drinks

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I pretty much drink soda exclusively. I'll have a glass of milk a few times a week, and maybe some water or some gatorade, but for the most part, I only drink soda. I'm not like, crazy about it (I once read an article about this lady that drank 8 Diet Coca Colas every day for 20 years or something); I drink two or three, maybe four, a day. But I've always wanted to, at least experimentally, drop caffeine and switch to a more healthier drink. Problem is, I haven't found one I like well enough to drink all the time. Propel and Gatorade are nice, but I think Propel gives me headaches and I guess you're not supposed to drink that much Gatorade unless you're actually exercising. Gatorade would be pretty cost-effective if I got the giant gallon things of them, though. Water is supposed to be delicious because it's tasteless, but it does have a taste, and that taste is kind of gross. Water is drinkable, but I don't like it enough that I'd be able to replace soda with it. I envy the green tea drinkers because they sell that shit by the gallon at the Dollar Tree, but I don't like green tea either. Any suggestions?

[Zohar]

It sounds like you're a bit addicted to sugar.

I almost always drink mineral water. Try different types, maybe you'll find one you like. Carbonated mineral water? Anyway, I like them. And water has taste, at least what we drink. Pure water supposedly has no taste but I don't like it, myself. Have you tried water with a tiny bit of lemon in it? Or maybe a few cucumber slices?

[GhostWolfe]

Carbonated mineral water?

Mmmm, I love carbonated mineral water, I could drink that all day long.

/angell

[Axman]

A friend of mine weened himself off soda by filling a monstrous cup (Double Gulp if you have 7-11s, which is the 64oz fountain cup) full of ice and pouring soda between the cracks. Over the course of the day, he'd only add more ice to it and drink the melt, with progressively less soda as he went on.

Of course, he was doing this at his research lab, and used some chemical-laden sterile ice from the machine, which was slowly (and temporarily) crippling him.

It didn't work, I dunno, I just drink loads of coffee. Maybe you could take up smoking? Smoking makes sweet drinks taste like ass.

[Angelene]

Eeek, you really shouldn't be relying on soft drinks to stay hydrated, but you seem to know that already. I can't really seem to get through the day without a couple of litres of water, though. Hmmm. Fresh lime and/or lemon makes water infinitely more palatable, I love loads of ice, too. Oooh, or mint leaves. Also, how about using fruit juice as a cordial of sorts? Or, a cordial of sorts?! Get one with the highest percentage fruit juice you can, and lowest sugar content.

[stockpot]

Have you tried other types of tea?
Or if you're just addicted to the bubbles you could try carbonating any other beverage with one of those neat bubblifying machines.

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Questions:
Does mineral water taste different from regular water?
Does carbonated mineral water taste different from regular mineral water?
Is hydrating yourself with unfiltered tap water a bad idea? I actually think I like tap water better than bottled water. It tastes like metal or something, whereas bottled water has no taste at all.

Also: I've tried sweet and unsweet tea (from like Wendy's and stuff) and green tea and I don't like any of them. I also think I've had the tea that comes in packets. I don't know much about tea. I just know I've never had a tea and liked it. If there is a tea out there that I like, I don't know about it yet.

[Bakemaster]

Or, a cordial of sorts?! Get one with the highest percentage fruit juice you can, and lowest added sugar content.

Fix'd, because fruit and fruit juice is naturally high in sugars; it's more important to stay away from processed sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, &c. than to simply have the lowest sugar content.

[Angelene]

Or, a cordial of sorts?! Get one with the highest percentage fruit juice you can, and lowest added sugar content.

Fix'd, because fruit and fruit juice is naturally high in sugars; it's more important to stay away from processed sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, &c. than to simply have the lowest sugar content.

Ah, noooo, that's what I meant, yes, thank you.

[Prole]

Or, a cordial of sorts?! Get one with the highest percentage fruit juice you can, and lowest added sugar content.

Fix'd, because fruit and fruit juice is naturally high in sugars; it's more important to stay away from processed sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, &c. than to simply have the lowest sugar content.

That HFCS is a sneaky one.

