Grabbing a Diet Coke before class, having a mixed drink when you’re out, ordering a glass of soda when you are out to dinner: these things are all commonplace for your average U of I student.
We all know soda is “bad” for us, yet we continue to drink it. But would you drink it if you really knew how bad it was for you? Most likely not. It can be easy to turn a casual soda-a-day into a two or three-a-day habit. This habit may seem harmless but it can actually destroy your health without you even knowing it.
Web MD referenced a study done by Yale University that confirmed how bad soda is for your health. According to Yale’s study, people eat more calories in a day when consuming soda and also tend to be heavier. For your health and weight, it’s best to just avoid soda whenever possible.
Sophomore, Rose Cirrincione, is a Kinesiology student at the University of Illinois who has studied the negative health effects of soda.
“Soda is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup and in high amounts can slow down receptors that tell you when you are full,” Cirrincione said. “Soda also dehydrates you and causes you to retain water.”
Cirrincione also noted that soda is extremely popular on campus.
“I definitely think people on campus drink too much soda,” Cirrincione said. “After I drink a ton of soda, I feel really sluggish the next morning.”
Soda not only leaves you feeling sluggish and bloated, it also can drastically increase the number of calories you consume in a day. The American Journal of Preventative Medicine recently reported that calories from beverages make up 21% of the total daily calories consumed by Americans. This means a large majority of Americans are wasting over twenty percent of their daily calories on sugary drinks with no nutritional value. These are called “empty calories”, meaning that soda will fill you up and cause you to bloat, while still leaving you hungry shortly after.
Keep in mind that when you are drinking a can of soda, it is the equivalent of eating ten teaspoons of sugar. If you think about how much sugar you can cut out of your diet if you choose to give up soda, it seems illogical to continue drinking it.
Freshman, Alyssa Peterson, gave up soda several years ago and has drastically noticed the changes in her body.
“Once I stopped drinking soda, my skin cleared up and I lost about ten pounds,” Peterson said. “I gave up drinking soda in 8th grade and once I saw the positive effects of doing so, I decided to stick with it.”
So you want to give up drinking soda? But how? A body that is used to consuming that much sugary soda a day is going to have a tough time giving it up completely. The best way to give up something like soda is to ease into it.
“When you find yourself craving soda, as I often found myself craving Sprite, I would suggest drinking water and chewing on ice instead,” Peterson said.
Cirrincione also suggested slowly weaning yourself off of soda.
“If you are a daily drinker, limit yourself to 1 a day first, then try to limit yourself to every other day, once a week, etc.,” Cirrincione said. “Because of the caffeine and sugar your body is addicted to, the best way to quit is to do it slowly, especially if you have poor self control.”
Michael Jacobson, executive director of the advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), told Web MD that the best way to give up drinking soda is to remain committed to your goal and search for healthy alternatives. He suggests soy milk, skim milk, coffee (occasionally), and non-sugary juices to ease the process of kicking your soda habit.
“It takes a firm commitment to make it happen,” Jacobson said. “Keep plenty of tasty non-soda drinks on hand to make giving up soda as convenient as possible.”
Jacobson suggests trying to cut caffeine out of your diet as well.
“If you’re addicted to the caffeine in soda, you’re really kicking two habits — the soda habit and the caffeine habit,” Jacobson said. “It takes a few weeks to truly forget the craving.”
Giving up soda may not be a simple task but it will definitely benefit your health in the long run.
Web MD References:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/sodas-and-your-health-risks-debated?page=2
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/how-can-i-stop-drinking-so-much-soda