Reasons to Avoid Sodas, Including So-Called Diet
Drinks
OK, so you want to lose weight. If you want to be like a slender Italian, avoid sodas and use water, mineral water, coffee or wine as your drinks of choice.
Sodas may taste good, but they offer little or no nutritional value, and they add calories that would better be spent on truly nutritious and satisfying foods.
I'm not fond of counting calories, but if you're the type of person who is, figure that having a soft drink adds something like 160 calories to your meal. And that's if we're being conservative. This doesn't take into account oversized versions that are promoted at fast food counters, or refills.
An Italian-sized glass of wine with your dinner, on the other hand, would run 80 to 100 calories on average. Black coffee, two or three calories, and water, zero.
But, say you don't think water, coffee, or wine is as satisfying as a soda. Is a soda really satisfying? Take a closer look. My own experience is that a taste for sugar begets an even greater hankering for more sugar. By consuming sugary things on a regular basis, you can set yourself up to crave them.
So what about diet sodas? Their low calories may seem attractive at face value. But studies show that bodies aren't really fooled by low calorie foods and compensate for them by wanting more, which can cause you to eat even more than you normally would.
They can certainly trick your mind into thinking that you can afford to eat more than normal. What dieter hasn't played the game "I'm drinking a diet soda, so I guest I can afford that piece of cake"?
A study by The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio suggested that the more diet sodas a person consumed, the more likely they were of becoming overweight or obese. Researchers weren't sure why, but the findings raised a lot of questions.
Perhaps the best thing to do would be to wean yourself off of these sweet drinks and go for something more natural and less calorie-laden. When you lay off the sugar, regular foods start to taste better and you can appreciate their subtle flavors.
Whether you choose to drink coffee or wine is up to you. But no one can argue against the consumption of pure, clean water.