yes/no

I've been off the soda for several years now so I'm not entirely certain but my guess is that diet drinks wouldn't count so much because of the caffeine and failing that maybe because of the other funky additives. I'm not sure about the crystal light though, that doesn't have caffeine right? So that one would more likely count. Oh well don't confuse this for actual advice as I don't even play a nutritionist on TV ;).

alternative ideas

What I don't like is all the chemicals that come along with them. If you don't like drinking straight water (which you should be drinking plenty of anyways), why not drink tea (which has antioxidants) or squeeze some citrus into your drink? I like adding water to freshly squeezed oranges (packed with nutrients like vitamin C) or lemons (helps with digestion). Hot lemon water is also great if you're sick or have allergies.

You would gain so much more benefit drinking any of those. You don't need to add sweetener either (especially oranges) because they are sweet naturally. Plus your body can process the sugar in fruit more effectively and doesn't have all the artificial coloring, and mysterious ingredients. If you like the fuzz factor -- use carbonated water instead of still water.

If you buy a whole watermelon, blend the whole thing and keep it in a juice container. You can make a whole lot of it in a short amount of time. You can drink it like juice and again --- it has more nutrients and health benefits.

Soda Is The Problem!

There have been so many studies done on the chemicals in diet sodas, and they ALL say it's bad. Here's the latest one that just came out TODAY:

http://news.independent.co.uk/health/article2586652.ece

I'm a spa editor, and there's not ONE spa I've visited that serves diet soda -- why is that? Because the chemicals in diet sodas are NOT a part of a healthy lifestyle.

And who drinks diet sodas? FAT PEOPLE. There IS a correlation. Diet sodas are artificially sweet, but deliver no carbs. Your body craves sweets when it needs carbs, and if you constantly give it sweet tasting drinks with no carbs, it throws off your own ability to regulate sugar intake -- that's why everyone has problems with sugar now, and it's why the nation has gotten so obese.

I LOVE diet Coke - I love the burn, I love the sweetness, and I definitely crave it... But I've finally given it up (except maybe 1-2/week) as a daily ritual, and moved on. Try water with lemon, or carbonated water, or unsweetened green tea from Trader Joe's, and start de-toxing your system. You WILL notice a difference after a few weeks, and you'll be able to appreciate the occasional diet soda even more.

...

I'm glad cooler heads than mine pointed out the decremental effects of soda/diet soda (I don't let my kids drink it) and some alternatives to it (I love me some green tea, and happen to be drinking some of the gunpowder variety right now).

I imagine that quiting the soda is not dis-similar to quiting smoking (2 1/2 months and it still sucks), your body is used to a certain regimen of 'food' and it learns to expect that so when you change it it makes you feel different. When I quit soda it took a while to get to feeling normal again and I had to drink carbonated water almost constantly.

Anyhow, I can't speak to the diabetes angle at all but ultimately I'm in the no soda (especially diet soda) is good soda

i dont know but personally

i dont know but personally drink at least 1 gallon of water every day .. some times more and i limit soda to 2 diet cherry cokes a day that is it