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"Don't drink fizzy drinks"?

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robert@fm

robert@fm

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Type 2
I've recently been reading a website on "nutritional advice", and one of the tips was "don't consume fizzy drinks, they are just empty calories with no nutritional value".

To my mind this statement is nonsensical; by that "logic" one must never drink water either, as that has no calories at all! 🙄 To my mind the fallacy in this argument is, how often does anyone drink to get nourished? In my case the answer is "hardly ever"; people also drink to warm up, or to cool down, or to wash down medication, or for the sake of the alcohol/caffeine/taurine/whatever in the drink, or to rehydrate, or just for the fun of it (possibly other reasons as well).

Mind you, the same article also warns of the so-called "dangers" of MSG, though as far as I know those "dangers" consist solely of a few (a very few) people suffering a mild allergic reaction to the stuff. It's like claiming that everyone must stop eating peanuts because some people are violently allergic to them ? which is (sensibly) seen as a reason why those people shouldn't eat peanuts, not why everyone else shouldn't.
 
Everything in moderation, fizzy drinks included. They don't add anything of nutritional value, the high sugar levels of the regular ones are just empty calories, and even the diet versions can cause tooth decay when drunk to excess... but there's nothing like an ice cold sparkling drink on a hot day.
 
I think you've misunderstood.

I'm fairly sure the point the website is making is that fizzy drinks contain calories but no vitamins or anything else useful, therefore it makes more sense to drink water because this does what a fizzy drink is supposed to (ie hydrate you) but without giving you extra calories.
 
the phrse 'empty calories' refers to food/drink items that are high in calories but where those calories do not translate into useful energy that the body needs to grow and repair itself.

In your quote, the fizzy drinks referred to will be the full sugar fizzy drinks.

Re MSG, this was part of a big investigation years ago because people reported ill health symptoms after eating food with large quantities in it (traditionally Asian food, which it used to enhance the flavour of).

Recent tests have classified it as generally safe, as long you stay within the limits (so treat it the same as salt; don't overdo it).
 
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