Half of Americans Drink it Everyday

Gave up soda years ago.

It's been water for me ever since, sometimes with a bit of lemon.

Occasionally have coffee or iced tea or hot tea without sugar.

Burger,fries,and a coke....isnt that lunch?  Count chocula,frosted flakes,toaster pop tarts,waffles with syrup (maple flavored),doughnuts,sweet tea, praline pies,s'mores,...aren't these the all american breakfast? Oh, want bacon with that?...and jelly/jam on toast?...C'mon, you health Nuts are taking all the fun out of getting diabetes

and those little tester thingys are being touted on the TeeVee machine like costume jewelery...hey! you have to PUNCTURE YOURSELF (to make sure you still have blood?)

Soda water is a different product in the UK. It's just carbonated water with a few minerals added. No sugar. We use it for diluting whiskey and for making long cool summer drinks. My grandma had a soda siphon - some sort of ornate bottle with a bulb of compressed gas attached - I'd get sent to the local dairy to get it refilled, (Don't ask, I never did)
The sweet fizzy stuff that Americans call soda - O YUK!!!! I'm amazed that half the population drink it on a daily basis. And what's with adults drinking it? I tried a can of Coke recently and found it quite disgusting. I'm fortunate that the water that comes from my tap/faucet is great. A glass of that with ice cubes and a slice of lemon is delicious.

You can loose viscous fat and subcutaneous fat simply by eliminating soda from your diet. Drinking your calories can be dangerous and usually becomes a habit. Cutting back on sugar lessens your risk of all the major diseases.

You can clean rust off your car with soda and your commode with soda! EKK!

You can clean rust off your car with soda and your commode with soda! EKK!

You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of coke and it will be gone in 2 days. In some states the US Highway Patrol carries 2 gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after an accident. To loosen a rusted bolt, apply a cloth soaked in Coke over the bolt a few minutes. Coke distributors use coke to clean their engines. The brain has a conditioned response in reaction to eating or drinking something sweet. It is called Cephalic Phase Insulin Response(CPIR), and it is responsible for the fat storing effects of diet beveraes, including diet soda, tea, coffee, energy drinks, sports drinks, and flavored water. This signals the liver to prepare for an outside source of energy=sugar. The liver then stops the manufacture of protein and starch from its body reserves, and begins to store the glucose energy that circulates in the blood. The body then produces insulin, the fat hormone which stores sugar in the blood and programs adipose(fat) cells to  dump into the belly. Water anyone?

The only soda that I ever drink is club soda which is probably high in sodium or something else that is bad for you.  I drink seltzer and sometimes I add some fruit slices to it if I'm in the mood   for something fancy.

I drink about 2 glasses of warm water first thing in the morning, may have up to 2 cups of coffee during the day. In between I try to drink green tea, from infused tea leaves.

I do take soda (we call them soft drinks here and in Asia) occasionally and when I do, I would rather take the regular ones than the diet version. There is enough controversy out there on products like saccharine, aspartame etc..to keep me away from them. I do not allow my children to drink them either.

Road Yacht- People should not be puncturing themselves unless they have to.  Its weird that they sell gloucometers everywhere.  But judging by the way some Americans get tattoes and piercing I have to wonder if there isn't a market for this device among the absolutely healthy who enjoy puncturing themselves for fun.   

Julia! What a concept...would not have come up with that one!

Do I love a crisp cold Coca Cola on a hot day or with certain foods? You betcha!
Describing the unique deliciousness of Coke is akin to describing the taste of avocado or lobster....it is only itself. Do I drink it more than occasionally--sadly, too smart to do so. I don't eat layercake everyday or have Hollandaise on my eggs either.

I recognize that the drinking of soda pop is a national problem. Having grown up only allowed to have water, milk or wine (yup) with meals, I was amazed to be released in the world and find families where 2 liter bottles of soda were right on the dinner table. My own mother, the same woman who would not allow a ketchup bottle on the table, spent the last 10 years of her life with a Diet Coke can in her hand. If Grandma had less than 6 cans of Diet Coke on hand, it was an official "Emergency" and one of us would have to re-stock her.

The more soda people drink, the more they seem to want. There are other things in life like that but this does seem odious. However, that said, My name is Chefdeb and I LOVE Coca-cola.

