Here are 10 other choices that will help you kick the soda habit and leave your taste buds satisfied.

Check out what some of the leading authors on health, nutrition and junk food have said about the destructive health effects of soft drinks.  Here's my suggestion and if you haven't guessed its GREEN TEA!

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Dr. Gloria Gilbere explains the effects soft drinks have on

yourbody within minutes after drinking them.

How much sugar is in your soft drink? What are the health effects

of drinking soft drinks? Does diet soda make you gain weight? 

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I haven't eaten this stuff in years but remember driving up to a local Friendly's drive through as a teenager asking for cheeseburger with french fries and a coke.  It was delicious to my young palate.  Now I refrain from eating in restaurants unless I know the owners or the chefs who make the food.  I'm a good cook and I usually buy organic.  Well, I do 'cheat' sometimes but I pay the price.

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Sara from Diet.com and author and Obesity Acitivisist, Julia Havey, show what happens to an aged(4 years) McDonald's cheesburger.  It looks like fast food cheeseburgers age better than most humans.  The French Fries still look fresh and vibrant.

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I just got off the phone with Anthony(there he is running in the photo) and we spoke about the Blood Type Diet.  He's a B blood type, I'm a rare AB.  Anthony told me that he could make a bar with my blood type beneficial ingredients. 

So now I can design a bar myself.  I've been getting yummy chocolate cherry bars with beneficial ingredients at the blood type store.  This is an interesting and creative option.  Imagine choosing YOUR own ingredients!

Here's the history of the You Bar in Anthony's words:

After years of being enthusiastic consumers of commercially available nutrition bars, L.A. mom Ava and her USC business student son Anthony got fed up with buying mass-produced bars that reflected generic tastes. Ava wanted bars that weren't too sweet with loads of protein to fuel her days teaching snowboarding and bellydancing. Anthony, a marathon-running athlete, needed high carbs and no milk products (he's allergic). The nutrition bar craze went wild at the beginning of the new millennium, but the number of commercial bars Anthony and Ava (that's us!) could eat actually decreased.

So we took the bar by the horns and began making our own nutrition bars at home. It was as though we'd died and gone to heaven, except for the dishes we had to clean! We finally had nutrition bars with the exact ingredients that we wanted free from preservatives and corn syrup, freshly made and as delicious as Mom Ava's fluffy wholegrain pancakes. And they never got boring either: smooth, crunchy, chewy, sweet and savoury to suit any mood!

We began making customized nutrition bars for the rest of our family and friends' the response was great. (Dad didn't even mind the messy kitchen!) We learned we weren't the only ones fed up with eating mass produced bars. Almost everyone we knew lit up at the possibility of creating bars tailored to their own tastes and dietary dreams. And so You Bar was born.

We've been making our own nutrition bars for over two years and now you can too. Try creating your own nutrition bar it's fun, easy, fresh and most importantly tastes like you want it to with the nutritional content that you choose. You are what you eat (as Nana used to say), so choose!

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A study conducted at McMaster University by the Department of Kinesiology’s Exercise Metabolism Research Group found that milk does help exercisers gain muscle and lose fat.

Researchers found that the milk drinking group had lost nearly twice as much fat as the carbohydrate beverage group.  Those drinking soy lost no fat.  The gain in muscle was much greater among the milk drinkers than either of the other two groups.

Stuart Phillips, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster, who led the research study had this to say:

This simultaneous gain in muscle and loss of fat is a pretty powerful combination. Milk contains two types of proteins, whey and casein, that are the highest-quality proteins known. They contain all of the essential amino acids, the necessary building blocks of proteins in our bodies. Whey contains one called leucine, which may be a key trigger for the synthesis of new muscle proteins

The loss of fat mass, while expected, was much larger than we thought it would be. I think the practical implications of these results are obvious: if you want to gain muscle and lose fat as a result of working out, drink milk.

The evidence is beginning to mount. Milk may be best known for its calcium content in supporting bone health, but our research, and that of others, continually supports milk’s ability to aid in muscle growth and also promote body fat loss. To my mind – with milk being a source of the nine essential nutrients – it’s a no brainer: milk is the ideal post-workout drink for recreational exercisers and athletes alike.

