Soda With Meals If you’re planning to lose weight, a strict diet along with a regular exercise routine is a must. The principle of losing weight is to consume less calories than you are able to burn. If you want to maintain your weight, it is alright if you consume as much as you burn, but in order to lose the weight you have already put on, it is imperative to consume less and exercise more.
While on a diet, it is important to give special attention to the caloric content of the food that you eat. The less the caloric content, the healthier the food becomes for you during the diet. Anyone who has ever been on a diet for weight loss knows that energy dense foods like sodas, chocolates, ice creams, red meat, and refined flours should be avoided at all costs.
While sodas may be refreshing and inviting, they are a strict no-no when it comes to a diet. Both sodas and fruit juices are rich in calories. An average 6 oz of cola can add around 80-90 calories, while juices, which contain concentrated sugars, contain about 100-110 calories.
If you are on a diet but continue to drink soda, you might as well not follow the diet at all. While sugar free sodas have very less calories, other flavored colas are densely packed. The amount of calories differs from soda to soda and even though they are a not a fat-rich beverage, they can cause a lot of damage in terms of sugar calories.
The biggest health issue as far as sodas are concerned, is their sugar content. To add flavor to the soda, a significant amount of sugar is added. Sodas have about 20 grams of sugar per 8 oz of soda. There are some products that contain artificial sweeteners and therefore fewer calories. However, in case of these beverages too, there are other side effects that the chemical sweeteners may have.
Apart from the calories and sugar content, there is no nutritional value in sodas. They are great thirst quenchers and may taste great when you’re out with your friends or having a cheeseburger at the local drive-through, but the truth is that soft drinks offer absolutely no health benefits.
Sodas also contain a lot of caffeine. A single can of soft drink contains more caffeine than a full cup of coffee. Though caffeine is not fattening, it can stimulate and increase your appetite.
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