Cherry Coke from Johnny Rockets...right on! Touring the Coke Museum in Atlanta is fun and fascinating. The section where you can try all the variations from around the world is fun. I would venture that the beverage companies prefer to sell bottled water since it is "profit city" and without fluoride leads to the good ol days of poor dental health. Having one soft drink a day is as innocuous as a couple of toddies or an occasional ice cream, a burger or a monthly stogie. There is some science though- "A drop in blood sugar levels causes an area of your brain that regulates emotions and impulses to temporarily go haywire, especially if you’re overweight, triggering an intense desire for high-calorie foods. That’s according to a study published online today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation." But I will sing along with Larry Croce who was probably Doobwah influenced when he wrote-
'Yeah, in the daytime I'm Mr Natural
Just as healthy as I can be
But at night I'm a junk food junkie
Good lord have pity on me'

Incidentally, my ex used to work for Coca Cola. He worked variously first through Technical (a legacy of which he loved going to the supermarkets more than me, studying all the nutrition labels) and then, became the Marketing Director. He covered the South East Asian region and had to go to Coke school in Atlanta. We were not allowed to ever be seen in Burger King (or Hungry Jacks in some countries like Australia) as it was Pepsi territory. We had as much coke as we wanted but hmmmm....strangely enough, he never wanted much of it in the house. We had heaps of Coke premium too, much of it I have "inherited" after we split as it was too difficult for him to carry back to Malaysia. Plenty of Norman Rockwell stuff including sculpture, wall hangings, Christmas balls (12 days of christmas), music box, and of course, drinking glasses (tiffany style). Also had this huge Tiffany lampshade table lamp which unfortunately I had to leave in Singapore when I moved to Australia

There was a TeeVee huckster,Jay Kordice(?),called the "Juice Man",and he sold and demonstrated table-top juice machines...(Many followers,like Jack LaLane),,anyway,the very first time I tried cucumber,beet,carrot,celery,parsely,apple juice combination,I WAS HOOKED!! Almost 35 years ago,and you prob ably could not fill a whole case with the empty cans of all the sodas I've had since then. Fresh fruit/vegetables,or their juice,is how I begin most every day.

Ooops! I forgot when claiming I do not take fizzy drinks. Champagne and beer are acceptable.

Two cups o'joe in the AM. water all day, a mixed drink at 5, water after...We are pretty low on the cola or soda pop consumption. I do like ginger ale ( with a little Candian Club or Jack over ice) , tonic water (with gin or vodka and lime slice), and occasionally a Coke (with a touch of rum over ice) at that 5:00 hour or on a hot day after lunch, but never a constant soda drinker....

.I can remember when I was teaching, keeping a cup of water on my desk (in a thermal cup with lid--you never know what those little devils might put into it if you left it open!) to sip all day, but many teachers drank coffee or Cokes -- one right after another -- all day long. I guess it gets to be a habit without thinking.

Granddaughter never tasted or drank any soda or even juice....only water or milk, and now she is a healthy, normal sized ten yr. old. Still does not drink sodas, and just asks for water if she is at a birthday party or visiting. I give her mom lots of credit for the healthy way they eat and drink.

When I am out in public and see people giving Cola to their infants and children, it makes me cringe, but where does "child abuse" begin??

TT -- Cherry Coke on ice in a tulip shaped glass, or Vanilla Coke -- both squirted from the fountain of the old Bennett's Rexall drug store in Inverness, Fla. when I was a kid was one of the cherished treats.

I have great memories of sitting there on the chrome and green plastic seat that could spin around, sipping my sweet cola through a straw and flipping through my 5 cent comic book of Caspar, Archie and Jughead, or Superman while my dad chatted with the owner. Those were wonderful day of innocence before we all found out that most of what we ate or drank was terrible for us! (Bring on the chicken fried steak and white gravy!)

Or was it "Casper"?? The Friendly Ghost.... I think it is an E....please transpose.

I tried to transpose once, but it gave me a Charley Horse

For me it's high fructose corn syrup, straight up in the morning or on the rocks at night. Does anyone really know what it is? 

