I've heard that carbonated beverages deplete calcium so a quick search found this...

"Carbonated beverages deplete calcium from bones, and can cause hypocalcimia, actually resulting in reported tetany (unrelenting muscle spasms). Whether the mechanism lies in the phosphoric acid, caffeine content, displacement of other nutrients, or the excess simple sugar in soda, no one knows. What we do know is that colas are not good food, and that they are bad medicine." -- Dr. Lee-Benner

pepsi max w/ gingseng is my favorite posion behind coffee, there is only so much water i can drink

a diet dr. pepper once a day with lunch- it's yummy

I used to like Coke but I gave up soda for the most part.
I might have it de-fizzed during races.

I drink a lot of water and skim milk and take my vitamins.
Then I was traveling for business this summer and had a chance to try Coke Zero.

It does taste like real Coke. So, once in awhile I indulge myself.
They also have Cherry Coke Zero and I heard they will be coming out with Vanilla Coke Zero.

I think the effects of carbonated beverages are for those who are drinking many of them and not getting calcium from milk, dairy or other sources.

I find that I can't stand the after taste you get from all diet drinks (pops, flavored waters, ect). I think my palate is sensitive to the artificial sweeteners. So I have tried Coke Zero and found it was just like all the others.

I have been cutting down my pop consumption lately, after buying a full length mirro and actually seeing how I look. But when I indulge, it has to be the "real thing". regular Pepsi.

Cheers

Luckily I don't enjoy the taste of soda, but the junk I do enjoy, I limit by only consuming them as a treat. A few people said they only have soda for lunch, but I take it a step further. Every day seems like it's a lot to me. I have a milkshake about once every 3-4 weeks. A slice of cake when it's someone's birthday, and fast food as often as we see Haley's Comet.

I hardly ever drink soda. I do drink coffee though, sometimes too much. :) So far I've been able to keep it down to one cup a day though but I expect it to get up to about 3 cups.

My Mom made me a big coffee mug (she makes pottery) and I measured how much coffee it can hold: 20 ounces. I have yet to fill it up and drink though. lol

Wow, am I in the minority on this one!!! I am definitely addicted to caffeinated beverages. Coffee, diet soda, tea......I consume a lot! Yep, I know it's not good for me but bad habits are VERY hard to break. Best thing I did lately (a year ago) was to give up the Frappacino-type drinks....unbelieveable how many dead calories are in those!!!!

I pretty much am a health nut except for my diet pepsi gotta have it! I have done a lot of
research on diet sodas and as long as your not drinking a 6 pack a day you should be ok.
I used to have an alcohol and drug problem so diet pepsi i think will be better!

I basically stopped drinking carbonated beverages a while ago...although occaisonally I will just get a random craving for one...usually if my stomach doesn't feel right. in that case, I go with the fully sugar packed deals, I can't stand the artificial sweetener aftertaste. Never found one I like.

I basically go with all water throughout the day....milk in the morning, choc. milk recovery, and watered down sports drinks while training. Occaisonally I'll have a beer or 2 in the evening.

I'd occaisonally like to have fruit juice or the like, but I just don't buy it so never have it around. Oh well...I find I don't miss the other drinks too much.

where did you get the southern states version?

For whatever reason, I can't deal with the harsh carbonation of most sodas (beer, not a problem) but on the rare occasion that I have one I go all out and get regular coke.

Easy partner, if that were a southern soda the word diet wouldn't be on it.

IMO diet soda is worse than regular. For anyone interested here are the ingredients in coke zero:
http://www.thezeromovement.org/coke_zero_ingredients.html

Artificial sweeteners are terrible, just do a quick search on google for aspartame and you'll get a bunch of sites explaining this...

That being said, I'll have a regular coke once in a while, but I really try to limit soda consumption because of all the chemicals.

robbie- biochemically, the reason that cyclists and marathoners chug a coke (non-diet) post race/training is to boost their blood suger (glucose) in order to trigger insulin release from beta cells. this happens fast after putting down a coke, and your body will begin the process of restoring glycogen stores that have been depleted during the long ride/run. the coke also expedites further intake of simple sugars into the muscles once you finally get home or to the pizza parlor to get some real food. the window of time between knocking down that coke and putting back some real nourishment shouldnt be more than a few hours. and (for you fatties like me counting cals), you need not knock down a lot of coke, a few sips will do to get the job done...

oh, and dr. pepper, the greatest soda of all time, works just as well and better on sundays.

I stop drinking carbonated sodas years ago....
Gastritis, ulcers, GERD....do not get a long with carbonated sodas. :-( I mean I suffered from those in my unhealthy past....but all healed now...
I indulge myself with regular Coke every once in a while and only if I have a long event the next day, but I tried the Coke Zero and tasted pretty good...I almost did not noticed the difference.