If You Have to Drink Soda - Drink This

May 16, 2009 - I've been trying to avoid soda for years. I used to stay away from it because in order to stay my ideal weight, I've always had to be calorie conscious. We all know that if there's one way to add extra calories to your diet, it's to drink a soda every day. I'm not a health freak though, so when I occasionally had a desperate craving for soda, I reached for the regular, not the diet. Diet Soda was a thing my mother never let us drink. Of all the things she cares about, this one she made very clear. Aspartame would kill you. She put the fear of aspartame in me at a good young age.

A couple years ago, however, I became aware of high fructose corn syrup. And when I became aware of it, it became equally, if not more terrifying to me than aspartame. I truly believe that HFCS is what has made America as fat as it is. This created a huge dilemma for. You see, sometimes I just REALLY like a soda. With pizza, for example, it's the only natural complement. So what's a girl to do when all the sodas on the market have one poisonous substance in them or another?? Half the time I'd opt for regular, the other half for diet. Either way, I was completely guilt ridden and regretted my decision after it was consumed.

Enter Blue Sky sodas made with cane sugar -

It's not the only soda brand available without HFCS, just the one that I happened to pick up at my very own local Hannaford. I brought home a six-pack, just to try out and see if in a pinch, it could fill in for a Pepsi - it totally passed the test. It tastes cleaner somehow, and doesn't leave my body feeling gross the way Coke and Pepsi do. It doesn't have caffeine either, which is a good change for me. As much as I've read about why HFCS is bad, I've also read that substituting other sugars isn't any healthier. So I realize that this product is still not a 'healthy' choice - sugar is still sugar. But at least human beings have been consuming cane sugar forever, so I have a little bit more faith that, in moderation, it's not going to kill me. Plus, we all get enough corn in our diet - it's in literally every processed food that we eat - so to kick one corn product from my diet makes me a happy girl.

Needless to say, I've decided to keep just a few of these sodas on hand for any time one of my 'soda cravings' pops up. Now I can treat myself to a sweet carbonated beverage with a little less guilt, and I'm that much closer to being completely high fructose corn syrup free!