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3 Reasons to Jazz Up Your Water

Leta Shy — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:09:11 PDT

Drinking enough water during the day is important for everything from fighting fatigue to controlling your appetite, but you could be doing more with those eight glasses a day. Here's why you should jazz up water to make it even better for your body and your taste buds.

Essential nutrients: Add flavor and vitamins with cooling cucumber or melon; not only will these fruits help hydrate, but they will also add a dose of vitamins and minerals. Cucumbers, for example, contain good amounts of silica to keep skin glowing and magnesium and potassium to help lower blood pressure. Watermelon contains lycopene, which can help lower your risk of cancer - so as the weather heats up, don't forget to add a few slices of hydrating fruit to your glass.

Better detoxing: Drinking enough water is one of the best ways to detox, since it helps aid in digestion. For added detox power, drink your water with lemon; the fruit helps cleanse your digestive tract and helps food break down properly.

Beat bad-for-you soda cravings: Now that we know that soda can cause gout and diet soda makes you fat, there's even more incentive to keep things strictly H2O. But if you're finding it hard to resist a can of cola, make your water a bit more easy to swallow with these bubbly ways to make your own carbonated beverage.

3 Reasons Why You Should Kick a Diet-Soda Habit

Michele Foley — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 02:33:02 PDT

Last week's controversial report linking soda consumption to cancer is more evidence indicating that the popular fizzy drink may not be the best choice for a healthy lifestyle. Even if you go the healthier route by choosing sugar-free diet soda, you're still not off the hook. Here are reasons to kick (or at least cut back) your daily diet-soda habit.

Weight gain: While researchers have yet to agree on the exact reason, studies show a link between diet soda consumption and weight gain. Study results indicate it's one of two reasons: most diet-soda drinkers already follow poor lifestyle habits that lead to excess weight gain, or artificial sweeteners confuse the body, causing it to crave the one thing it was deprived of - real sugar. Based on these recent studies, it's safe to say that diet soda alone is not going to make you fat, but it may be smart to limit your intake and view it as a vice, rather than a healthier alternative.
Risk of disease: Recent studies show that a diet-soda habit can increase your risk of stroke, osteoporosis, and type two diabetes. Early studies show diet-soda drinkers are 61 percent more likely to have a stroke, have four percent lower bone mineral density, and are more at risk for developing type two diabetes.
Damaging to the body: If you're a fan of your kidneys or teeth, now might be the time to curb your diet-soda habit. In a study, women who drank two or more diet sodas per day had decreased kidney function by about 30 percent. On top of that, the phosphoric acid in soda, dissolves the calcium in tooth enamel, weakening it.

If quitting this daily habit seems impossible to you, follow this 28-day plan to stop drinking diet soda for good.

Do Scary Health Findings Make You Give Up Soda?

Leta Shy — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:31:17 PDT

If you're a diet or regular soda enthusiast, last week you may have noticed more worrisome news about the health effects of drinking soda. A watchdog group released a report saying that sodas like Coke and Pepsi contained high levels of the chemical 4-MI, which is used to make the "caramel coloring" in sodas, and which the watchdog group says can cause cancer.

The controversial report led Coke and Pepsi to reduce the amount of 4-MI in their coloring late last week, lowering levels of the possibly carcinogenic chemical in their drinks. Since high levels of 4-MI have been linked to cancer in animal studies, the state of California recently added it to its list of unsafe chemicals. The soda companies faced having to label their products with a cancer warning if they hadn't decided to decrease the amount of 4-MI in their formulas.

This isn't the first time we've heard about the perils of pop. Studies have found that drinking soda can lead to osteoporosis, hypertension, and dental decay, among other conditions. And diet soda gets a bad rap, too, since studies have found that drinking it may lead to weight gain or stroke. With all of these findings, plus the new 4-MI news, will you be giving up the carbonated beverage for good?

Source: Flickr User alan.stoddard

Are You Addicted to Diet Soda?

