Booze Beats Soda

So sayeth the head of the American Dietetic Association:

Soda (or "pop," if you're from the uncivilized parts of the country), "whether regular or diet, offers no health benefit besides the water it contains," says Milton Stokes, M.P.H., R.D.

Whereas liquor is not only quicker, it "may help slow the absorption of food and keep blood sugar levels in check (pasta with Chianti anyone?) And research shows that moderate drinking (one drink per day for women and two for men) may increase circulating leptin, a natural hormone that curbs the appetite for sweets."

More here.

That being said, let's stop the campaign against "liquid candy" already. And freedom fries. And anything else that tastes so good.

Comments

Uncle Lumpy | March 22, 2006, 5:53pm | #

And cigarettes beat booze! Where is meth in all this?

zach | March 22, 2006, 6:13pm | #

Well, I tend to consume alcohol in non-moderate amounts, and I have to say that I have absolutely no taste for sweets whatsoever.

Then again, I never did (and no, I haven't always consumed non-moderate amounts of alcohol). So maybe non-sweets-lovers simply have a taste for alcohol instead, and this study is picking up on that correlation.

Lowdog | March 22, 2006, 6:17pm | #

I'm an above-moderate drinker, myself (shit, I'm a hockey player...we're all alkys), not a big sweets person, but I do love chocolate and ice cream (although I don't really partake).

I always liked sour candy way better than sweet candy.

zach | March 22, 2006, 6:25pm | #

Coming soon: Alcoholism awareness clinics for children 10 and under who do not like sweet candy.

Mark | March 22, 2006, 6:30pm | #

I'll be dead in the cold, cold ground afore I know what soda is. Now I'm a go get me a redpop.

R C Dean | March 22, 2006, 6:34pm | #

Dave? You out there?

CL | March 22, 2006, 6:43pm | #

Hey now. Everyone knows it's really pop!

Lemur | March 22, 2006, 6:46pm | #

Yeah, well, I can't remember the last time I heard of someone drinking six Coca-Colas and beating the shit out of their family, or downing a two-liter of RC Cola and killing themselves in a car accident...

Brian | March 22, 2006, 7:14pm | #

I dunno. You've never seen people drink pop like they do at an AA meeting. (Or coffee, or smoke, or eat cookies).

Kwix | March 22, 2006, 7:17pm | #

Pop my foot! It's coke and don't ferget it!

Petunia Picklehead | March 22, 2006, 7:29pm | #

In both general tone and definitely in tactics, the folks at CSPI remind of PETA . . .

just a thought . .

David | March 22, 2006, 8:15pm | #

It doesn't make sense for the CSPI to call soda "liquid candy" as a negative. It sounds even more tempting that way. I don't trust people who don't like candy.

kevrob | March 22, 2006, 8:36pm | #

Ever notice how these Beverage Commissars rarely, if ever, make any distinction between sodapop that has been sweetened by sugar, corn syrup, etc. and diet drinks?

They do seem to realize that Beer is Food.

Kevin

Adam, MPH | March 22, 2006, 9:07pm | #

Kevin - I've noticed that tendency, though it doesn't exactly apply in this case (see sentence #2 of Nick's post). I do love how the health-o-crat assumes that everything we consume must have some nutritional value.

(And, last I checked, water was a fairly important component of the diet.)

Karen | March 22, 2006, 9:26pm | #

When I was a kid, the Swiss Colony Cheese Store in Northpark Mall sold Daquiri, Martini, and Bourban Cocktail flavored hard candies. I, and pretty much everyone in my grade who could cajole a parent into a trip to Dallas, ate boatloads of 'em. I wonder what CPSI would think of such things now.

Karen | March 22, 2006, 9:28pm | #

When I was a kid, the Swiss Colony Cheese Store in Northpark Mall sold Daquiri, Martini, and Bourban Cocktail flavored hard candies. I, and pretty much everyone in my grade who could cajole a parent into a trip to Dallas, ate boatloads of 'em. Now those were "liquid" candies. I wonder what CPSI would think of such things now.

Petunia Picklehead | March 22, 2006, 9:52pm | #

Zach,

Sadly, there is too much truth in what you said for it to be very funny . . .

And this thread is making me crave a tasty Lemondrop--the triple sec and vodka kind. Now that's "liquid candy".

