WHY is soda so addicting? Has anyone figured it out?

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  • MrsR0SE
    MrsR0SE Posts: 341 Member
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    Interesting...... I used to drink the equivalent of a couple of cans of caffeine free diet coke a day, then about a year ago cut it down to maybe one every couple of weeks, if that. Now I only drink diet coke if I eat out somewhere. I had no withdrawal symptoms, no real problems - I don't think it's particularly addictive.

    Caffeine on the other hand was a different story. I didn't think I would have a problem switching to decaff tea (not even coffee - I hate all coffee equally), because I had never had trouble sleeping after drinking tea in the evening etc. and I drink a lot of tea. However, I experienced fuzzy-headedness, headaches, lack of concentration etc which are all classic caffeine-withdrawal symptoms.
  • calico449
    calico449 Posts: 1 Member
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    If its caffeinated the caffeine is addictive. I also drink sparkling water/seltzer because of the bubbles. I save the Cola for special occasions. It should not be a daily drinkI only a treat once in awhile. There is an additive in colored drinks that reduce the calcium in your bones.
  • RainHoward
    RainHoward Posts: 1,599 Member
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    sugar and chemicals. sugar like substances and chemicals. more chemicals. and caffeine.
  • HopefulLeigh
    HopefulLeigh Posts: 363 Member
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    Soooo.... How many of you started turning tricks to get a Dr. Pepper? Anybody stealing from their job to buys some Oreos?




    Addicting

    tumblr_lroen5OC4z1qhgr6oo1_400_zps0218004f.gif
    compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (such as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal;

    Caffeine falls well under this guideline. The withdrawal symptoms for caffeine are well known. Your snarky gif falls short in that your definition of addicting is clearly not the actual definition.
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
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    I cut out soda several years ago when I was drinking several diet sodas a day. I didn't really even miss them. I have since added them back in and have one or two a month and I enjoy them but don't crave more. I think we all just have those things that we struggle with.. For me it wasn't soda, it was PIE, and DORITOS, and BREAD. I think about them, I even DREAM about them. When I see someone eating these things I want to cry because I want these things so bad... I hope one day to be able to reintroduce these things and enjoy them in moderation but until that day, they're strictly off the menu!
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
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    Ohhhh Fatboy Slim now... better living through chemistry.

    love this video - http://youtu.be/CF1jHzh2azY
  • KaraAlste
    KaraAlste Posts: 168 Member
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    I think you love it. If I were you I would schedule your favorite pop in once a week, Like on a Friday night, Don't keep it at the house though grab it on your way home at the gas station. It's kind of like a child who grows up in a very strict household usually regresses. GL:love:
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    If its caffeinated the caffeine is addictive. I also drink sparkling water/seltzer because of the bubbles. I save the Cola for special occasions. It should not be a daily drinkI only a treat once in awhile. There is an additive in colored drinks that reduce the calcium in your bones.

    No, it doesn't. It's just that people who drink soda usually don't drink enough milk.

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119248988392159947.html?mod=rss_Today's_Most_Pop ular

    http://www.oprah.com/health/The-Health-Inspector-Common-Medical-Questions_1/3 ( normally would not link to oprah.com as a source, but Dr. Harriet Hall is a well-respected physician and one of the founders of Science Based Medicine)
  • MrGuitarDude
    MrGuitarDude Posts: 24
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    For me the burn was what was addicting. Switched to carbonated water (CG lime mineral oh yea) and never looked back.
  • hendinerik
    hendinerik Posts: 287 Member
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    Caffeine! Best thing I ever did was cut it down to only green tea/iced green tea... it messed with my eating, my sleeping... everything... a little tougher on those exhausted days but well worth it in the end
    (and yes I do realize I am in the minority on this one)
    Sugar too, of course...

    And I think people get swayed by drinking something that's zero calorie - it hasn't been proven just what the effect of long term artificial sweeteners can do, but I don't think a ton of them are a good thing...
  • jamesleesmith
    jamesleesmith Posts: 60 Member
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    For me, saying sugar is addictive is a cop-out and an excuse to not use self control.

    I crave sugar sometimes. I either feed that craving or move past it. I also crave brussel sprouts sometimes - are they addictive too?

