Kick the habit: Five things to drink instead of soda

Thursday, July 18, 2013 by: Sandeep Godiyal
Tags: soda alternatives, healthy beverages, addiction

(NaturalNews) Thirsty? Given the circumstances, most people will reach for a bottle or a flip top can of ice-cold soda. Almost 90 percent of people all over the world will, at one time or another, have tasted a sugary, fizzy, carbonated beverage. And the fight isn't particularly fair, either; on average, there are as many, or more, carbonated beverages as there are bottled water displayed along shelves.

Now that science and medicine have positively linked sodas to a host of serious diseases and conditions, more and more people have begun to switch to tasty yet healthy soda alternatives. There are actually a wider choice of drinks than most people realize. Here are five alternative drinks soda drinkers can try:

Fresh fruit juice

There is absolutely no one in the world who will say that fresh fruit juice is tasteless. Fruit juices have a whole plethora of tastes that drinkers won't have a shortage of new things to try. And while fruit juices from a single variety is plenty, imagine how much the choices will expand when fruit juice drinkers start mixing juices.

Aside from being naturally sweet, fruit juices are saturated with vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to the body. As for soda drinkers who love the fizz, they can try mixing pure fruit juice with carbonated water or seltzer water.

Coffee

There are a few soda drinkers that choose the sugary concoction due to it being caffeine-rich that makes it a great pick-me-up. If this is the case, then these people will enjoy a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

Coffee is also rich in caffeine, especially coffee that is brewed from freshly ground coffee beans. Brewed coffee is found to contain antioxidants as well as natural oils that benefit the heart.

Green tea

While most people choose coffee for their caffeine fix, some people dislike the bitter taste of the aromatic brew. One of the better coffee and soda alternatives for these people is green tea.

Tea, especially the green variety, is proven to be full of antioxidants that rid the body of free radicals--byproducts that can cause all sorts of diseases as well as premature aging. Like coffee, tea can be taken either hot or cold, and will mix wonderfully with milk.

Tea in particular can taste wonderful with a squeeze of lemon, or with a crushed mint leaf. Honey or agave syrup can be used to sweeten the drink.

Soya milk

There are quite a number of people, especially in Western countries, who are allergic or intolerant to milk and dairy products, and possibly causing them to shy away from both coffee and tea. A great and healthy alternative to milk is soya milk, which is extracted from soy beans. Technically, soya milk isn't milk in its essence, since it lacks the milk proteins found in commercial cow's milk. But this in turn also makes soya milk safe for those who are lactose intolerant.

Since soya milk has its own subtle sweetness, it can be taken as it is, and chilled or iced. Soya milk makes a refreshing, tasty, and healthy alternative to sodas.

Smoothies

To round up the five healthy and tasty soda alternatives, people can indulge themselves in smoothies. Smoothies have fresh fruit, crushed ice, milk, and sugar, making it a healthier alternative for those who treat themselves to carbonated drinks as a way to reward themselves.
To make smoothies that much healthier and guilt-free, the milk can be replaced by soya milk, and sugar can be replaced by honey or agave syrup.

These five healthier alternatives should help banish those soda cravings for good.

Sources for this article include:
http://lifehacker.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com
http://drinks.seriouseats.com

About the author:
Sandeep has written many health field articles for both Internet and print publication. He currently writing for insurancetips4u.co.

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