When it came to light just how unhealthy conventional soda is, many soda die-hards switched to diet versions.¹ Then they learned that drinking diet soda could also cause negative health outcomes.²

While this might not be pleasing for our soda-loving readers to hear, high-sugar soda isn't good for you. But we’ll let you in on a secret: there’s a happy ending to kicking your conventional soda habit for good!

Read on to learn more...

Why Is Sugary Soda Bad for You?

The average American consumes 13 pounds of sugar exclusively from soda every year.³ So it should come as no surprise that quitting sugar-laden soda is a good idea for better health.

Studies also show that increased soda consumption can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney diseases, non-alcoholic liver disease, cavities, and gout.⁴ A 2019 study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that an increase in sugary beverage consumption can lead to an increased risk of mortality, or early death.⁵

What About Diet Soda: Is Diet Soda Bad for You?

Unfortunately, regular soda isn’t the only culprit when it comes to poor health outcomes. Companies advertise diet soda with its zero sugar content as the healthier alternative to regular soda. But diet soda contains similar chemicals and additives to traditional soda that may not be good for your health.

Researchers discovered that drinking one or more cans of diet soda per day leads to a higher likelihood of stroke or dementia.⁶ It's also linked to weight gain, not weight loss (as it's often advertised!).⁷

It's important to note, however, that studies that look at diet soda intake and health outcomes are observational and only prove correlation, not causation. In other words, we still don’t know if drinking diet soda causes weight gain or if diet soda drinkers are gaining weight for another reason.

How to Stop Drinking Sugary Soda

Today, quitting soda may not be as hard as you think! Here are some tips and tricks for ditching the pop in a realistic and more attainable way:

Drink More Water

Water will fill you up and hydrate you, so you may not be as inclined to quench your thirst with traditional or diet soda. If that doesn’t do the trick, try adding some lemon juice or even some cucumbers or strawberries to your H2O. (Spa water, anyone?)

Avoid Getting Hungry

Make sure you're eating at regular intervals so that you don’t end up hungry at some point and reach for something that’s easy, like that can of sugary soda. In other words, avoid creating dangerous circumstances for yourself that leave you prone to fill up on a quick energy lift from a can of soda.

Manage Your Stress Levels

Speaking of avoiding bad circumstances, managing your stress levels can help too. While this is easier said than done, you can try managing your stress through exercise, meditation, more sleep, or turning your phone notifications off.

There are a ton of different ways to manage your stress, you just need to find the solution that works best for you. When the stress is at bay, you will not be as tempted to return to that habitual comfort of grabbing a soda.

Try OLIPOP!

And most importantly, don’t look at any of this as a restriction. Instead, view it as an opportunity to add positive elements to your life: water, stress reduction, and lower-sugar* soda alternatives. And that’s where OLIPOP comes in.

OLIPOP is a delicious soda with 2-5g of sugar that’s also great for digestive health thanks to our high-fiber and prebiotic content. It comes in flavors that range from Classic Root Beer and Vintage Cola to Ginger Lemon to Orange Squeeze and more.

The prebiotic fiber in every can of OLIPOP helps to support a healthy microbiome. This promotes better health by helping to digest food and produce vitamins, among countless other beneficial functions.⁸ So, OLIPOP isn’t just a delicious beverage; it’s also providing the foundation your gut needs to thrive.

Create a Support System

Crack open a can of OLIPOP with a pal and together, cheers to the love of soda (with only 2-5g of sugar)! When you’re transitioning away from conventional soda you don’t need to do it alone. There is always someone out there that can join you on your journey. So band together and support one another. There is strength in numbers!

Quitting Bad Soda: The Takeaway

Now you’ve got a variety of tools to lean on when you’re ready to quit: drink water, avoid getting hungry, manage your stress, join forces, and try that enticing can of OLIPOP you’ve been eyeing. Once you crack one open, you’ll forget all about that sugar-filled traditional soda.

*Compared to leading non-diet sodas.

Sources

1. CDC. “Rethink Your Drink.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, February 10, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/healthy_eating/drinks.html.
2. Wellness Team. “Just How Bad Is Diet Soda for You?” Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic. Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic, October 10, 2019. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/3-reasons-you-should-kick-your-diet-soda-habit/.
3. Marriott, Bernadette P et al. “Trends in Intake of Energy and Total Sugar from Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in the United States among Children and Adults, NHANES 2003-2016.” Nutrients vol. 11,9 2004. 25 Aug. 2019, doi:10.3390/nu11092004
4. CDC. “Rethink Your Drink.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, February 10, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/healthy_eating/drinks.html.
5. “Higher Consumption of Sugary Beverages Linked with Increased Risk of Mortality.” News, March 18, 2019. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/sugary-beverages-linked-with-higher-risk-of-death
6. Howard, Jacqueline. “Sweet Comparisons: How Much Sugar Is in That Drink?” CNN. CNN, July 2, 2014. https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/20/health/diet-sodas-stroke-dementia-study/index.html.
7. Fowler, Sharon P.G., Ken Williams, and Helen P. Hazuda. “Diet Soda Intake Is Associated with Long-Term Increases in Waist Circumference in a Biethnic Cohort of Older Adults: The San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging.” Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 63, no. 4 (March 17, 2015): 708–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.13376.
8. “Probiotics: What You Need to Know.” NCCIH. NCCIH, 2012. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/probiotics-what-you-need-to-know.