Body & Mind

Never drink soda at this time

soda cola

Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: At this time, drinking soda is the worst for you. 

First of all: there is no good time (for your body) to drink soda. Especially when you drink a lot of soda, you increase the risk of overweight and type 2 diabetes, and it is bad for your teeth (yes, also light soda due to the acids). But did you know that there is also a specific time of day when drinking soda is the absolute worst?

At least, according to sports dietitian Leslie Bonci, who advises the reigning champions of American Football (NFL Super Bowl winners Kansas Chiefs) on nutrition. These are her findings:

All for nothing
The worst time to drink carbonated soda is before you go exercise, according to Bonci. If you do that, you achieve ‘exactly the opposite of what fluid should do during exercise, namely hydrate. You essentially dehydrate because it takes longer for carbonated liquid to pass through the digestive system and efficiently provide hydration to those hardworking muscles,’ says the nutritionist.

Better a fried egg
But if you weren't planning to exercise at all, is there another time when opening a Cherry Fernandes can is a worse idea than usual? According to Bonci, yes: in the morning, before breakfast. Now we don't understand why you would open a can of soda in the morning instead of just enjoying some fried or perfectly boiled eggs but it seems to happen. But according to Bonci, you achieve about the same thing as drinking soda before exercising: you are not hydrating your body properly after a night of not eating, and the danger is that the carbonation gives you a full feeling (but you haven't consumed anything useful) and as a result, you might even avoid eating for a few more hours. In short, bad for you.

So if you want to drink soda, this sports dietitian recommends not doing it at these two times. And try to save that soda for exceptional occasions. Good luck!