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I am not a big soda drinker, but still this article caught my eye.  My husband drinks a lot and so it still causes concern for me.

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/drmao/20270/what-soft-drinks-are-doing-to-your-body/

Short story:

Soft drinks contain little to no vitamins or other essential nutrients. However, it is what they do contain that is the problem: caffeine, carbonation, simple sugars — or worse, sugar substitutes — and often food additives such as artificial coloring, flavoring, and preservatives.

Most soft drinks contain a high amount of simple sugars. The USDA recommendation of sugar consumption for a 2,000-calorie diet is a daily allotment of 10 teaspoons of added sugars. Many soft drinks contain more than this amount!

Diet soda is filled with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, or saccharin. These artificial sweeteners pose a threat to your health. Saccharin, for instance, has been found to be carcinogenic, and studies have found that it produced bladder cancer in rats.

You should try instead:  fresh water, fruit juice (the article gives recommendations on diluting it to cut down on sugar), or tea.

Are you a big soda drinker?  Do the health risks bother you at all?

Thanks for the article and good tips!

I try to avoid sugar and never drink soda for the reasons you listed.

I do, however, use a lot of Sweet 'N Low in my coffee and tea.

I guess I should try to avoid that.