Well, speaking as another Southern Gal, I used to be hooked on Dr. Pepper...until I developed agressive fibrocystic disease (the ladies know what I mean and you gentlemen, well, as my breast specialist said to my ex, "Just imagine your scrotum full of gravel that has to get drained with a needle every three months or so."), then I had to swear off caffeine.  Not that I don't drink it occassionally (I love green tea!) but no more heavy duty for this kid! Never did like Coke much (sacrilege for a former Atlantean, especially if you ever visited the Varsity...which I only did once as I received a lifetime's worth of grease in one sitting) or RC Colas (another baddy for a Southerner to admit, along with the fact that I DETEST moon pies) and have never liked coffee.  So I gave up my one (HA!) vice and stuck to water.  I know where all the Superfund sites with lousy water happen to be and have our private well tested regularly...so far so good!
 
Cinnamon helps to metabolize many of the sugars in soft drinks, yet people will complain about the cost of a bottle of cinnamon capsules while guzzling as many of those expensive ($0.03 to make) drinks!  Along with diabetes you will develop a whopping 2-fold increase of risk for heart attack, a four-fold risk of a cardiovascular event (typically stroke), obesity (of course), and even an increased risk of many types of cancer.  Of course, I'm preaching to the choir here when I say "Spend that money on a good gym and get thy hinny there!"
 
Having said all that, does anyone remember we talked about this tangentially when we talked about obesity and the proposed tax on soft drinks the other day.  I feel like I'm in a time loop!

I feel like I'm in a time loop!

I feel like I'm in a time loop!

I feel like I'm in a time loop!

Ugh, magicangel, just thinking about what Coke can do will keep me off of it!

I have almost given up soda. I mostly use it for mixed drinks. I do how ever enjoy a brand named Dry Soda. Its supposedly a healthy soda. It has some fun flavors also, lavender,blood orange,vanilla bean, cucumber, juniper berry. They make really good mixed drinks also.

I really need to cut down on my coffee intake, but that is seemingly quite a challenge.

the dilution method works; strong coffee, with 2/3 of the cup plain water. Taste remains,ultimate amount of coffee reduced by 2/3

or, in the alternative, buy really bad coffee, the kind you don't want to drink, and should you be tempted, you will remember why you think it is the worst brand....but since you bought too much to throw away, you won't, and as long as you have so much, you won't buy any more....well, that leaves the outside sources, and, as long as you drink that standing up, it doesn't count..

I am just glad the rum cancels out the bad stuff and makes it okay to have more than one Cuba Libre.

I very seldom drink any alchoholic beveragesso I'd ve a obe drink cheap date....but as far as my other beverages of choice.....well to list the would bring back the terror of "confessional flashbacks" and I'd would be compelled to take a few laps around the rosary.

Chocolate soda with a side car topped with whipped cream anybody? And then wash it down with a Coke chaser......

This world - us - we need to blame something for everything that's wrong with us ..." it's not my fault" is the song of the times.  It's Coca Cola's fault that we have cavities, it their fault we have diabetes, it's their fault our children can't think and that they're hyperactive - how bout we all go live in NYC when Father Blomberg has outlawed 16 oz soda drinks.  Oh Good Grief.  I suggest people use Common Sense when it comes to drinking soda, the really YUK stuff that I like a lot with some very American foods, and if you have diabetes in your family or you have it, then beans for you, you shouldn't drink Coke but you won't catch me telling you that because it's your life, do what you want, it's not my job to watch you.   Common sense would tell me that if I have a lot of cavities or are prone to dental problem, a lot of soda is something I should avoid.  Same with being overweight.  I wouldn't choose to drink soda in a diet if I'm trying to lose weight.  But it's my job to look over me, personal responsibility, choice, and no finger wagging from the peanut gallery because believe me what you think will kill you, most likely won't.  And what you don't think will kill you - watch out.  You could choke on a glass of good old tap water and ice, not get your breath, keel over, and lights out.  I mean, you never know....right?   So we might as well live.

Bloomberg.

OK, PARK, got it!  I agree with you...just chasing the topic around with everyone.

"...and around and around andaround andaroooooouuuunnnnnddddddd.   IIIIIIII just want to celebrate (celebrate)!  I just want to celebrate (celebrate)!  I just want to celebrate (celebrate)! I just want to celebrate another day of living! I just want to celebrate another day of life!"

what part of you are your brothers keeper troubles you?

