How to Beat Cravings for Soda

WebMD had a great piece this week on sodas, which I'd like to summarize for you, since I basically agree with everything they said.

First things first: We bought 10 billion- that's billion, not million- cases (that's cases, not bottles) of soft drinks last year.

Let that sink in for a minute.

And, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, soda is the single greatest source of calories in our diet- a very hefty 7% of all calories consumed come from soda. For kids, it's even worse. A June 2008 study in Pediatrics found that children and adolescents today derive 10-15% of total calories from sugar-sweetened beverages and "100% fruit juice".

And if you think this doesn't concern you since you drink diet soda, I'll get to you in a minute.

There's a ton of research that links soda drinking with obesity. One Harvard study found that for each additional soda consumed, a kid's risk of obesity goes up by 60%. Just last week a study published in the Journal of Critical Care examined the effects of soda drinking in Dubai of all places, and found that "soda drinking was associated with a higher risk of obesity and decreasing levels of blood calcium which may lead to osteoporosis later in life".

I can't resist pointing out that in 2001- the same year the Harvard study was published- the American Dietetic Association predictably published a paper- "Straight Facts About Beverage Choices"- that was largely devoted to dispelling concerns about soda such as "possible links" to weight gain, cavities and bone-thinning. Incidentally, their "Straight Facts About Beverage Choices" was sponsored by the National Soft Drink Association. What a shock.

And you wonder why I tell you to run the other way every time you hear advice from the American Dietetic Association?

But don't get me started.

David Katz, MD, of the Yale School of Medicine put it well when he told WebMD "Studies funded by the beverage industry have suggested no link between soda and childhood obesity; studies funded by everyone else have begged to differ".

So is diet soda any better? Not really. A Jan 2008 study in Circulation which I wrote about in this newsletter found that people who drank just one diet soda a day faced a 34% higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome.

To be fair, experts have pointed out that there are really two types of diet soda drinkers- one who drinks diet soda and eats healthy food, and one that drinks diet soda to justify super-sized meals at McDonald's. So maybe it's only the second type that gets in trouble. Still, I'm not convinced that diet sodas are benign. For one thing they seem to boost the cravings for sweets. "We have a sweet tooth not a 'sugar tooth'", Katz told WebMD. "Sweets feed a sweet tooth and the more sweets you get the more you tend to want".

And that doesn't even address the thorny question of the artificial sweeteners (typically aspartame) and chemicals in diet soda. I think it's bad news.

So what to do?

I like WebMD's suggestions, which is why I'm passing them on:

1. Start slowly by replacing the sugared sodas with diet ones. They still stink, but it's an intermediate step in the right direction.


2. Cut down gradually- replace one regular soda (or diet soda) per day with an alternative. Note: "energy drinks" are often just as bad- read the label for sugar content. The best alternative is water (but you knew that anyway)!


3. If you need flavor, try calorie-free flavored waters and seltzers.


4. If it's the caffeine you're craving, you're better off with tea or coffee. Seriously. Black tea improves the flow of blood and may reduce the risk of stroke—(you already know all the terrific things about green tea). And coffee is a great source of antioxidants.