    Using food to control your emotions or to comfort yourself is a real thing and something many of us have to overcome. I think people wrongly label this as food addiction. Yes, people use food for the wrong reasons but I don't believe food is addicting in the same way drugs or nicotine are. Has anyone here ever sucked **** for a chocolate bar?

    sugar may not be addictive but caffeine is.
  • 1brokegal44
    1brokegal44 Posts: 562 Member
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    Such an over-used word. It's soda, not heroine. Addicting? :huh:
  • Spokez70
    Spokez70 Posts: 548 Member
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    SUGAR IS just as ADDICTIVE as any drug that is ILLEGAL, so it's not just soda you can be addicted to its anything with SUGAR! Sugar really is a toxic to our systems.
    Don't even get me started on diet soda.

    ^This is an insult to drug addicts everywhere.

    I sat with my father as he went through DT's with alcohol- I don't really see that happening too much with soda / diet soda.
  • JeneticTraining
    JeneticTraining Posts: 663 Member
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    The sugar. The color. The rush it gives you like lordeeeee lord help me.
    I had a crazy soda addiction; I would drink soda like water. It's hard to break up with soda, but it's well worth it.
  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
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    Why? Because at least in the case of Dr. Thunder, NOTHING else ( short of cocktails) that you can drink tastes anywhere near as good. I used to drink 2 liters a day, 4 in the summer. Diet version. Until I was told to lay off the aspartame. I never thought I could, or would, give it up.
  • heykatieben
    heykatieben Posts: 398 Member
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    If its caffeinated the caffeine is addictive. I also drink sparkling water/seltzer because of the bubbles. I save the Cola for special occasions. It should not be a daily drinkI only a treat once in awhile. There is an additive in colored drinks that reduce the calcium in your bones.

    No, it doesn't. It's just that people who drink soda usually don't drink enough milk.

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119248988392159947.html?mod=rss_Today's_Most_Pop ular

    http://www.oprah.com/health/The-Health-Inspector-Common-Medical-Questions_1/3 ( normally would not link to oprah.com as a source, but Dr. Harriet Hall is a well-respected physician and one of the founders of Science Based Medicine)

    Interesting. I've been craving milk lately but don't want to drink too much of it since it doesn't seem to provide good fill-factor for the calories (for me)..
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    I drink soda occasionally, if I'm in the middle of the desert at the only gas station for miles around, the tap water comes from a brackish well, and there isn't anything better, but I wouldn't call it "addicting." I just don't like most sodas.
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
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    If its caffeinated the caffeine is addictive. I also drink sparkling water/seltzer because of the bubbles. I save the Cola for special occasions. It should not be a daily drinkI only a treat once in awhile. There is an additive in colored drinks that reduce the calcium in your bones.

    No, it doesn't. It's just that people who drink soda usually don't drink enough milk.

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119248988392159947.html?mod=rss_Today's_Most_Pop ular

    http://www.oprah.com/health/The-Health-Inspector-Common-Medical-Questions_1/3 ( normally would not link to oprah.com as a source, but Dr. Harriet Hall is a well-respected physician and one of the founders of Science Based Medicine)

    Interesting. I've been craving milk lately but don't want to drink too much of it since it doesn't seem to provide good fill-factor for the calories (for me)..

    I do like Harriet Hall, but do not agree with everything she believes.
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
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    If its caffeinated the caffeine is addictive. I also drink sparkling water/seltzer because of the bubbles. I save the Cola for special occasions. It should not be a daily drinkI only a treat once in awhile. There is an additive in colored drinks that reduce the calcium in your bones.

    No, it doesn't. It's just that people who drink soda usually don't drink enough milk.

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119248988392159947.html?mod=rss_Today's_Most_Pop ular

    http://www.oprah.com/health/The-Health-Inspector-Common-Medical-Questions_1/3 ( normally would not link to oprah.com as a source, but Dr. Harriet Hall is a well-respected physician and one of the founders of Science Based Medicine)

    Interesting. I've been craving milk lately but don't want to drink too much of it since it doesn't seem to provide good fill-factor for the calories (for me)..

    that's crazy talk. no one NEEDS milk in their diet. I don't drink soda AND i don't drink milk. like... yeah if you drink soda you're drinking less milk, but you're probably drinking less water too... and everything else.

    i'm not saying milk is bad, and if you like it go for it, but no one NEEDS it.
  • AlongCame_Molly
    AlongCame_Molly Posts: 2,835 Member
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    Because they put an addictive chemical in it that makes you crave it fortnightly.

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