Whether it’s diet, exercise, weight changes or sleep, it seems like everyone has at least one health goal these days.“ A common goal among people is their desire to cut back on their soda and sugary drink intake,” said Kaylee Gebhart, RDN, LN, a dietitian with the Avera Heart Hospital.
“This can be a giant leap for some people who have been consuming soda or sugary drinks for as long as they can remember.” The major challenge, for many, comes down to craving these drinks. People struggle with how to overcome the perceived value of sugary or sweetened beverage.
Health Risks of Soda
So, what is the first step? To help identify the problem, let’s start with a few stats from the August edition of the Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Source.
- A typical 20-ounce soda contains 15 to 18 teaspoons of sugar and upwards of 250 calories.
- Before the 1950s, a standard soda bottle was 6.5 ounces. Today, cup sizes at fast food are nearly 42 ounces.
- People who consume sugary drinks regularly—one to two cans, or more, per day—have a 26% greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
- People who increased their sugary drink consumption, even by one 12-ounce serving per day, gained more weight over time than people who did not change their intake. In fact, adding about an extra pound every four years.
- Artificial sweeteners, found in some diet sodas, could confuse the feedback loops that involve the brain, stomach, nerves and hormones. If this happens, it could throw off the body's ability to accurately gauge how many calories are being consumed.
These points are just a start to clearly indicating that there are risks associated with consumption of soda/sugary drinks.
Try These Alternatives to Cut Soda
Your first goal should be to drink tap or bottled water daily. Water is essential to many of your body’s functions, including hydration, regulating satiety, transferring nutrients into your cells and supporting your joints.
As you work toward breaking the habit, here are some things to try:
- Mix it up. Try making your sugary drink with half water and half juice.
- Jazz up your water. Choose flavored waters or add some fresh fruit to your water pitcher.
- Transition with prebiotic soda. These new, trendy sodas offer some benefits to gut health by feeding the good bacteria.
- Have a teatime. Black or green, caffeinated or decaf, leaf or herbal, hot or cold — tea is an excellent choice for a calorie-free beverage.
- Enjoy your coffee. Have it black or with a little milk. Be careful adding extra sugar or cream. Also, watch your caffeine intake.
- Eliminate diet soda. Diet soda contains artificial sweeteners (and we just learned what those can do!).
- Try a fresh fruit cocktail. Instead of yogurt or milk-based smoothies, try blending up fresh fruit, ice and some sparkling water.
- Drink a little milk. Low-fat, skim or soy milk are the best choices.
Some people may find the best thing to do is to cut out the soda completely,” said Gebhart. “Cutting out soda completely may take some time, so start with a small change such as cutting back on the amount consumed each day or week and gradually working on eliminating it altogether.”
There are several benefits. Some of these might include weight loss, better oral health and boosted nutrition. In addition, your digestion and cravings might improve as well. The benefits you experience after cutting sugary drinks are personal to you, your body and your habits.
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