Goodbye soda - Hello tap water!

Hey everyone,

I am in the process of purchasing a house with my boyfriend and was just doing some math to figure out how to squeeze every penny out of my last 3 pay cheques before we need to give our lawyer a big cheque for the down payment and all the associated fees.

While researching how to be as frugal as possible, I stumbled upon this site Wise Bread and thought you may be interested in the following article:
http://www.wisebread.com/how-water-can-save-you-977-a-year.

If you read my previous post you will know that I don't have any cavities - this is despite the fact that I have always eaten dessert after supper since I have been a teenager.  I think a possible explanation for this medical miracle is the fact that I was not allowed to drink soda as a child and I rarely drink it now.

But after reading the information below - it's time to become militant.  I declare that I no longer drink soda!

Here is what the experts have to say:
"Soft drinks have long been suspected of leading to lower calcium levels and higher phosphate levels in the blood. When phosphate levels are high and calcium levels are low, calcium is pulled out of the bones. The phosphate content of soft drinks like Coca -Cola and Pepsi is very high, and they contain virtually no calcium."
"The relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight is so strong that researchers calculate that for each additional soda consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times."
"Sugar and acid in soft drinks so easily dissolve tooth enamel."
"Saccharin is a 100-year-old non-nutritive, non-caloric sweetening agent… its use has exploded over the last twenty years as a staple of the diet food and drink craze. Its major current consumption is in diet pop by teenagers, and not by diabetics and the obese. The public now firmly believes that foods containing saccharin are effective in weight control, and has been persuaded by the soft drink industry (through the Calorie Control Council) that these benefits outweigh any possible health risks."
"More than a dozen animal tests over the last thirty years have demonstrated the carcinogenic effects of saccharin in the bladder and other sites, particularly female reproductive organs, and in some instances at doses as low as the equivalent of one to two bottles of diet pop daily."
"Heavy soft drink consumption can interfere with your body's metabolization of iron and diminish nerve impulse transmission."
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/004416.html#ixzz1Ju0BTGZY

Another ingredient in soda is sodium benzoate - a preservative found in a lot of products.  A future post be dedicated entirely to preservatives.

I encourage you to start cutting down the amount of soda you drink. The soft drink companies are very powerful and spend a lot of money on the marketing of their products.  If you are not ready to give up on soda, I recommend you pay attention to how visible and accessible soft drinks have become.  This is not about choice - these companies are taking advantage of you!

Free yourself!