Diet Soda Debate

Yay for packages! I order some pictures from Snapfish about a month ago and FINALLY got them! They are pictures from my brother's wedding and my trip to Michigan with my friend Caroline for the 4th of July. I also ordered a collage of pictures from the wedding to give to my sister-in-law! Can't wait to put these up around my apartment!

So after yoga and some oatmeal (just blueberries and bananas... haha too hungry to remember to take pictures) I showered and headed to a new coffee shop near my apartment called Java Coast. It's a great place because they have coffee, but then they also have breakfast, sandwiches and wraps, desserts, beer, wine and a few other fun drinks!

I'd also been dying to go here because every time I walk by I see people sitting at the counter, which is open to the sidewalk. It looked so peaceful to sit there and work with the nice breeze and people-watching! (I LOVE people watching).

When I got there the counter was full, so I got a cafe au lait and waited a few minutes until a couple girls left and I snagged a spot! Perfect place to sit and work. Too bad this won't last long... It's going to get cold!

I promised in another post that I would write about diet coke and whether it causes health problems, so here you go!

Is Diet Coke Okay?

Now that people are watching their calories and switching from regular soda to diet soda, a new debate has arisen: is diet soda any better? Although it has zero calories, which is much better compared to regular soda, diet soda can also have harmful health effects.

Now don’t freak out! This doesn’t mean you can’t drink diet soda! I became interested in this subject (not being much of a soda drinker myself) when I had lunch with my aunt and we discussed her love for diet coke. She didn’t give a number, but her shocked face when I suggested only having two diet cokes a day said it all.

After doing a little research, I found out that there aren’t any studies saying, conclusively, that people should not drink diet coke but they did demonstrate a possible link to poor health. An article by Leah Goldman in the business insider discussed a study done by the American Diabetes Association, which showed that diet sodas can contribute to weight gain, as well as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other chronic conditions.

The study watched adults over a nine and a half year period who drank diet soda, finding that those who drank more diet soda per day gained more weight and added more to their waistlines. The gain was then explained by a study done on mice which showed that mice who had added aspartame to their diet (an artificial sweetener used in diet sodas) had higher blood glucose levels at the end of a three month period.

I read another article on msnbc.msn.com which discussed another study, which showed that people who drank diet soda every day had a 61 percent higher risk of vascular events, including stroke and heart attack, than those who did not drink it at all.

Jillian Michaels, personal trainer from the Biggest Loser, mentions that there may not be clear cut facts that diet soda is harmful to your health and waistline, but once she kicked her diet coke addiction she felt much healthier because she wasn’t consuming all of those chemicals anymore.

As an advocate of all-natural eating, I recommend that any diet soda addicts out there try and wean the drink from their diets. I can’t say I’m perfect and never eat anything artificial, but why not replace a few of those sodas each day with a glass of water? After a while you’re body will probably thank you! Every little bit helps!

What are your opinions on diet soda? Yay or nay? What about alternatives?

Book Review: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

So today I FINALLY finished reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. Although it's a best seller and recently was made into a film, I'd never heard of the novel until my book club decided to read it. Although I was out of town for the meeting where they discussed this book, I decided to read it anyway since many of the women had recommended the novel.

I say finally because this book took me much longer to read than I had anticipated. It's under 300 pages so I figured I would fly through it like some of the other books I'd read this summer, but no such luck. Lisa See's writing is very descriptive and required me to read more slowly to fully understand what she was saying and what was happening. The phrases she uses are different from most american writers, so it took a lot more concentration to understand.

What I enjoyed most about this book was learning about a completely different culture, and not only that but learning about that culture from the point of view of a woman. It is well known that women are not as valuable in China, especially girls, and therefore it was interesting to learn what it was like to grow up as a woman in China.

The story takes place in a remote village in 19th century China and describes two young girls who become friends for life through a matchmaker. The book chronicles their lives from around the age of 5 until their deaths, describing all the rituals they go through to become the perfect wives.

The relationship between the two women changes throughout the story (as any friendship should) but their dedication to their laotong match with one another is a lesson that we can all learn from; that they must love each other no matter what their circumstances. The main character, from whose point of view the story is told, learns some important lessons about what it means to be a true friend.

Although not a thriller, this book was insightful and beautifully written, teaching the reader lessons not only about Chinese culture but about female friendship and learning to accept people as they are and love them anyway.

I finished the book while riding the bus back from lunch with my cousin! Since I enjoyed Hannah's Bretzel so much I suggest that we eat there, and it was just around the corner from her office! My cousin ordered Hannah's Club, which I got last time, and I ordered the half salad sandwich combo again, but this time with the Organic Roasted Tofu sandwich, which had vine tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts, romaine hearts, red onion, avocado and roasted pepper coulis on organic bretzel baguette. I asked for it on the whole grain baguette because I wanted to taste that type of bread, but I must say I preferred the bretzel bread.

While at lunch, my cousin and I talked a lot about how she's had difficulty living a healthy lifestyle since she works full time and has three boys at home. Although she loves spinning, she hasn't been going since she spends the time she has in the evening with her sons. Although I could tell her that the way I lost weight was calorie counting and working out, this method is more difficult for her because of her time constraints. It's hard to sit down to a nice dinner when you're also trying to spend time with your kids before they go to bed!

While we were talking, my cousin came up with the great idea that I should look at smaller things that people do that may be unhealthy, and come up with ways to turn those things around. If people make these changes little by little, it will help in developing a more healthy lifestyle!

Hopefully in my next post I'll be able to tackle the issue of diet soda, so put down that diet coke (ahem, Michele...) and grab a water bottle (reusable, of course) and you will soon learn why!