Mr. Lake's New Orleans Forum

I used to drink diet sodas a lot – I mean big time. I had several refills of diet cokes at restaurants. I drank diet sodas at home every day. Last year, I decided to cut down on my consumption of diet sodas - to almost nothing. Nowdays, I drink water or green tea. I noticed my blood pressure is down – I’ve lost a few pounds – and I feel better.

Here’s some discussion about the harmful effects of diet sodas.
http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/diet-soda-addictive

DALE... THIS IS A JOKE!

Buddy I wonder if you are posing this for me...
When we eat I get the Diet Coke refilled constantly.
I go through them at home with break-neck speed.

So I Ain't reading "NO" Report!

I repeat I'm just kidding...
I have cut down a little for Lent
But I'm struggling!

aboy

I used to be a Cokaholic. Maybe I got it from my mother. She kept Coke bottles in the fridge, and had one of us kids put one in the freezer 20-30 minutes, then told us when to bring it to her. It was all liquid until opened, when little feathery crystals spread throughout, not frozen solid enough to lock up, just enough to achieve the perfect temperature and consistency. Any other soda pales by comparison.

I no longer drink flavored, fizzy sugar water.

No flavored, fizzy sugarless water either, most of the time.

Lots of water for me.

But once in a while I get an envie for root beer, and it's gotta be diet Barq's, no sugar and no caffeine.

Otherwise about the only diet soda I can stand is Fresca, or a rare Coke Zero but only if it's thoroughly chilled. Otherwise the artificial sweetener after-taste puts me off.

agreed, and better out of a glass bottle and the truly original recipe.

Some more uses for the Coke we drink.

1. Remove grease stains from clothing and fabric
2. Remove rust; methods include using fabric dipped in Coke, a sponge or even aluminum foil.
3. Remove blood stains from clothing and fabric.
4. Make gooey Coke funnel cakes .
5. Clean oil stains from a garage floor; let the stain soak, hose off.
6. Loosen a rusty bolt; pour on some Coke and wait for the magic to happen.
7. Kill slugs and snails; a small bowl of Coke will attract them, the acid will kill them.
8. Help a lawn become lush and green (see my lawn tonic article here )
9. Prevent an asthma attack! Apparently, the caffeine in two 12oz cans can prevent the onset of an attack.
10. Defrost a frozen windshield. Apply liberally and wait (I’ll see if this works in winter)
11. Clean burnt pans; let the pan soak in the Coke, then rinse.
12. Descale a kettle using the same method in 11.
13. Neutralize a jellyfish sting.
14. Clean car battery terminals by pouring a small amount of Coke over each one.
15. Cure nausea; let a can of Coke go flat then take a teaspoon of Coke every hour.
16. Also, flat coke can help relieve an upset stomach (aka “the runs”)
17. Make a Mentos & Coke exploding fountain. This one takes a 2-liter bottle of Coke.

I have personally used Coke to clean road film off windshields and to clean battery terminals on a car. Also, dissolve a nail in a science class in grade school.

Just think what Coke and Diet-Coke does to our stomach and intestines....and I have drank my share over the years.

When I get a soft drink out, it's usually a Diet Pepsi or Coke because the no-sugar choices are so few. At home, we have Diet Barq's and some flavor of diet ginger ale (the stores here seem to carry only one brand each, and that one brand varies from store to store. Oddly, the local brand ("Northern Neck") isn't sold in the stores we frequent). I have cut down soda pop consumption by substituting sparkling water, often with a slice of citrus, but I still drink too many. Some of the surprising and most welcome products we easily found when we moved to Virginia were Barq's, Crystal, and both Café du Monde and Luzianne coffee & chicory.

If I'm dining out and cannot enjoy an adult beverage, I will ask for bottled water which I will happily pay for then break out my packet of crystal light and dump that in the bottle. If the establishment does not have bottled water I will ask for a glass of water with no ice and dump my packet in it. I have given up sodas and iced teas is so inconsistent that it is not worth ordering out. I'm not trying to be cheap just that the choices are limited.

I am a shameless fan of Crystal Lite lemonade. Period.