https://econlife.com/2024/08/soda-preferences/

https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/every-major-soda-ranked-by-how-unhealthy-they-are

This article is all about our favorite sugary drink, soda. This sweet treat that feels like fireworks in the mouth has many different flavors. There’s the classic Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Fanta, Sprite,7Up, etc. But  which is the best? Well that’s mostly based on all of our personal tastes. Today I will be judging it by how it tastes and how healthy it is to see which is the best according to the data.  As seen above the top five best sodas based on sales in 2023 are in reach of each other. Between diet coke,sprite, Pepsi-Cola, and Dr. Pepper. But we can’t deny that Coke is winning and is way ahead of its competition. Now let’s see these five sodas nutrition levels.

Coke and all darkly covered sodas contain caramel coloring which  can cause cancer in high doses. One can equals 140 calories, about 10 teaspoons of sugar, caffeine, and high fructose corn syrup which is a sugar that can cause inflammation, fill you with empty calories, and it can encourage your liver to create more fat. The phosphoric acid is safe but when used in abundant amounts it can lead to heart disease or osteoporosis (a bone disease that makes them weak and thin). It can also destroy the outer layer of the teeth  (a.k.a enamel).

So now let’s take a look at Dr. Pepper and Pepsi. These two are tied together both in their popularity and health levels. Though they’re ingredients almost match with Coca Cola, more  sugar and calories go into these two. 10 more calories go in per can including 2 more grams of sweetening. 

Next we have my soda which I hypothesize is best because it doesn’t contain caramel coloring unlike Coke, Pepsi, or Dr. Pepper so I infer that it’s healthier. It also has good taste in my opinion and people seem to like it according to the soda sales chart. Even though it’s in fourth place it comes pretty close with Dr. Pepper and Pepsi. So let’s see if this really is the king of sodas. 

Sprite and 7Up as predicted are the healthiest REGULAR sodas out there  because of their lack of artificial coloring. They’re very similar in ingredients. Each can includes 39 grams of sugar and 140 calories. In addition Sprite and 7Up involve in their drinks high fructose corn syrup which adds no nutritional value but instead has a negative effect on the body producing fat molecules that break down to become sugar. 

Now as I mentioned Sprite appears to be the healthiest REGULAR soda in our list but if we include diet Coke will it still be the healthiest or will diet Coke steal the crown. According to the website University Hospitals diet sodas are used by people as alternatives for regular soda with the belief that the word diet means less harmful. This statement however is far away from the truth. The organization https://www.uhhospitals.org/blog/articles/2024/06/think-diet-soda-is-a-healthy-choice-think-again explains that the other chemicals added can cause a change to your health. Even people who drink it only once or twice daily is bad and even more excess can lead to grave issues. A few are diabetes, high blood pressure,  weight gain, headaches, stroke, dementia, obviously dental problems and bone density alteration, mentioned previously, among others.

Essentially the best soda is diet Coke because it avoids sugar spikes. Keep in mind that any soda though delicious isn’t refreshing for long and instead adds to your thirst later on. A drink that is recommended even by some of the world’s best athletes as a replacement for other drinks yet no matter the income most if not all of us have the privilege to acquire it is water. So  the next time you go to the store think twice about which drink you should buy.