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I'm addicted to chai tea. That stuff is not only delicious but good for you too. I highly recommend it as an alternative for all soft drinks.

I've heard about it. Now, I have it on very good authority that "chai" is the Russian word for "tea" (this good authority is a man born in Lithuania who was raised speaking Russian post WWII). So the question is what is chai tea exactly?

Thanks.

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Call me a hippie if you will, but I like Jones Soda myself.

That stuff is delicious. You can absolutely taste the difference. The main thing about Jones is that they only use cane sugar to sweeten, not corn syrup. And that makes it worlds better than regular soda. Frankly, although soda's not that great for you, it would be so much less bad for you if they just used cane sugar instead of corn syrup, even if the calories remained the same, because of how the one is metabolized much better than the other.

Damn corn lobby. Freakin' corn syrup in everything.

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I've heard about it. Now, I have it on very good authority that "chai" is the Russian word for "tea" (this good authority is a man born in Lithuania who was raised speaking Russian post WWII). So the question is what is chai tea exactly?

Thanks.

Absolutely correct on that point: чай = tea. I don't know if Russian tea has any real relation to the product sold as "chai" at coffeehouses.

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So I keep hearing Pepsi is bad for me. It's not helping me trim down any. The caffeine keeps me up at night, but it helps in the mornings. But... it's soooooo good! I'd like, give up almost anything else before Pepsi.

Is this irrational?

Sugar is bad for you under normal circumstances to say nothing of soda's other shortcomings Mammon. If you're into Hedonism, by all means keep up the intake of Pepsi. Just because you like soda (or Oreos, heroine, vegetables), it does not mean that the consumption of it is rational. Like others have attested to, you'll find that you won't LOVE it after being off for a few weeks. In fact, I find it rather disgusting now since I cleaned up my diet a few years ago for whatever that's worth.

If you give a hoot about your health, put down the soda and pick up some water, milk, tea or just about anything else. For those of you who drink it already and are in "good" shape, you'd be in better shape and health if you quit.

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I've heard about it. Now, I have it on very good authority that "chai" is the Russian word for "tea" (this good authority is a man born in Lithuania who was raised speaking Russian post WWII). So the question is what is chai tea exactly?

Thanks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chai

"By itself, chai is merely the generic word for tea in Iran, India and much of the world, but for many English speakers, 'chai' is always construed as 'chai masala'.

...

The traditional Masala Chai is a bracing, strongly spiced beverage brewed with so-called 'warm' spices. Most masala chai incorporates one or more of the following: cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, peppercorn, and cloves."

It's my favorite tea by far.

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Absolutely correct on that point: чай = tea. I don't know if Russian tea has any real relation to the product sold as "chai" at coffeehouses.

Nice to know I have good authorites on my side.

I don't know exactly what tea they drink in Russia. I'd assumed it was "black tea" which is sort of generic tea. As far as I know there is one kind of tea plant in several regional varieties, much the same as coffee. Additionally some teas are flavored, smoked and so on. I do know Russian-style tea is drunk with sugar but not milk.

I like tea from time to time, but not as much as coffee. I like Earl Gray, and a smoked kind by Twinnings called, I think, Lapsang Suchong.

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The traditional Masala Chai is a bracing, strongly spiced beverage brewed with so-called 'warm' spices. Most masala chai incorporates one or more of the following: cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, peppercorn, and cloves."

Thank you. I've seen chai, chai latte, even frappe chai, but no one ever says what it is beyond some sort of tea. Maybe I'll try it soon.

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I would buy it, but there's less of it in every bottle and it costs more than normal soda.

It's worth it!

Even their diet soda is pretty good. (And I *hate* diet anything.. I only know it's good cause I bought it on accident once lol).

Also, water is cheaper than coke or pepsi and there's more of it in every bottle.. Even cheaper from the faucet. You get what you pay for, though. : P

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How much you want to bet?

No need to bet unless you don't like $ :) The evidence is in on the effects of Pepsi and it's quite conclusive.

Are you ignorant regarding health and athletic performance or do you simply not believe all the scientists and athletes that vehemently argue against it?

It's possible I am missing something but I can't imagine what it is. . . Can the soda advocates tell me why Pepsi is actually good for you?! I would be really interested in it.

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I forgot to state that my link was to a list of 124 reasons why sugar is bad for you. This includes the 11 teaspoons of sugar in every can of pop.

Some of the sources are not authoritative sources such as peer-reviewed journals. Lots are. But every single item on the list has its source listed individually, so you can judge for yourself. [Exceptions: items 61 and 123. I don't know what happened there.]

