My love affair with Tea!

Sodas can have some serious negative effects on your body when consumed regularly and I really want to take steps to a healthier lifestyle. I’ve actually succeeded at cutting soda out and I’ll tell you why...

I treat myself to tea.

I think we all like to be treated to something special. When I would bring a soda or an energy drink to work I felt like it was a special treat to myself; a pick-me-up for the long work day. When my heart started to flutter from drinking too many energy drinks I decided to stop and stop fast.

My treasured Finding Nemo thermos

Now, instead of bringing sodas or energy drinks to work I brew myself my own cup of green tea every morning with a spoonful of local honey. It's healthier, cheaper and with still enough caffeine (you can also get decaffeinated) to brighten your day.

Plain tea can be a healthful, calorie-free beverage, but be careful how much cream, sugar, and flavorings you add into your cup, add too many and your once-healthful drink becomes a rich dessert. I favor natural honey because unlike processed sugar and artificial sweeteners, honey is antioxidant rich and does your body good while taking the edge off your tea.

Laboratory studies suggest that tea may reduce cholesterol levels, help prevent blood clotting, lower the risk of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, heart disease, and even fight inflammation, cancer, and seasonal allergies.

Also ladies, studies suggest these possible health benefits specifically for women:


• Black and green tea may lower risk for ovarian cancer.

• Green tea may reduce breast cancer risk.

There are several different teas to choose from, each one delicious and beneficial in it's own right. Try them out!

The negatives of drinking soda

One of my new year’s resolutions is to “drink soda only occasionally, if at all.”

Starting this week, I will begin to limit my consumption of soda. I do not drink soda every day, but I do drink it more than once a week which is definitely more often than I should. For the first month I will allow myself up to two sodas a week. The second month I will only allow myself up to one soda per week. The third month I will allow myself up to one soda every two weeks. The fourth month I will not allow myself any soda at all. After that month is over I will only have sodas on occasion, if at all.

To help myself adjust to this transition, I’ve put together a number of facts regarding the harmful effects of soda. The infographic above has some great facts and figures provided by Term Life Insurance. Below you can find some extra facts I was able to find independently.

• With a pH of about 2.5 (about the same as vinegar), soda is the most acidic beverage you can buy. Why does that matter? Acid oxidizes whatever it comes in contact with. For example, if you put soda or vinegar on metal it will rust it quickly. Think of the effect something like that would have on your body!
• The high levels of phosphorus contained in sodas can leach calcium from your system. Osteoporosis, tooth loss, periodontal disease and gingivitis can be problems associated with a high phosphorus intake.
• For those of you with a diet soda in your hands, the news isn’t any better, in fact it’s worse! One liter of an aspartame-sweetened beverage can produce about fifty-six milligrams of methanol. When several of these beverages are consumed in a short period of time as much as two hundred fifty milligrams of methanol are dumped into the bloodstream. Methanol is toxic to the human body.
• Then there’s the caffeine. Caffeine withdrawal can strike people who drink a single cup of strongly brewed coffee or drink caffeinated soft drinks regularly. Caffeine-withdrawal symptoms include not only headache, but also fatigue, mild depression, muscle pain and stiffness, flu-like feelings, nausea and vomiting.

I invite any of you to join me in this resolution. Soda, although tasty, is not beneficial to our bodies at all and can be removed from our diet with a little effort and support.