I agree with the thread title, but not exactly for the same reasons outlined in the opening post. Soda is the "worst thing" you can drink, sweets are the "worst thing" you can eat. Smartass comments from people saying "sulfuric acid" or the likes are detracting from the discussion at hand and there have been a lot of them in this thread. I'd love to take a count of how many people in this thread who are against the OP's point regularly drink soda.
Now to explain my stance. By itself, soda isn't *that* bad and it's true that alcohol is a more dangerous substance per ml. The same goes for sweets and comparing it to some other edible substance that the human body is intolerant to. The reason soda/sweets are bad is the cultural connotations surrounding them. The first obvious point is that soda is promoted to kids (and for comparison, alcohol is restricted from those under 16/18/21) and thus it becomes ingrained as "not that bad", which can be evidence in the prevalent attitudes in this thread. From a weight related standpoint, one of the easiest ways to lose excess weight is to drop calories gained from drinking or "don't drink your calories". From a sugar standpoint, most sodas are rife with them and studies have been made to show that the sugar free alternatives aren't healthy. Due to their prevalence, ordering anything other than a soda or alcoholic beverage is seen as "odd". The healthiest option, water, is a big "no no" when going out. If this isn't a sign that we're culturally backwards with regards to health, I'm not sure what is.
For the people in this thread willing to debate this point, consider for a moment how you would be viewed as a person if each bottle of coke was replaced with a bottle of beer. Also consider how difficult it might be to remove soda from your diet entirely, indefinitely. There's a high chance a lot of you will struggle and can view it as an addiction. Perhaps you may wish to justify it by saying that "it's just like being addicted to meat, or vegetables", but at least those foods are not void of nutrition.
Sugar has a horrible effect on the mind. The easiest way to see this is opening a bar of chocolate, having one piece of it and promising yourself you'll only have one piece, while keeping it in arm's reach. For further watching, I recommend The Men Who Made Us Fat. The first episode focuses heavily on the issues raised in this thread and my post.
For context, I usually just have water and tea on a day-to-day basis and restrict alcohol to 1-2 times a month. I've started having my tea decaffeinated recently, too.
Now to explain my stance. By itself, soda isn't *that* bad and it's true that alcohol is a more dangerous substance per ml. The same goes for sweets and comparing it to some other edible substance that the human body is intolerant to. The reason soda/sweets are bad is the cultural connotations surrounding them. The first obvious point is that soda is promoted to kids (and for comparison, alcohol is restricted from those under 16/18/21) and thus it becomes ingrained as "not that bad", which can be evidence in the prevalent attitudes in this thread. From a weight related standpoint, one of the easiest ways to lose excess weight is to drop calories gained from drinking or "don't drink your calories". From a sugar standpoint, most sodas are rife with them and studies have been made to show that the sugar free alternatives aren't healthy. Due to their prevalence, ordering anything other than a soda or alcoholic beverage is seen as "odd". The healthiest option, water, is a big "no no" when going out. If this isn't a sign that we're culturally backwards with regards to health, I'm not sure what is.
For the people in this thread willing to debate this point, consider for a moment how you would be viewed as a person if each bottle of coke was replaced with a bottle of beer. Also consider how difficult it might be to remove soda from your diet entirely, indefinitely. There's a high chance a lot of you will struggle and can view it as an addiction. Perhaps you may wish to justify it by saying that "it's just like being addicted to meat, or vegetables", but at least those foods are not void of nutrition.
Sugar has a horrible effect on the mind. The easiest way to see this is opening a bar of chocolate, having one piece of it and promising yourself you'll only have one piece, while keeping it in arm's reach. For further watching, I recommend The Men Who Made Us Fat. The first episode focuses heavily on the issues raised in this thread and my post.
For context, I usually just have water and tea on a day-to-day basis and restrict alcohol to 1-2 times a month. I've started having my tea decaffeinated recently, too.
