I don’t drink a lot of soda. Most of the flavors don’t appeal to me, and the ones that do (such as lemon-lime and orange) can be had much better through actual fruit juices. Now, there’s even more reason to avoid the stuff though. A recent study showed it’s likely that corn syrup causes more weight gain than normal table sugar. The linked experiment was done using rats, which is why I say it’s likely to cause more weight gain. The rats who had access to corn syrup all gained weight while those who ate table sugar did not.
So, what’s a soda lover to do? Make your own! You may not be able to get all the flavors you’re used to, but you should be able to find something you like. You only need two things to do it too: some carbonated water and a fruit juice that doesn’t use corn syrup. Sticking with 100% juice is probably healthiest, though if I’m making soda I usually worry about flavor first after being sure there’s no corn syrup in the drink. I like using martini and margarita mixers as they usually have enough flavor to still have some kick after being diluted. I just dilute them with carbonated water to make soda instead of the relevant alcoholic drink.
The high quality mixers usually have fruit juices and cane sugar rather than corn syrup, and they are completely worth the extra dollar or two. With juices, it might be worth picking up a concentrated fruit juice to mix with the tonic water, though it also might be harder to find a concentrate that doesn’t use corn syrup. If you prefer fresher juices, by all means stick with those, as they’re likely healthier anyway, and the trick is to try to make it as healthy as possible.
If you really want to stick with more familiar flavors, you can probably find some recipes floating around the internet, then just substitute healthier alternatives, most notably table sugar for corn syrup. You can also leave out all the food coloring not already in your ingredients if you go this route. While not appreciably healthier, it at least kicks some of the stuff out.
Still, I prefer making my own flavors from juices and heartily recommend you try it out. They have more tang to them than colas do, and they’re as simple as mixing tonic water with juice or a mixer of some kind until you have the taste you want.
In any case, if you’re a soda lover or just looking to try something new, I hope this gives you some ideas. Happy mixing.
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