Gallup: 6 in 10 Americans Are Avoiding Soda

[GreatGazoo]

Soda sales continue to fall, and it’s not happening by accident. A recent poll from research firm Gallup surveying over one thousand Americans found at least six in ten U.S. adults are actively avoiding drinking soda. As for the other four? Gallup’s poll found that 22 percent of its survey participants sip their CSDs guilt-free, while 16 percent aren’t paying any mind to their soda intake.

It’s a significant change from 2002, when only 40 percent of the population reported trying to steer clear from soft drinks. Respondents say their aversion to soft drinks is based on the high-calorie and high-sugar content in regular soda and artificial sweeteners like aspartame used in diet versions.

This shift appears a part of a larger trend of healthy eating being seen amongst U.S. consumers. According to Gallup, at least nine in 10 Americans are actively attempting to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into their diet while three out of four polled participants reported trying to substitute red meat with more lean meats like chicken and fish.

http://www.bevnet.com/news/2015/gallup-6-in-10-americans-are-avoiding-soda

[leftofcool]

1. Haven't had a soda in about 15 years.

[NuclearDem]

3. Me either. It's not even that it's soda. I can't stand carbonation.

[Binkie The Clown]

5. I was trying to remember when the last time I had a soda.

It has to be at least 10 years, maybe even 15. I honestly don't remember, but it has been a very, very long time ago.

[morningfog]

33. Same here, it's been probably 20 years.

Sodas just seem so gross now.

[onehandle]

2. Coca-Cola was giving away Coke bottle shaped aluminum cans of Coke over the 4th here in Philly.

My wife and I split one. Hadn't had a full sugar... make that, corn syrup Coke in many, many years.

Just about blew our heads off.

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[NRaleighLiberal]

4. had my last one about 10 years ago.

[DesertFlower]

6. i have to admit i allow myself a few

ounces of diet coke every day. i know it's garbage but it tastes so good.

that being said i try to avoid other things that are not good for me.

[Motown_Johnny]

8. Freudian slip... err typo?

not Food for you.. lol.

[DesertFlower]

20. you must have read it before i fixed the typo.

[Motown_Johnny]

7. I have cut way way back, but still have a soda now and then.

It is mostly convenience, the stuff is everywhere.

[Lizzie Poppet]

9. I seldom drink it.

My occasional indulgence is Mexican Coca-Cola (made with real cane sugar, not corn syrup, and yes, there's a noticeable difference in taste).

[Turn CO Blue]

16. Yes, I will have a Mexican Coke (with cane sugar) out of real glass bottle once a year.

otherwise, I haven't been a pop drinker for about 12-13 years. But I used to drink a 6 pack or more of Mr. Pibb every day - realized I had to change, cut myself off completely one day.

(we say pop here in Colorado, but we called all soft drinks "Coke" where I grew up in Texas; even Sprite and 7up were called "Coke" LOL)

[monmouth4]

10. Green tea with ginseng honey, fabulous...n/t

[Kilgore]

11. Have a coke once in a while but......

Mix it with rum to counteract the bad stuff!!

[Chellee]

40. You health nut, you.

[prayin4rain]

45. Haha, exactly. Jack and coke for me. I'm pretty sure the whiskey balances any bad stuff. n/t

[hifiguy]

50. Like the punch line to the old joke goes

"That proves if I drink whiskey I won't have worms."

[prayin4rain]

52. Yes! Can't argue with science. Hehe :D n/t

[Juicy_Bellows]

12. Lots of folks aren't shying away from energy drinks though.

They stink too, I can smell some of those energy drinks on peoples breath like it were whiskey.

I drink soda water, like Perrier, green tea, coffee, beer, scotch, gin, bourbon and occasionally tequila but never sugar or artificial sweeteners.

Cheers!

[Codeine]

22. This is true.

We sell so many cans of Monster Energy that it's almost frightening. Three pallets a month, and we're not a big place. And there's Rockstar, Red Bull, and a host of also-rans being sold right alongside those.

[Juicy_Bellows]

23. How many cans in three pallets do you reckon? Nt.

[Codeine]

24. Wait. About 6 and a half thousand.

Sorry, had the wrong # of cases per pallet.

[Juicy_Bellows]

27. Great George C. Scott that's a lot of Monster! Nt.

[Codeine]

28. See my edit.

Still a sick amount. I have regulars who drink four to six cans A DAY!

[Juicy_Bellows]

29. Haha, yeah 6500 or 8000 that's a lot of peppy toxin. Nt.

[olddots]

13. drive thru barf burger places sold lots of shakes at first

Meanwhile soda companies were becoming huge then bought the burger places .Fries & sodas where cheap and addicting .Along came super sodas and more salt .~mmmmmmmm I'm hungry .

[msongs]

19. "shakes" = thickener, air, preservatives, artificial everything. foam in a cup lol nt

[shanti]

14. Haven't had a full sugar soda since early 2010

And no diet soda for a month. I do like the carbonation tho, but have switched to Plain old sparkling water or still water. It just doesn't appeal to me anymore...

[nomorenomore08]

15. I haven't cut it out completely, but I have replaced much of my consumption with fruit juice

and iced tea. The juice may have almost as much sugar, but at least it's not empty calories.