Theres this organic elderflower cordial sold round these parts,

Makes itself out to be wholesome and virtuous

Read the ingredients -> 23% organic high fructose corn syrup.

*Grumble*

[Mmmm, Pi]

Questions:
Does mineral water taste different from regular water?
Does carbonated mineral water taste different from regular mineral water?
Is hydrating yourself with unfiltered tap water a bad idea? I actually think I like tap water better than bottled water. It tastes like metal or something, whereas bottled water has no taste at all.

Mineral water does taste different from regular water, as does carbonated mineral water taste different from regular mineral water.

I drink lots of unfiltered tap water - never done me any harm.

[Angelene]

I drink lots of unfiltered tap water - never done me any harm.

If you've always drank the tap water then you develop an immunity...this is why when visiting a foreign country one should stay far away from tap water...the locals' immune system is acclimatised, yours is not. That said, out water was recently infected with cryptosporidium, and then e-coli. And no, Ireland's not a third world country, least, not last time I checked.

[Bakemaster]

I believe he's talking about harm from chemical or mineral content, not microbial content. I.e., lead, chlorine, fluoride.

[Axman]

If you live in the States, switching to 100% bottled water is really bad for your teeth, since you're cutting out a lot of the fluoride from your routine.

Incidentally, if you're buying bottled water from Colorado, like "Alpine" or "Eldorado", it's just tap. For what it's worth, we have amazing tap in Denver.

[Angelene]

The tap water in the city here alternates between smelling like sewer and swimming pool so I'm sure as hell not drinking it.

[Bakemaster]

If you live in the States, switching to 100% bottled water is really bad for your teeth, since you're cutting out a lot of the fluoride from your routine.

Something like a third of the population doesn't have fluoridated tap water anyway. If you're as rigorous as you should be about your dental hygiene it shouldn't have an enormous impact to switch to bottled. Incidentally, much of Colorado's groundwater is naturally fluoridated, which prompted the discovery of the beneficial properties of fluorides in water according to Wikipedia.

[idont_know12]

I suppose you could buy concentrated flavour oils and some gum arabic, and flavour your own water. Don't have any idea on the costs or health of that, though.
Also, as has been stated, tap water is generally actually more healthy for you than bottled water.

[PatrickRsGhost]

Being from the South, it's sweet tea 90% of the time, Coke (not Pepsi, Coke...big difference) 5 % of the time, and everything else (milk, coffee, hot cocoa, various fruit juices) makes up the remaining 5%.

I have sweet tea morning, noon, and night. Sometimes I even drink it right before going to bed. My grandma in Alabama was concerned that it would keep me awake for long hours. It didn't faze me one bit.

[Mathmagic]

The tap water in the city here alternates between smelling like sewer and swimming pool so I'm sure as hell not drinking it.

What was that about Ireland not being third world?

Thankfully Calgary has one of the best water treatment facilities/procedures in the world, so the tap water is awesomesauce.

[PictureSarah]

Herbal iced tea is nice. It comes in lots of flavors, is not sugary unless you make it so, is not caffeinated, and is not dehydrating like regular tea can be. You can also make it by the pitcherful.
Plain old water would be best for you. Admittedly, I don't drink nearly as much water as I should. The water here tastes funny, and I haven't gotten around to getting a Brita pitcher or something like that. I'm spoiled I suppose, because my hometown is Mt. Shasta, California, where CocaCola and Danon have their water bottling facilities. They bottle water that springs up out of the ground at the headwaters of the Sacramento River. It supposedly is water that has filtered down through the mountain, taking some 7000 years...I'm not sure if that's accurate, but I do know that the spring is unaffected by droughts. so I'm inclined to believe it's something like that. It's the best water ever, and you can go and drink it straight from the ground without worrying. It's also the city's water source, so I suppose one could say that the whole town flushes with Crystal Geyser. Boston water is not quite up to snuff.

[Bakemaster]

Hey, our water has tea in it that's been steeping for 200 years. We don't need no stinkin' geyser.

[LoonRadio]

Wait... you drink mixer BY ITSELF?