There was a time when I drank two, sometimes three cans of Diet Coke a day. In fact, I was addicted to Diet Coke. I could tell because if I went a day without drinking it, I would wake up the next morning with a pounding headache. The cure? You guessed it — another Diet Coke.

This addiction to Diet Coke went on for 23 years! Finally, 17 years ago, I managed to kick the habit.

Fortunately for me, Diet Coke wasn’t the only thing I drank. I have always been a milk drinker, and I like tall glasses of ice water. Eventually, I weaned myself down to one can of Diet Coke per day, and within a month, I wasn’t drinking Diet Coke anymore.

What I drink today, for the most part, is milk, ice water and hot green tea when I am home. When I’m at a restaurant, I drink ice water.

After reading about the results of a recent study, I’m glad I don’t drink soda, and I plan to continue avoiding it completely.

Soda consumption

According to the study, a mere 12-ounce serving of a sugar-sweetened soft drink per day may increase the chance of developing Type 2 diabetes. Just one sugary soft drink consumed daily can raise the risk of diabetes by 22%, the study showed.

I know drinking an occasional can of soda isn’t going to lead to an increased risk of developing diabetes. But after being addicted to Diet Coke for more than two decades, I know how an occasional soda can lead to one soda a day and even more. Why risk it?

The study adds to a growing body of evidence that sugar intake has an impact both on weight gain and diabetes. The study’s researchers used data on the consumption of juices, sugar-sweetened soft drinks and artificially sweetened beverages. The study included 12,403 Type 2 diabetics and a random population of 16,154 people.

The researchers concluded that consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks “increases your risk of developing diabetes beyond the effect on body weight. You may remain thin and still have a higher risk of developing diabetes.”

Drinking two glasses of 2% milk, two glasses of ice water and some green tea each day never hurt anyone. Milk is packed with nutrition. In addition to providing 29% of a person’s daily calcium requirements, an 8-ounce serving of 2% milk delivers 26% of your daily vitamin D needs, 23% of your phosphorus requirements, 27% of your riboflavin needs, 19% of your B12 requirements and 16% of your daily protein requirements. Sugary soft drinks offer no nutrition.

So, the next time you’re trying to figure out what to drink, think milk and skip the soda!

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