Cutting to the chase here: STOP DRINKING SODA! Not that the high test is any better worse than diet, but straight up mainlining sugar is NOT the way to improve your health. Yea, maybe it’s what we’ve always done, but until recently I didn’t even know anyone (other than maybe my dad) drank soda-pop anymore!
One bottle of Coca-Cola has 39 grams of sugar (about 10 teaspoons) in it. That’s a lot, guys. And seriously nutrient deficient. Just one 12 oz can/bottle. Sure, it’s “only 140 calories”, but it’s all sugar. Ick – sorry, I’m judging and actually, not sorry.
If you’re reading this, you’re either old-er (like me and our gym peeps), or you know you’re going to be old-er someday and you’re trying to get your shit together (health-wise) so you can skate through these years versus managing disease.
The soda has to go!
If you’re looking for someone to tell you it’s OK…you’re not going to find it here.
OK – maybe you’re at a holiday party or a birthday party and you want ONE…sure. But if you have cans or bottles of soda in your homes…shame on you. And hopefully you’re not supplying it to your kids and/or grandkids! 🤯
I tried to find something good about Coke – so I’m not 100% a negative Nelly…and AI gave me this:
“it can provide short term boosts in quick energy (carbs), mental alertness (caffeine) and fluid intake.”
Load of crap! Healthier fruits and starches can provide the quick energy (carbs), as can coffee simply from the caffeine without the carbs. Fluid intake? From Coke? Now I KNOW the world is completely nuts.
Give AI some credit though – the first part of the information it provided stated this:
“While Coca-Cola offers minimal nutritional benefits and carries health risks due to high sugar and caffeine….”
We should all stop there. If you’re on this site then you may have a health concern or two – or you’re trying to prevent any, right? Or you’ve got osteoarthritis (all of our athletes do) and you’re trying to reduce inflammation and pain. If that’s the case, Coke is out. Sorry. (not)
SOLUTIONS
Let’s talk solutions. I hate belaboring the problem without getting right to the solution, but felt the need to drive home how drinking crap – I mean straight up sugar with no nutritional benefit is just absurd. Think I made that point (and here, again!)
Solutions…lots of them and they require just a little prep. We’re all about having options ready WHEN you need them – preemptive hydration options.
Let’s start with water because there are tons of ways to spice up good-old water…which is probably where we all should start in the first place. The simplest, most effective way to improve your hydration levels: water. Boring? Maybe. Depends.
Here’s the start. Something to put your “fluid” (water, tea, etc) in so you can store it in your refrigerator and it’s there for you to have at home, or to fill your Yeti with to go out. Just a few quick searches produced:
Glass Water Pitcher
Another Glass Water Pitcher
Glass Beverage Dispenser
Glass Water Dispenser
Google…there are so many. Admittedly, we use plastic😬. BLASPHEMY! I know. But I’m careful to cool the tea if that’s what we put in it, and often add ice to just to make sure. It’s BPA free, yada yada yada…and it sits on a high shelf and glass was too heavy. But glass would always be best.
Now…how to make water that you WANT to drink? It’s not that hard. Here are a few options…and I’m sure there are a gazillion more. Creativity is the best – just try things. But there are a few sure fire ways to keep it interesting.
Let’s start with my favorite – because we live in Florida and the sweat rates can be pretty high running a gym. We lose a lot of electrolytes just being in the hot, humid heat in the open air gym. If you don’t already follow LMNT’s blog, you should. Yes, they’re selling something – and I hate recommending sources that are selling what they’re writing about, but their content is solid. Sodium and chloride make up about 80% of the electrolyte content of our sweat. So adding a little salt to our water can help rehydrate faster than water alone. And no, generally, sodium isn’t necessarily the culprit of high blood pressure – that ship has sailed and science is finding that more of the problem might be overweight, high BMI and processed foods. Or maybe it’s the Coke! 😂 (Quick reference here). Anywho…there are many plan salts (Celtic Sea salt, Pink Himalayan Salt, Volcanic Salt) that can add some interesting and complex flavors to plain water – and it doesn’t take much, but you may fine it perks you up because of the additional ability for it to replace what you need. So salt is one of our first go-to’s…but if that’s not your thing…no worries.
Herbs, Veggies and Fruit
They’re magic! And in combination…they can knock your socks off!
Lemon and Mint with a drop or two of stevia or honey – SO GOOD! And you can buy a sweet mint plant from Home Depot or Lowes or many of the health food stores for about $3.00 and it’ll produce like wildfire -over and over. Zest a lemon, then slice it up and just put the flesh in the jug of water, and layer 2-+ mint leaves in there and soak overnight. You may not even need the hint of sweetness from Stevia or honey. It’s so good!
Watermelon…one of our faves in the summer. Cube some watermelon and let them soak in your jug of water in fridge. Adding mint to this is also delish!
Cucumber or Cucumber + Lime (same as with lemon: zest it then add the pulverized flesh.
Tea! So many options here. We brew a large stock pot of green tea (about 20 tea bags) to 170 degrees then let it sit and steep and cool. Once it’s cooled we’ll add mint leaves, or lemon zest or orange zest – the options are truly unlimited. Ice that sucker down in the fridge and now you have the health benefits of tea PLUS some really cool flavors.
Get cracking with some ideas and let’s get soda out of our homes, vocabularies and lives. You’ll be surprised how good you feel to truly be hydrated with natural substances that even provide some health benefits.
How much? Drink to your hearts content. Sure, you can be “over hydrated”, but honestly, I’ve yet to come across anyone, especially in our senior community, that is. Buy a bigger Yeti (plus it’ll weigh more and it’s good for your strength!) and fill that sucker up a couple to three times a day and enjoy as your cells thank you for equipping them with the hydration needed to functional at optimal levels!