Among the ones supported by authoritative sources: "Sugar can suppress the immune system; sugar interferes with the absorption of calcium and magnesium; sugar can cause cataracts; sugar can cause emphysema; high sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in the body; sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases."

Edited by musenji
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It's possible I am missing something but I can't imagine what it is. . .

You're missing that I'm skinny and drink plenty of soda. You made the claim that "For those of you who drink it already and are in "good" shape, you'd be in better shape and health if you quit. " There isn't any way that not drinking it could put me in any better shape. If I lost weight that would be unhealthy at this point.

So, really, without even going into the many ways in which your sweeping claim is wrong, I can just present myself as counter-evidence.

So yes I want to bet and yes I like money very much thank you. You on the other hand...

Edited by Inspector
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You're missing that I'm skinny and drink plenty of soda. You made the claim that "For those of you who drink it already and are in "good" shape, you'd be in better shape and health if you quit. " There isn't any way that not drinking it could put me in any better shape. If I lost weight that would be unhealthy at this point.

So, really, without even going into the many ways in which your sweeping claim is wrong, I can just present myself as counter-evidence.

So yes I want to bet and yes I like money very much thank you. You on the other hand...

Except that sugar is bad for you for reasons other than weight-gaining or dental concerns. I guess I should've addressed you directly but I just assumed you'd read the aforementioned list of 124 reasons why sugar is bad for you, and comment on it.

Here it is again. Please note that while the site is called "formerfatguy", the list is not primarily about obesity or anything related to weight: http://www.formerfatguy.com/articles/124reasons-no-sugar.asp

Edited by musenji
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You're missing that I'm skinny and drink plenty of soda. You made the claim that "For those of you who drink it already and are in "good" shape, you'd be in better shape and health if you quit. " There isn't any way that not drinking it could put me in any better shape. If I lost weight that would be unhealthy at this point.

So, really, without even going into the many ways in which your sweeping claim is wrong, I can just present myself as counter-evidence.

So yes I want to bet and yes I like money very much thank you. You on the other hand...

Not sure where to begin. . .

You're skinny despite drinking soda, not because of it. I should have stated that the consumption of soda will lead to weight gain, all else being equal. There are a great deal of variables involved but I would bet money that if you drank 1/2 a liter a day or more over the course of a month and then cut it cold turkey keeping everything else in your diet and lifestyle the same, you'd weigh more after the month of soda than after the month of consuming an extra 1/2 liter of water.

It's human biology- not junk science. The Center for Consumer Freedom article depicting studies as such I cannot argue with. But there are MANY other claims against soda made from peer-reviewed, scholarly medical journals that cite the detriments soda has on your body. As the link musenji pointed out explains, the contents of soda have multiple adverse effects on your body.

You've either got your head burried deep in the sand, need to claim your Nobel prize $ if you have any real counter-evidence to cite or, more likely, you probably view the negative impact moderate consumption of soda has on your body is outweighed by its taste. Is this fair?

Being skinny is not being in good shape (see the residents of east Africa). Maintaining a healthy body weight certainly is though which is what you might have meant. I know the measuring stick for a lot of people is the scale they stand on but there is more to it than that.

Off track, the $ comment was a joke :lol: Your posts on other threads have certainly been helpful to me- in particular the vegetarian posts a few months back! Say yes to meat :P You're certainly wrong here though. I'd be very interested to hear why my earlier sweeping claim, or this one, is wrong.

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I would bet money that if you drank 1/2 a liter a day or more over the course of a month and then cut it cold turkey keeping everything else in your diet and lifestyle the same, you'd weigh more after the month of soda than after the month of consuming an extra 1/2 liter of water.

But that's basic math - what you're missing is that it proves nothing about the healthiness of unhealthiness of soda. And it certainly doesn't prove that I'd be better off or healthier without it.

As a matter of fact, I do drink about 1/2 liter of soda per day. Sometimes more. And I am fine - my health in no way suffers from it. This is what you're not getting. I'm sitting here as living proof that soda can be consumed by at least some people without harm. But your statement was so sweeping that you accused soda of being intrinsically bad - bad even for "seemingly" healthy or fit people.

Hogwash! I drink it and I am fine.

But there are MANY other claims against soda made from peer-reviewed, scholarly medical journals that cite the detriments soda has on your body. As the link musenji pointed out explains, the contents of soda have multiple adverse effects on your body.

What kind of studies?

You've either got your head burried deep in the sand, need to claim your Nobel prize $ if you have any real counter-evidence to cite or, more likely, you probably view the negative impact moderate consumption of soda has on your body is outweighed by its taste. Is this fair?

