Yes, it is, for several reasons we’ll outline below, and we’ll also give you some tips for giving it up. Coke, Pepsi, soda, pop, tonic...whatever you want to call it, you need to kick it to the curb. Get ready to enjoy life without soda pop! It’s empty calories. If you drink regular soda, you’re getting around 150 calories that do nothing for your body. In contrast, drinking water, herbal tea, or even sparkling water diluted with juice will save you at least 100 calories, if not more. Do the math if you drink three or four sodas a day. Diet soda is no better. Artificial sweeteners confuse your body into thinking it’s getting sugar, which triggers an insulin release, which can lead to weight gain and type 2 diabetes. Regular pop contains high fructose corn syrup. This stuff is poison. No one should be taking it in for any reason. Contrary to what the corn industry tells you, HFCS is not metabolized like other sugars. It’s unnatural, and the fructose goes right to the liver, causing fatty liver. It also causes blood sugar spikes, and contains contaminants such as mercury. Any independent nutrition expert will recommend against HFCS, and so do we. Diet pop gives you an excuse to eat more. When you’re taking in no beverage calories, you may rationalize eating more, which leads to weight gain. How to stop pop… Try some of these steps to reduce your soda intake and start drinking more healthy beverages.

  • Take it slowly. Don’t expect to quit soda cold turkey. Reduce gradually over several months if you drink more than two or three a day. Try reducing by one pop a day for two weeks, then cut out one more pop a day for three weeks, etc. Make a schedule that works for you.
  • Keep substitutes handy, such as flavored water, sparkling water, rice or almond milk, and fruit juice. While these drinks aren’t ideal because they contain sugar, they’re a good bridge from pop.
  • Just don’t buy it. If it’s not in your house, you can’t drink it. Make it hard to get soda. If you have to go out and buy it, you may be less likely to drink it.
  • Don’t allow your family to bring it into the house, either. They don’t need it either. It doesn’t matter if the kids are young—now is the time to break the soda habit.
  • While you may have an initial withdrawal that may not be fun, after a month of no soda pop, you’ll look and feel better. Keep reminding yourself of that when the pop urge strikes.

What’s your best tip to give up soda?