Shape — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:28:49 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

Cracking open a can of diet soda instead of regular pop may seem like a good idea at first, but research continues to show a disturbing link between diet soda consumption and weight gain. And though the sweet, effervescent drinks may taste good, they're certainly not good for your body. "Diet soda may not have the sugar or calories of regular soda, but it's chock-full of other health-draining chemicals, including caffeine, artificial sweeteners, sodium, and phosphoric acid," says Marcelle Pick, member of the American Nurses Association and co-founder of Women To Women. It is possible to ditch your diet soda dependency, however. Read on to find out how after the break

Taste Test: Dr Pepper Ten

Anna Monette Roberts — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:41:04 PST

The Dr Pepper Ten ads have sparked a lot of controversy in the past month for their perceived sexism. The beverage is targeted to men, with ads claiming there's nothing girlie or unmanly about this diet drink. So we rounded up a group of male and female taste testers and tried it alongside regular Dr Pepper and Diet Dr Pepper. Check out what our tasters had to say about Dr Pepper Ten.

The promise: "A unique blend of sweeteners that delivers the iconic flavor and beverage experience of regular Dr Pepper with just 10 calories."

See if the promise held up.

Just How Bad Are Sugary Drinks?

Leta Shy — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 18:56:03 PDT

Sugary drinks have been the bad boys in nutrition lately. Recently everything from flavored milk to sodas have been showing up in the news as culprits for many of our diet problems. Do you know just how bad these drinks are for you? Test your knowledge with this quiz!

Take the Quiz

Retro 7Up Cans: Love Them or Hate Them?

Susannah Chen — Thu, 26 May 2011 11:22:21 PDT

The latest trend in supermarket goods is reviving retro packaging in an effort to appeal to consumers' yearning for the past. So it comes as no surprise that, on the season finale of The Celebrity Apprentice, 7Up revealed two new nostalgia-themed cans inspired by the colorful decades of the '70s and '80s. But lovers of the limited-edition bling take note: it's only available for the next three months. What do you think of it?

Ditch Soda and Make Your Own Carbonated Beverage

Heather Dale — Mon, 09 May 2011 01:09:30 PDT

Now that we're in the trust tree, let me be completely honest with you about something - soda is downright dangerous to drink. Aside from the health risks including bone loss, hypertension, and dental decay, soda drinks like Coke are full of sugar, caramel coloring, high-fructose corn syrup and often leave you thirstier - not exactly the crème de la crème of beverages.

Contrary to popular belief, not all carbonated drinks are bad for you - sparking water is sugar free and can keep calcium locked in your bones (no studies have backed up the preconceived notion that sparkling water actually leaches calcium out of your bones).

For those of you that like that thirst-quenching appeal that carbonated beverages provide, you may be able to slowly wean yourself off soda once-and-for-all with one of these delicious and easy carbonated drink alternatives.

Fizzy Lemonade: Squeeze about three to four large lemons in a large pitcher. Pour in six cups of soda water and stir until all of the lemon is mixed in the water. Add four to five tablespoons of agave nectar for sweetness. Refrigerate for about an hour and then add in 2-3 cups of ice cubes. Garnish with some lemon slices.

Here are some more DIY carbonated drink options.

Let's Dish: What's Your Go-to Can of Cola?

Susannah Chen — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 12:12:17 PDT

Coca-Cola has won the latest battle in its long-standing sales war against Pepsi. In 2010, for the first time ever, US sales of Diet Coke overtook those of Pepsi-Cola. The statistics are shocking, and certainly indicative of America's increasing focus on diet. Although the fridge at Sugar HQ is stocked with everything from Coke to Canada Dry, my soda tendencies are aligned with the American populace. My go-to soda, any day of the week, is a Diet Coke. What's yours?

Pepsi and Frito-Lay Find Permanence in the Past

Susannah Chen — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 10:46:19 PST

What's old is new again. At the beginning of last year, PepsiCo started an eight-week run of two drinks, Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback, that came in vintage packaging and were free of high-fructose corn syrup. Now, running on the success of those two special-edition drinks, Pepsi has decided to keep the past in its future.

According to Amy Wirtanen, the marketing director for Pepsi Throwback, the drinks will become a permanent part of Pepsi's beverage line. "It's a return to a simpler world," added Shiv Singh, PepsiCo's digital chief. "There's a massive teen trend around simplicity and authenticity."

Nostalgic purchases aren't just big for Pepsi: according to USA Today, yesteryear-inspired fare is blowing up in every segment from sneakers to apparel. Frito-Lay found such success in a 1980s-inspired throwback Doritos Taco Flavor that too will become permanent in the next month. I've always wondered whether the nostalgic items truly take off for their nod to the past, or simply because they're limited-edition menu items. Now, time will tell.

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