OK, tried a can of fizzy stuff, a supposed 'energy drink', loaded with caffiene, tasted horrible and made me burp worse than Bert.

one night on Thesepia train, there was someone that could burp the Star Spangled Banner....he wasn't invited back for an encore

Off to the vineyards this afternoon for some cool jazz
& sun dried tomato hummus dip with bagel chips-
(sneaking in some forbidden sliced Boar's Head Pepperoni in the veggie cooler)
As Jimmy sez- I'm a cultural infidel
Tryin' to draw a crowd
I'm a cultural infidel
Singin' right out loud
Philosophy is not for me, laughin' is my game
I'm a cultural infidel
Slap me with the blame...

Ginger, correct-mundo.....This topic is deja voodoo all over again.

How many conversations every begin with 'gee, what are your beverages of choice'......'of gosh, i can't drink that 'cos it gives me gas and rots my teeth'......'oh, you drink water and un-sweetened juices not from concentrate! I am so not worthy'..........'you wouldn't happen to have an extra Twinkie on you that you would be willing to share.........? No. Oh well, Iguess I'll just have a glass of bacon grease, a headcheese omlette, and a glass of water to wash it down....... Now was the water taken from upstream or downstream of the raw sewage toxic dump site'

Ironically, our neck of the woods is in the midst of the 2nd Annual Kishwaukee Fest complete with parade, classic car show, food, bicycle rides, lots of live music, street dancing, food, honoring veterens, classic car and motorcyle tours to VA hospitals and senior citizen centers in the area......and this year's food theme is 'Baconpalooza'

Did I mention food?

Of course there were politicians interspersed throughout the parade but no one paid attention. They wanted them to walk behind the mounted cowboys with pooper-scoopers but they declined..... Just not qualified to pick up what they dish out I guess.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em..

Peace out......life is good

"well, that leaves the outside sources, and, as long as you drink that standing up, it doesn't count.."

Outside sources are EXACTLY my Main problem. I get my drinks for 50% at the BOBOB Cafe, so it's WAY too Tempting. altho I am drinking standing up, as I am unpacking the incoming boxes of books while drinking my cups of coffee.

Best news I've had all week!! Thanks RY :-)

RY:  is that for me?  the "brother's keeper" question?  I don't get it, but if you're serious ? - all of it.  

Moose, what memories you brought bcak, Jughead and Archie, I memorized them!! Gettin a soda at the drugstore fountain with a stick pretzel, nothin' better than that!!

Ginger, you are sooo right about the cinnamon. How about someone at a fast food restaurant ordering super size everything and a DIET COKE! What's with that???

Spring Fragrance-I grew up with Coca Cola trays with antique style pictures of women in bonnets on the kitchen wall.  We had the Tiffany style lampshade on the hanging lamp over the kitchen table and a variety of coca-cola glasses.  Since we always had a red checkered kitchen table cloth and a candle stuffed into an old wine bottle with straw around the outside, new neighbors would ask if our apartment was a pizzaria everytime we left the door open on a hot day.       

Road Yacht, you make me laugh out loud, where or where do you get that delicious sense of humor? THANKS

PA4..... I do like how you think! One would think we grew up in the same city at almost the same time.

The onus is on each of us to understand the consequences of our actions and to make wise choices with those consequences in mind.

There is more than enough information available to enable common sense to prevail.

As far as "brother's keeper"..,,,,you can lead him to water but cannot prevent him from sucking down a 64 oz Big Gulp ',or if you are in NYC...... Four sixteen ouncers...

HU3

P4, you are absolutely right! If one makes his bed, he should have to lie on it. It's upsetting when someone chooses a lifestyle that when it goes awry, expects the community to wear it

Julia that is funny! In my family, people walk into my mum's home, and thinks it's a child care centre because of the different colours of her grandchildren

PL:  8 oz is just one of those little coke bottles I refer to as "cute."  Wow.  Sixteen ounces would definitely be needed for a Chicago Hot Dog w/Everything.  Which I have a yen for right now, badly...Portillo's.   Or, if RY puts on his remembering cap, he'll know that I think the best hot dogs used to be made at a place called Bow Wow's on Devon Avenue.  My childhood summer staying-with-gram-on-Richmond-Street self would run down to Bow Wows at lunchtime and pick up a couple of those dogs for my Swedish grandmother and myself, she liked them as much as I did maybe more...  Of course, for dinner we'd have lutefisk and water, for our penance...j/k about that lutefisk.  Nobody should eat that stuff ever.