[Aristus]

41. Yeah, actually fruit juice is empty calories.

It's the pulp and fiber of whole fruit that makes it healthy. Fructose, the natural stuff in juice, doesn't get used by every cell in the body for energy, the way glucose does. Fructose goes right to the liver, where it is stored as fat. Drink enough of it, and you can develop hepatic steatosis, or fatty liver disease. The pulp and fiber of whole fruit slows the progression of fructose to the liver, so it can be absorbed by the body.

[hobbit709]

47. Most fruit juices have more calories per serving than sodas.

[nomorenomore08]

53. I realize that. So I try to moderate my consumption of sweet drinks in general. n/t

[A Little Weird]

17. I'm completely addicted to the stuff

I keep trying to quit but always go back in a weak moment. I know a lot of other folks are in that boat as well - they want to quit but they just can't seem to do it. Most want to quit for health reasons, but the increasing cost is certainly a factor as well. I suspect that 6 in 10 number will only keep rising.

[tritsofme]

18. I hate the new Diet Pepsi so much, that it might be encouragement I need to join them

In the last few weeks they changed the artificial sweetener from aspartame to Splenda, and it is just horrible, with a nasty aftertaste.

I only drink the regular stuff very occasionally due to all the sugar, but this new nastiness might be just what I need to kick the habit.

[Codeine]

21. I've been in grocery retail over 25 years.

I look back at the amount of soda we sold in the late 80s vs. what we sell now and the drop-off is incredible. Our fairly small store sold an average of around a hundred 2-liter bottles every single day -- we sell maybe ten a day now, a bit more on a summer weekend.

[tblue37]

25. When I don't want plain water, I drink unsweetened lemon-lime seltzer water. I can't ev handle more

than a couple of sips of soda--whether regular or diet soda. Bleah.

[jonno99]

26. Great! Now I have guilt!

(had my first 'Dew' today - in like 5 years...)

[Taitertots]

30. It's colored corn syrup with addictive stimulants.

Everything else is just advertisement.

[Codeine]

31. They don't have to be.

This afternoon I had one that was just carbonated water, cane sugar, grapefruit juice, cardamom, chamomile, and beta-carotene for color. Best soda I've had in forever.

The craft soda movement really avoids the more egregious ingredients. I use very little sugar, so I don't begrudge myself a nice cane sugar soda a few times a week.

[hobbit709]

48. There are plenty of sodas available without HFCS.

As for addictive stimulants, do you drink coffee?

I make my own sodas, using just flavor extracts, gives me the fizz and flavor without any sugar.

[phleshdef]

32. At this point, I usually have one Sprite with my dinner and then I never drink the whole thing.

When I was a kid in the 80s-90s, I would put down Coke, Pepsi and Mountain Dew like it was life's blood. But these days, its water or black coffee or cranberry juice the vast majority of the time.

I do like to have Sprite with a large meal because the carbonation seems to help me digest it better. Aside from that, I might have a root beer once in a longer while. Honestly, I got just to where I don't like soda anymore generally.

[2naSalit]

34. That stuff isn't fit for consumption unless

it's watered down with some alcoholic beverage!

I gave it up years ago but the only time I drank it was as a mixer.

[hfojvt]

35. well you know what Twain said

What? Why are you reading here. You already know what Twain said.

[zabet]

36. As a child

my parents only allowed us kids to have 1 soft drink a week.... and that was the little Cokes in the glass bottles.... back before they were made with corn syrup. Being raised in the South.... Iced tea was and still is my go to beverage. I will treat myself to a Mexican Coke 2 or 3 times a year. Never really drank a lot of sodas and despise the viscosity and mouth feel of corn syrup sodas.

[zabet]

37. As a child

my parents only allowed us kids to have 1 soft drink a week.... and that was the little Cokes in the glass bottles.... back before they were made with corn syrup. Being raised in the South.... Iced tea was and still is my go to beverage. I will treat myself to a Mexican Coke 2 or 3 times a year. Never really drank a lot of sodas and despise the viscosity and mouth feel of corn syrup sodas.

[AngryAmish]

38. Buy me a soda

Buy me a soda

Then you try to molest me in the parking lot

[Codeine]

39. Our love is rice and beans and horses lard

[AngryAmish]

42. Your bones got a little machine

Wave of next, pls.

[WillowTree]

43. I suspect that I compensate for at least 2 of those percentage points.

[Retrograde]

44. Not avoiding as much as not liking

Too sweet for my tastes these days. Mr. R. and I will split a can of Coke every other week or so, but modern sodas are too sugary for me these days. I'll drink birch beer when I'm in western NY because I can't get it on draft out here, but that's mainly it these days.

[bemildred]

46. Count me in.

No meat, no factory food, no fast food, and I feel great.

[awoke_in_2003]

49. I have an (very) occasional Mexican made Coke

Still made with sugar, still the perfect size (metric equivalent of 12 oz). Also the occasional Sioux City Sarsparilla or Birch Beer. All together, maybe 3 a month.

[IVoteDFL]

51. I love Soda. It's a life long addiction

I remember my grandparents sharing cokes with me before I could properly drink it without spilling all over myself.