There's pros and cons to both sides of the issue. I don't like government telling me what I can do or eat but then if The poor people can spend welfare on things that make them obese, them someone will also have to pay for all The illness that come from obesity and unhealthy lifestyles. You can't win. Most things aren't win/win in life. I don't drink soda at all but I do eat sugar free popsicles and I'm not giving them up no matter what happens. These are my choices and I'll suffer the consequences. I've probably already payed the price for smoking even though I quit about 10 years ago. The damage is done. I have eaten fairly healthy for a long home now except for the SF Popsicles and I'm getting tired of it. I had cookies again for breakfast and pretty soon the healthy food I bought is going to spoil and end up in the garbage. Don't mean to go off topic but I'm just in a dark mood lately and if I want to eat crap, I will. Half the food that's sold is just as bad as the coke and diet coke. Is that next?
Until I reached 55, I hadn't had any serious -- and very few minor -- medical problems. Any health problems were due to injuries. I have worked in jobs with wet and dry fiberglass, which we washed off our arms with Toulene. I ate whatever I wanted and it didn't seem to matter; until I was in my 30s, I didn't even gain weight from drinking soft drinks. I started drinking Tab, and then Diet Coke, because I liked the taste. I think some of that stuff catches up with you in your later years. It's probably too late now but I rarely drink any kind of soft drink, and try to stay away from GMO foods.
So many things we ingest are not necessary to sustain us or help us in any way. Splenda, Aspartame, and all of the preservatives and dye's are not good for us. I agree with my fellow poster above. It all catches up with us in our 50's and 60's at some point.
Also genes and just plain luck also add to the mix. There are some 90 year olds that have no problems and smoke And don't eat that healthy and there are some very health conscious people that will die young. If you're 600 lbs, then I will agree you won't live long but other than that it's just luck.
They know sugar is addictive along with thinks that taste like sugar so the government knows they will always be a profit in taxing soft drinks. Like they did with cigarettes and alcohol no one stopped because the tax. When I interview the 100+ year old people what they eat was by the medical system really bad it had a lot of cholesterol and saturated fat very little grains no oils so knowing that what is a healthy diet anyways.
Uh huh. Someone can always point to some guy who ate nothing but candy bars, drank vodka, and smoked cigars, yet died while climbing Mount Everest at the age of 105... Okay, maybe not to that extreme, but you get the idea.
I believe that Diet Coke and Coke Zero are practically the same, correct me if I'm wrong on this. My husband is a Coke drinker but the regular. He would always tease my brother-in-law who prefers Diet or Zero when we are in a restaurant. When the waiter would ask my husband if he also like Diet Coke, my husband would reply that he wants regular because Diet or Zero is only for the seniors (my husband is 61 though). But this thread makes me wonder because my brother-in-law is a physician and my sister is a hospital nurse so they should know that issue about aspartame. Their son also drinks Coke Zero instead of the regular, saying it is healthy. I have heard that issue about aspartame but I just ignored it because we never drink that kind of soda. My favorite is Mountain Dew but I would settle for Sprite or 7-up, no diet please, just the regular can.
Because of insulin sensitivy, I do my best to avoid most sugar products. When insulin sensitivy gets too bad, then the person is often pre-diabetic, and I totally want to avoid that. Soda pop which is sweetened with sugar tastes like syrup to me; so I would never drink that in any case. We add protein drinks and protein bars to our diet, and those are fairly expensive; so something has to go out of the food budget. For us, it is snacks, treats, and desserts. If I have sweets, I know that it will set off my arthritis, and then I will be hurting the next day; so there is a price to pay for eating the sweets in any case. If we go out for lunch, we do usually indulge in pop alog with our hamburger; but that is only now and again; so not enough to be an issue. We also have fruit for snacks or treats the majority of the time, and pie/dessert are for special occasions only. This way, we get the important things for our health first, and treats only when we have grocery money extra and I find something good on closeout.
I don't even drink soda when I eat out. It's been many many years since I had anything besides water or an occasional ice tea. I haven't had sugar at all in the house since I moved here 12 years ago. I'm just not into desserts too much. Like I said I've been eating healthy for a very long time but I've been feeling self destructive lately and bought cookies and chips and that's all I've eaten the last couple of days. I can afford the weight gain but I doubt I ate enough to do that. I just feel most if us know what is healthy and it's up to is to decide what were going to eat, not the government. The government can tell me what to do with other aspects of my life but as long as I don't cause harm to others, my body is mine. I can make it as skinny or as fat as I want. I will suffer the consequences of my actions and decisions. Edit: want to add that I can do what I want with my body as an adult or at least 18+
@Chrissy Page "The government can tell me what to do with other aspects of my life but as long as I don't cause harm to others, my body is mine. I can make it as skinny or as fat as I want. I will suffer the consequences of my actions and decisions." This is precisely my point regarding use of drugs. Nowadays, after many, many years of pushing the belief that Marijuana was the Weed of the Devil, dangerous, addictive, a killer of human beings, Government is legalizing it, and taxing it, after jailing folks for years for using it.
Weaning myself off beer was a long process. First, I switched from beer to diet soda. Then to club soda. Finally, I joined the ranks of coffee, tea and water drinkers. I now must watch my liquid intake, so even that is limited. I no longer miss beer and soda at all. I'm still in shock at the amount of money I was spending on beer.
I could have missed a few years, but to the best of my knowledge products with aspartame had warning labels from the very beginning. Never touched the stuff, never will. I think the length of time harmful products are on the market before the FDA or whomever decides 'oops, this stuff might kill you' is reason enough to avoid it- similar to cyclamates and saccharine.
I really am no fan of soda or any other carbonated drinks. I would rather have water to quench my thirst not any sugary drinks. If I want some fruity drink, I'd eat the whole fruit instead to get and taste the juice plus the added fiber and nutrients in it.
I really think it takes a lot of years for something like this to affect you. I'm not saying it's healthy and I only drink water mostly but I was thinking of my grandmother who was diabetic for at least 35 years and she used all those old artificial sweeteners like saccharin. I remember the liquid and also in the tiny little white tablets. That's not what she died from though. I'm not a big fan of anything with sugar and that includes fruit or fruit juice, especially fruit juice. If I drink any I will water it down a lot.
The old saying the straw that broke the camel’s back which teaspoon of artificial sweetner is the one that gave you cancer. I do not want to play Russian roulette