Jammer | March 22, 2006, 10:03pm | #

Folks, it's coke. Dr Pepper coke, Sprite coke, Big Red coke, and even Coke coke. Get it straight.

Madog | March 22, 2006, 10:26pm | #

Heh, I call all soda pops "Coke" as well. :)

anon2 | March 22, 2006, 10:42pm | #

Jammer and Madog,

If you also call all convenience stores "7-11"s, please don't give directions without mentioning that quirk. In an alternate universe, I'm wasting away in prison after having murdered my friend who did that.

In this universe, I got sent to the principal's office for not answering correctly when asked

Is that a tonic?

when I was drinking a soda on my first or second day of school in New Hampshire. I didn't know of their soda prohibition and I certainly had no idea what a tonic was.

It wasn't all bad ... Governor Mel was always good for a laugh.

b-psycho | March 22, 2006, 10:43pm | #

Well then, I guess when they see this Rum & Coke I'm drinking their heads are going to explode, huh?

Adriana | March 22, 2006, 11:22pm | #

Beer beats Coke!!!


Yaayyy!

At last science is proving the right things.

Jadagul | March 22, 2006, 11:29pm | #

People, people, people. It's a soft drink.

And Zach: it may have something to do with a fondness for more complex tastes. Sweets tend to have a strong and simple taste—they're sweet. Alcoholic drinks tend to have somewhat more complex compositions and flavors, and so people who don't just want simple and strong tastes favor them.

John M. Joy | March 23, 2006, 6:17am | #

Re: "pop" or "coke" or "soda"...

This, courtesy Lew Rockwell's blog:
http://blog.lewrockwell.com/lewrw/archives/008619.html

JMJ

John M. Joy | March 23, 2006, 6:27am | #

And speaking of (the "what's the 'other' on the map" edition)...

Back in my undergrad days, I had a friend from a north of Boston town for whom it was "tonic" (regardless of quinine content).

JMJ

Milhouse | March 23, 2006, 6:43am | #

They're always eating candy in Shelbyville. They love the sweet taste!

John M. Joy | March 23, 2006, 7:02am | #

And speaking of booze vs. whatever-you-call-it...

Someone needs to do a similar study on what folk call liquor stores.

Or, as they're known here in Connecticut, "package" stores.

JMJ

Pro Libertate | March 23, 2006, 8:52am | #

It's a refreshing beverage.

Actually, it's coke.

Coffee with cane, lots | March 23, 2006, 9:10am | #

You out there?

I hate it when they lump all the sodas together like they are all equally harmful. As Snopes predicted, it is looking pretty good for aspartame right now:

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=66211-ajinomoto-aspartame-cancer

Score 1 for FDA / manufacturer co-operation!

Evan | March 23, 2006, 9:17am | #

Jadaqul:

"Alcoholic drinks tend to have somewhat more complex compositions and flavors, and so people who don't just want simple and strong tastes favor them."

Yeah, yeah, that's right...I jest love the complexity and depth of flavors in Bowman's Vodka. especially when it's mixed quite heavily with orange juice. Oh, it's a veritable cornucopia of flavors...like, um, orange. And alcohol. And...well, that's about it.

Alcoholic drinks aren't inherently complex (just take a sip of grocery store shit-wine and you'll see what I mean). They get you fucked up, though. I think this may have more to do with their appeal to the masses than their depth.

David Rossie | March 23, 2006, 9:18am | #

Uncivilized! I think it's indicative of an advancing civilization for its people to distinguish between soda and soda-enhanced drinks such as pepsi, coke, and others.

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=soda

Jammer | March 23, 2006, 9:39am | #

And Zach: it may have something to do with a fondness for more complex tastes. Sweets tend to have a strong and simple taste. They're sweet. Alcoholic drinks tend to have somewhat more complex compositions and flavors, and so people who don't just want simple and strong tastes favor them.

Can we now expect a Berkely study showing that "conservatives" favor simple fructose laden beverages while "liberals" are more likely to favor a nice chardonay (organic, natch!), or maybe a brandy due to its complex melange of fruits and oakiness?

Or you can combine the two in a good port, like I do.

Caper | March 23, 2006, 11:18am | #

We here in completely uncivilized Michigan cook with soda and drink pop. We're so uncivilized we think that a 7-course meal is a six-pack of Bell's Amber and a bucket of smelt......thank God for the Uncivilized!