This was inspired by the eating/drinking thread, but is not really on topic there. It might also serve as a jumping off point for a general nutrition discussion.
I just cannot enjoy soft drinks such as Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, Mt. Dew, and their equivalents. I have not liked the Mt. Dew type drinks from a very young age, about eight or nine. Coke I like sometimes, but only from a cold can. Dr. Pepper is just too... something except sometimes at restaurants. Sprite and 7up are both too sugary.
So since my taste has changed, and I am trying to cut out all caffeine and a lot of processed sugar out of my diet, I looked at other stuff. Juices are ok but I worry about how healthy they are. Probably better than a coke, though. Root beer is ok, but my favorite type has a bit of caffeine. Also, some root beer (Mug) does not deserve the name. Milk is good, but not as healthy as many people believe. Unfortunately, I cannot abide skim milk, and prefer whole, so I worry about fat. Other alternatives have similar problems.
For the first time in my life, I think water is becoming my favorite beverage.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Soda is too fizzy. I only half like it When I was a kid I liked it flat. I think they make me drink it flat at a hospital But it's just...not healthy. It does nothing to quench ones thirst and is only good for a once in a while treat with pizza or chinese food. Juice is the best, the cheapest is to take a lemon, a lime, squeeze the juice add water and sugar and drink, sometimes you can add pineapple juice to it and it is perfect. Water is too plan, but I don't drink enough of it or liquids for that matter which is probably why I feel so crummy And Pepsi is better than Coke but Tommyknocker Root Beer beats all.
Posted by digging_holes (Member # 6237) on :
I think I am psychologically addicted to Pepsi (which is better than coke, by the way, but i will drink coke when I can't get pepsi). Sometimes I will feel guilty enough and start drinking tons of water, but I drink more Pepsi than other stuff. Even when I don't feel like it, I drink it anyway. One reason is that it costs less than real fruit juice. The other reason is that I am also psychologically addicted to fast food. I can't believe I don't way 2000 pounds. I'll get there, though. All in good time...
Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
Shlomo did the same thing, Danzig, and he says he feels a lot better. He mostly drinks water as a beverage, and eats very little sugar. He prefers fruit for dessert.
I think he has made a healthy choice, but it was sort of surprising at first - this was the kid, a few years ago, who would devour a bag of big bag of candy in no time flat.
Posted by skillery (Member # 6209) on :
I have one of those Sears distillers to take all the nasties out of the water. Good stuff!
Posted by alath (Member # 6150) on :
Milk upsets my stomache, so I drink chocolate soymilk a lot. I'm not sure why but I just don't like vanilla soy milk, it has to be chocolate.
I usually just drink water but occasionally I'll have a soda. I don't like any diet sodas though. I do like juice espescially cranberry juice with a little seltzer water in it.
Posted by Richard Berg (Member # 133) on :
People think I'm weird, but since I was about 13 I've considered sodas gross. If I wanted to drink artificially-flavored corn syrup I'd do it straight from the Aunt Jemima bottle.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I also drink only filtered water if I have any choice in the matter. Soda is also relatively acidic and actually robs tissues of water in order to neutralize all the stuff in it. Of course, my sister asked how, if soda is so bad, can people still survive who drink so much of it. I figure their bodies just adapt.
Posted by Kasie H (Member # 2120) on :
I used to drink water all the time, but then they told us we had lead in our water. Apparently the District just forgot to replace approximately 20% of the old lead pipes with copper ones.
So now if I want water I have to buy it bottled.
Which means lugging it across the city from Safeway.
The time that the case of bottled water split and sent plastic bottles of Dasani careening all the way down Virginia Avenue in front of the Watergate was awesome, let me tell you. Posted by HollowEarth (Member # 2586) on :
mmmm. benzaldehyde.
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
I stopped drinking sodas regularly about two or three years ago. For one thing, many have caffiene, which has marked negative effects on me.. For another thing, I just don't like 'em. Blah. Anyhoos. I drink a lot of water, and some juices and artificially sweetened drinks.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
I tend to drink whatever is easiest.
Sadly this past week that has meant either pepsi or powdered iced tea. I prefer orange juice. I'll also drink whatever frozen juice has currently been mixed up. We have a Brita filtre, and milk, but I don't like the taste of milk (soy is even worse) and I'm not often in the mood for just plain water. I don't drink as much of it as I should, honestly.
I'm lazy, and I was raised on kool-aide.
Posted by Da_Goat (Member # 5529) on :
Did anybody else follow OSC's advice to mix Diet Coke and orange juice? I thought it was okay, but, being diet, it was still too bitter.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Cokes seem more filling to me than anything else.