To read more about the study with reader's comments, go here. Technorati Tags: body, build, muscle, weight, loss, fat, exercise, weights. gain, milk, carbs, carbohydrates, soy, proteins, whey, essential, amino, acids, leucine, calcium, growth

Drew DiVittorio Dipl.,(NCCAOM) states that:

"…conditions such as chronic fatigue, environmental and chemical sensitivities, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, headaches, fertility problems, memory loss, and depression are some of the many conditions associated with toxins in the body."

Drew cautions us about fasting on just water or not eating at all:

"Not eating or fasting on water is NOT detoxification.  According to research, the liver needs specific nutrients to detoxify. Depriving the liver during a detoxification program only produces more free radicals which can lead to a healing crisis or poisoning of the body." 

"A safe and effective detoxification program requires specific nutrients to enhance the liver's ability to remove the harmful toxins stored in the body."  Read more on how to rid your body of toxins at Asian Healing Arts Institute blog." 

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On the video below you will hear Dr Mercola's thoughts on Detoxification.

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Great taste. No calories. Wholesome ingredients. How could you drink too much?

This is a question from Diana Garza, a spokeswoman for Coca-Cola North America.  What do you expect, the woman works for Coco-Cola. 

People find it difficult to give up a habit, especially if they love it.  It's hard enough to stop something you know is 'bad' for your health and most people aren't even aware of the facts. 

We like to ignore things we don't want to change anyway  and when you really like a drink or food and if it has caffeine, you're surely addicted and then it's really not easy to stop.

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Another article on deceptively sweet diet drinks warns addicts:

Drinking diet soda can increase the risk of "metabolic syndrome," a contributor to heart disease and diabetes, by 48 percent.

Studies shows that as little as one can of soda per day is associated with a 48 percent increased risk of "metabolic syndrome," which plays a major role in heart disease and diabetes.

Dr David Katz:

There is some evidence that the acid load of soda, regular or diet, has an adverse affect on bone health.  I would be very worried that if you are drinking 12 cans a day, diet or regular.  It's potentially going to do damage to your skeleton, and eventually that can be a very serious problem.

Dr Harris Stratyner:

People do indeed become addicted to caffeine very rapidly, and they also withdraw from caffeine very rapidly. It can make their sleep patterns disturbed and make them restless, wired, anxious.

 Take a look at this video and you can click the link to read Dr Mercola's thoughts on diet soda.

 Technorati Tags: diet, soda, weight, loss, health, wellness, aspartame, dr, mercola, gain

Registered dietitian Diane Quagliani thinks that its a myth that diet sodas cause weight gain.  She has written several nutrition articles for Better Homes & Gardens, Weight Watchers Magazine,  Diane has also appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Phil Lembert’s Supermarket Guru and more and is a former spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association (ADA) and reviewed the ADA’s position paper on Food and Nutrition Misinformation.

Here is what Diane answered about the so called 'food myth' that diet sodas and “light products” cause weight gain.

Video Link:

It's a myth. This myth doesn’t make much sense at all. Something that does not have calories cannot contribute to weight gain.  Cutting 150 calories a day from your diet by using light products such as diet soda, light yogurt, low-calorie sweeteners, etc., can help you lose up to 15 pounds over the course of a year.

Don’t believe the misinformation on the Internet about low-calorie sweeteners such as aspartame. Numerous studies demonstrate the safety of aspartame and its safety is supported by major health groups such as the American Medical Association, American Dietetic Association and American Diabetes Association.
 

Dr Marie Savard, an internationally-recognized internal medicine physician, leading expert in women's health and patient empowerment and who I quoted in my apple or pear shaped post has a different take on diet sodas and artificial sweeteners.  She is also the author of three nationally acclaimed books, The Body Shape Solution to Weight Loss and Wellness: The Apples & Pears Approach to Losing Weight, Living Longer, and Feeling Healthier, How to Save Your Own Life. 

Here is what Dr Savard wrote:

Calorie-conscious consumers who opt for diet sodas may gain more weight if they drank sugary drinks because of artificial sweeteners contained in the diet sodas, according to a new study.

A Purdue University study released Sunday in the Journal Behavioral Neuroscience reported that rats on diets containing the artificial sweetener saccharin gained more weight than rats given sugary food, casting doubt on the benefits of low-calorie sweeteners.

There’s something about diet foods that changes your metabolic limit, your brain chemistry. Though more research needs to be done to uncover more information, the study does hint at the idea that the sweeteners alter a person’s metabolism.

