Diet Soda Wars: Jones vs. GuS (i.e. Just Say No to Aspartame)

If the rumors (aka scientific studies) are true - then soda is going to kill us.  It's going to rot our teeth, give us cancer and eat through our intestines.  But honestly, you can't deny it - soda is refreshing and delicious.  So we have to make choices, and obviously we choose diet soda (less calories, less sugar etc. etc.).  Good choice?  Wellll, here's where I tell you my cautionary tale.

A few months ago I was drinking about 2 liters of Diet Coke a day (gross, but true).  When I decided to cut back I worried about the caffeine withdrawl, but what I actually dealt with was aspartame withdrawl.  You guys, it wasn't pretty.  Think headaches, nausea and aches.  So if you are currently consuming aspartame on a regular basis - heed my warning.  The stuff is NOT good for you.  Want proof?  Check it out here

So what do healthy-ish people do when they want delicious, carbonated diet coke but DO NOT want to put weird chemicals in their body?  They find alternatives.  Lately I taste-tested two diet coke alternatives, and here are my findings:

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Don't Drink Me

First up: Jones Sugar-Free Cola.  Guys, this stuff is gross.  Yes, it has zero calories - and yes, it is sweetened with Splenda, but it's overly sweetened, not fizzy enough and 100% not worth drinking.  Also the flavor wasn't crisp and clean, it left an after taste - and it definitely doesn't pair with food (the sugar just overpowers everything). Personally, I really respect Jones as a brand and they should stick with what they do best - making delicious natural sodas with cane sugar.  Leave the diet stuff to the other guys. 

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Drink Me Instead

Next up was GuS Grown-up Soda in Dry Cola flavor.  This is one of the best diet sodas I have ever had.  It's so dry, crisp and light.  It's perfectly carbonated with a subtle lightly sweet flavor.  Yes, it is better than diet coke.  But there's a catch...and that catch is that this is not a diet drink, it's a natural drink (which means, and don't panic...it has calories).  In fact it has 95 calories per bottle.  Worth it?  I say yes, and here's why....

Calorie-free doesn't always mean healthy - in fact, many times it means "filled with chemicals".  For 95 calories you can put something natural and satisfying into your body.  So do that...and don't drive yourself insane.  Just don't drink them all day everyday (I personally like to have one as a snack everyday at around 4pm).  Now go forth, break free from the shackles of aspartame.  It's a new, healthy-ish day my friends!

Have any recommendations for diet , sugar-free or low-calorie sodas for me to try? 

Shoot me an email: [email protected]

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