seem quite as long.
I've drank soda for as long as I can remember! As a kid, we always had a separate fridge just for pop. My grandma kept hers stocked with every possible soda option, while ours at home had Coca Cola Classic for my dad and sister, and Diet Coke for my mom and I. In college, my dorm room fridge held a case of Mountain Dew. It was only during the last few years that I've started questioning what is actually in the soda I'm consuming.
Maybe it's just my new found awareness of the food ingredients, or maybe it's a general increase in the availability of information, but it seems like there is a lot of information out there about the mysterious ingredients in Coke and Diet Coke. Diet drinks in particular are worry-some because of the artificial sweeteners. While aspartame is approved by the FDA, it is generally thought to be somewhat unsafe. Recent studies have concluded that artificial sweeteners can actually cause weight gain, rather than reduce it. "Artificial sweeteners could have the effect of triggering appetite but unlike regular sugars they don't deliver something that will squelch the appetite" (source).
All things considered, it is hard to consider healthy living while continuing to consume sodas (diet or regular). The ingredients in soda contain no nutritional value, and may possible even cause harmful side effects. I wish I could say I will never drink a pop again, I am sure that will not be the case. I do hope, however, that once February is over and my soda ban is up, I can drastically limit my diet soda consumption, and focus on drinking more water and tea instead.
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I love how I'm blamed for drinking coca cola classic! that didn't start until I went to college, silly! I do much better with my soda intake now and I feel much better! I like to give soda for lent, may do that again this year!
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