Another recent study, which included more than 18,000 people, found healthy adults who consumed at least one diet drink a day could increase their chance for weight gain. In the Purdue study, the rats whose diets contained artificial sweeteners appeared to experience a physiological connection between sweet tastes and calories, which drove them to overeat.

The taste buds taste sweet, but there’s no calorie load that comes with it. There’s a mismatch here. It seems it changes your brain chemistry in some way. Anything you put in your mouth, your body has a strong reaction to it. It’s much more than counting calories. It seems normally with sweet foods that we rev up our metabolism.

The information may come as a surprise to the 59 percent of Americans who consume diet soft drinks, making them the second-most popular low-calorie, sugar-free products in the nation, according to a consumer survey from the Calorie Control Council, a nonprofit association that represents the low-calorie and reduced-fat food and beverage industry.

Because so many foods today contain artificial sweeteners, the study results may go beyond diet drinks. The truth is, we’re putting artificial sweetener in so many different things in water, in yogurt… it’s unclear if the results only adhere to diet sodas.

To hear Dr. Savard speak on the topic of diet sodas,  watch the interview on Good Morning America, “Diet Sodas Cause Weight Gain?” with Diane Sawyer.

Diane Sawyer had quite a reaction.  I think she likes her diet drinks!

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Spent a pleasant morning yesterday with Mehmet Öz, his lovely wife Lisa and Michael Roizen. Mehmet has a radio show on XM that I was a guest on. I think it will air sometime mid January. Michael is the author of the ‘Real Age’ series of books, and together with Mehmet, they wrote a bestseller called YOU: On A Diet. Mehmet’s wife Lisa was also part of the show. It was an interesting hour, and I was surprised by how much leeway I was given to go into some of the more technical aspects of the book. Both these guys are doctors and when their gears are turning you can see that they almost forget that they are doing a radio show.

Technorati Tags: blood, type, diet, medicine, nutrition, weight, loss, dadamo, genotype, oprah, oz, dr, frien

Get FREE 30-Day XM Radio Online Trial(click on icon to the right to get your free trial).  Dr Oz interviews experts in the healing and wellness field daily and Oprah has a soul series of interviews with special guests such as Pema Chodrin and Maryanne WIlliamson.

Here's another recent  podcast interview if you can't make it to listen to the Oz & D'Adamo interview tomorrow.  It's a one-hour interview of Dr. Peter DAdamo by Cary Nostler of KSTE Radio, Sacramento California.  The discussion includes the basics of blood type dieting, and how it lead to the development of Dr. D’Adamo’s interest in epigenetics and The GenoType Diet.

The Cary Nostler interview is a wonderful hour of Dr D'Adamo talking about his latest book, The Geno Type Diet and how it all started with blood types.  Click on Peter's photo to hear interview now.

Technorati Tags: blood, type, diet, medicine, nutrition, weight, loss, dadamo, genotype, oprah, oz, dr, frien

It's always important to try something and see how 'your' body reacts. Just because an expert says it's good, it doesn't mean that it will work for your body.

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So you can take the information today and try one or two things at a time.  For my body, the relevant points on the list are sleeping well, exercising daily(I do Qi Gong/Yoga and build muscles that way), eating organic veggies, salads, drinking green tea with juiced ginger, laughing a lot and living my passions.

I don't agree with the grain part of his food suggestions.  I gain weight when my diet consists of more than a few bites of grains a day. 

Dr Oz said that your waist size is more important than your weight but the reason he gave was you'll look better..huh?  I've been writing about belly fat and how it is associated with heart disease and other health problems.  Today he didn't mention it, although he has on other shows.  He once brought an actual piece of fat which he called omentum and said how dangerous it is to our health.

I laughed when the audience started counting as Dr Oz did some strength exercises pulling his whole body up to the bar.  He also did a few yoga poses and Oprah asked him if his heels were supposed to be toucing the ground in 'Downard Facing Dog',   He said yes and below is a video with downward facing dog so you can try it at home.  There's a real dog in the video….

Technorati Tags: dr oz, oprah, michael roizen, real age, anti aging, mehmet oz, waist size, weight loss, exercise, yoga, strength training, antioxidant, meditation, sleep, vitaimins, baby aspirin