Posted by Troubadour (Member # 83) on :
I haven't been able to drink "real" coke or pepsi for years, all far too sweet. I've recently given up on all diet drinks which contain aspartme too - have read what that stuff can DO to you?!?!
Nevertheless, coke & pepsi (the non-diet kind) were primarily the reason I got so fat - topped out at 130 kilos or so when I quit drinking them. I was seriously addicted and drinking litres a day. Get out of bed, drink a litre of coke. whey hey.
Posted by Wonko The Sane (Member # 2945) on :
<--- drinks lots and lots of "Kool-Aid"
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
<---- Just plain drinks.
Tee hee.
[ March 03, 2004, 01:18 AM: Message edited by: Book ]
Posted by Beren One Hand (Member # 3403) on :
*Hesitates a little*
You should never take soft drinks from dispensers. I used to work at a cafeteria during my college years, and we only clean out the dispensers once a week. The sugar in the soft drinks attract a lot of roaches, and there is really no good way of cleaning those huge dispensers.
Posted by Da_Goat (Member # 5529) on :
So that's why fountain drinks always taste better!
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
1) Soda water with lemon is really good.
2) V8 is great. Especially the spicy stuff.
3)Cream Soda, baby. Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
It's all about buying a one-gallon bottle of water (for about $1), then filling it up from the tap when you run out.
There's probably lead in the LA water, too, but as Carlin says, I'm an American. I EXPECT a little cancer in MY water.
Posted by Danzig (Member # 4704) on :
digging_holes - Likely your addiction is more than psychological, assuming you drink regular Pepsi which contains caffeine. Fast food is also full of chemicals which, while not classic "drugs", can induce cravings for more fast food. Personally I have tried to avoid fast food as much as possible ever since I worked at Wendy's. Hamburgers from fast food places just do not taste that good, although as that part of my life becomes more temporally remote I can handle them a bit more often.
Also, Coke is better than Pepsi, blasphemer.
Ela - My parents say that I have never had much of a sweet tooth, although I used to be able to eat five or six scoops of ice cream in one sitting. I always feel better when I have not had any caffeine (or sugar) but the problem is that everything in this entire country is geared toward that type of food. Caffeine is promoted everywhere, and I used to drink a lot of it so it is still a bad habit to order a caffeinated beverage at a restaurant if I am not thinking about it. As for sugar - well, to steal an example from someone on another website, go into a 7-11 and try to find an edible product other than eggs or water that contains no sugar. There is one that I am forgetting, but nearly everything in the store contains loads of processed sugar. Now this may be an extreme example, but our society absolutely highly promotes the overconsumption of sugar.
pooka - I have heard much the same, but as there were several summers that I probably did not actually drink plain water a seven day period, I too wonder how on earth I actually survived.
Da_Goat - In one area of my life, I am a bigot and freely admit it. That is mixing drinks. If you have never been a regular consumer of alcoholic beverages at some point in your life, then you are not allowed to comment on mixed drinks. Diet Coke is meant to be poured down the drain; orange juice should be consumed by itself. If you insist on mixing either with something else, then vodka should be used. Either pour both it and the Diet Coke down the drain, or make a strong screwdriver. As it is impossible to add anything to OJ to make it taste better, the only reason to mix it with anything is to mask the taste of something else.
Troubador - I do not drink diet drinks for precisely that reason. Aspartame is even more evil than regular sugar.
I do like the taste of peach tea, and I think the kind I normally make is artificial. I seem to remember that it contained no caffeine, but I might be wrong about that.
Posted by MEC (Member # 2968) on :
quote: I also drink only filtered water if I have any choice in the matter. Soda is also relatively acidic and actually robs tissues of water in order to neutralize all the stuff in it. Of course, my sister asked how, if soda is so bad, can people still survive who drink so much of it. I figure their bodies just adapt.
I've heard that supposivly soda is less acedic then stomache acid, thus actually diluteing the ph level in one's stomach. However, it doesn't come close to how much the same amount of water would dilute it.
Posted by Miro (Member # 1178) on :
I feel for you, Kasie. Luckily, my house was checked, and our lead levels aren't bad. I don't drink nearly as much water from the fountains at school, though.
Posted by luthe (Member # 1601) on :
The phosphoric acid in some soda also reduced the amount of calcium you can get out of other food that you ate concurrently.
Posted by MEC (Member # 2968) on :
Here I found this.
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
luthe is right. That's why the pediatricians always ask about soda consumption-- because it can effectively reduce calcium intake.
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There is one that I am forgetting, but nearly everything in the store contains loads of processed sugar. Now this may be an extreme example, but our society absolutely highly promotes the overconsumption of sugar.