No, it's unfair because you still won't let go of your assumption that soda is inherently harmful to anyone who consumes it, rather than simply being a beverage with calories that can be unhealthy if consumed with no regard for the calories by someone who can't afford the calories. But the same can be said for any food. That doesn't say anything about soda as such.

Being skinny is not being in good shape (see the residents of east Africa). Maintaining a healthy body weight certainly is though which is what you might have meant. I know the measuring stick for a lot of people is the scale they stand on but there is more to it than that.

Precisely my point - I would be unhealthier if I were to seek to become significantly skinnier - yet you suggested that even if I am fit, I should still cut out soda. Why? I don't need to lose weight.

Off track, the $ comment was a joke :thumbsup:

So was mine. I mean "how much you want to bet?" Of course I'm joking. But still I am serious about the point I am making. Taking in too many calories is unhealthy. That doesn't mean that ANY given person would benefit from cutting out soda. That is intrinsic thinking at work and I encourage you to reexamine it.

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Except that sugar is bad for you for reasons other than weight-gaining or dental concerns.

I severely doubt the scientific veracity of those claims. I've been watching junk science for a bit now and I smell junk science all over that - correlation does not equal causation. Nevertheless, that is hardly a study - it is a set of unsubstantiated claims. I'd read several such claims and studies and they were all bogus - equating correlation and causation, or were of "high-sugar diets" which didn't contain necessary nutrients (i.e. it wasn't the sugar itself, but rather a lack of other things that was clearly at work). And besides, a few sodas a day with no other sugar consumption hardly qualifies as a "high sugar diet." Which again shows the context-dropping of the "soda is evil!" mentality.

Now maybe one of the studies (which is not available) you listed might be different from every one I've ever seen. But color me skeptical for now. (or a "denier" if you must)

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I severely doubt the scientific veracity of those claims. I've been watching junk science for a bit now and I smell junk science all over that - correlation does not equal causation. Nevertheless, that is hardly a study - it is a set of unsubstantiated claims. I'd read several such claims and studies and they were all bogus - equating correlation and causation, or were of "high-sugar diets" which didn't contain necessary nutrients (i.e. it wasn't the sugar itself, but rather a lack of other things that was clearly at work). And besides, a few sodas a day with no other sugar consumption hardly qualifies as a "high sugar diet." Which again shows the context-dropping of the "soda is evil!" mentality.

Now maybe one of the studies (which is not available) you listed might be different from every one I've ever seen. But color me skeptical for now. (or a "denier" if you must)

You do realize they were all sourced at the bottom? Some were from spurious sources as you suspect, others were from sources I would certainly trust, such as the Journal of Clinical Nutrition and other peer-reviewed scientific journals.

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You do realize they were all sourced at the bottom? Some were from spurious sources as you suspect, others were from sources I would certainly trust, such as the Journal of Clinical Nutrition and other peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Yes but I can't read the studies. First you can't be sure that they aren't pseudoscience (i.e. as in the link I gave). Second, you can't be sure without reading the primary source that the studies say what the man is claiming that they say. Again, the study may have just found a correlation, whereas the people citing it are claiming causation. And third you have no idea without reading the primary source what exactly was studied. How much sugar? In combination with which diet? And which exercise level? Etc, etc, etc.

Because as I said I've seen a number of articles, both scientific and journalistic and so far nothing I have seen justifies the kinds of ideas I see routinely thrown around about soda. I.e. "Soda will make you fat!" "Soda will make your kids hyper" "Soda will dissolve your teeth!" "Soda will give you the diabeetus!" "You may as well drink poison!" "Even if you're fit, soda is harming you in ways you can't perceive; you just don't know it!" I'm halfway expecting to hear "soda will fill you with thetans and you will be devoured by the Dread Lord Xenu!"

Edited by Inspector
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Maybe it's the head in the sand after all . . . ;) In which case, as Rand says, there's no point in trying to reason with you any further. I hate saying this but what argument would convince you since all of the ones put out by scientists in highly regarded, academic journals of science and nutrition can not do it. Neither can the testimony of athletes who have proven their claims in the field.

Did you ever see the movie "Thank You For Smoking"? It's a fantastic film that is quite funny as well as being pro-freedom. I highly recommend it if anyone has not seen it. Reminds me of our dialogue :D Only difference is Nick Naylor knew he was slingin' BS.

Soda has cumulative effects and if you don't notice them now, I hope you lay off the intake before it takes a much more serious toll on your body. Good luck. But, then again, A is A. . . .

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