I'm thinking...a very well grilled Hebrew National, with spicy
mustard and pickle relish on a grilled poppy seed bun and a Cream Soda( on the rocks of course) to wash
it down....

PARK...................say it sister!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ah, the truth.....................we are our own keepers................I wanna a hotdog......................
 
MAGICANGEL......................your 6:35.................I have done that a few times & the times I do get fast food ( not often) I always get a diet drink. I like them.......call the food police stat............................
 
My yahoo reply button is frozen to whom it may concern.........................like an icicle..........
 
MOOSE.........................the people giving soda to kids makes me froth at the mouth.............
 
 

    bebe....hellooooooo

I stopped drinking soda pop completely.  Once in a blue moon I wil drink a Coke. . . maybe 5 times a year.  Also for heath reasons I stopped eating red meat.  The last time I had a steak was in 2001, and I do not miss either one. 

Like everything else, Coke is fine in moderation.  Way back in the middle ages, it had actual cocaine in it.  It was recommended for upset stomaches and other aches and pains......no wonder it became an addiction.  My husband is a Coke fan; I'm more coffee and water.  The kids were raised with it in the house, but free to choose what they liked at dinner, it just wasn't that big a deal.  I did have a funny thing happen once, one of their friends wrote on my shopping list (which has been attached by magnet to the refrigerator for decades) "no more Diet Coke, please, how about the 'real thing'?" 

P4~  The Ranch?  on albany?      Gonna go burn a "T"bone right now, beautiful night,   ate enough garbage salad already today.   Chianti goes well w/medium rare.  Farful can barely contain himself,waiting for the bone(which he will devour compleatly!)

Garbage salad= greens of all kinds,cukes,avacado,red pepper,'shrooms (portabella)olives of several kinds,tomatoes of course,feta cheese,olive oil,fresh lime juice,hearts of palm,ngarbonzo's....w/water to drink

RY---garbage salad is the best.  Just throw whatever ya got on it and to heck with what anyone thinks!  I like pepper rings, marinated mushrooms, and roasted garlic.  What the heck!  I never haqve to worry about vampires in my (ahem) neck of the woods!
 
Pinot grigio for me, please!  I'm a white wine kinda gal!
 
And I take full responsibility for my own health.  I have a serious illness that is now in remission and I plan on keeping it that way.  I do all the good things I'm supposedd to and take a heck of a lot of drugs...but I'm still ticking!  Takes more than wierdo diseases to keep a Southern gal down!

magic--glad someone else knows about cinnamon.  I was afraid everyone would think I was nuts (which I am, I just don't want you to think so!)

I love nuts, so you are my kinda person. I don't want to be like everyone else, a little different is refreshing.

MISS BLUE.........................huuuuuuuuuuullloooooooooooooooooooooooooooo back baby!

Sure, cinnamon on honey on my toast several times a week...good for combatting Type 2 Diabetes.....lots of cinnamon, plus 2 cinnamon caps with my breakfast.

You are right about the topic.....already been there, done that.....Common, Mr. P, give us something new.....We are ready!

T bone, hot dogs, some of y'all appear to be waiting for a topic with some meat in it.
Free refills anyone. 

??????????

???????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..................................

Miss Bebe I finished The Rules of Civility last week. A good read.Tell me this, did you think he had help carrying it off, writing it in the voice of a woman?  It took me back to memories of my mother's life.  She was about the same age as Katey and Eve. I thought that I caught a glimpse of her (my mother's) younger years.  I wonder if Mr. Towles worked off some memoirs of a mother or grandmother. MissBebe, Miss Park?

Thanks for the tip on the cinnamon ladies, i remember having it sprinkled on toast as a kid.

This nay sound wierd but it sounds good to me right now.......just a like sprinkle of cinnamon on my hot dog some time...... Gotta try it....

At least once....

PL~you can use it on hot dogs...but only if they are in chilli--no, I don't mean Chili-Dogs, I mean cheelee!!..when you put in real beef,and sausage,and chilis,and tomatoes, and,YES, Beans...but also, chocolate! (or if you can, chocolate stout)and coriander,and cumin...and chipotles,and..well, you add what you like