I’ve always heard that diet pop is loaded with sodium, so without reading labels I recently cut back on my consumption of diet pop. I was recently told by a good friend that the nurse practitioner in her office lost a great deal of weight partially by cutting back on pop, but I was skeptical. Sodium causes water retention, and actual weight-loss is achieved through exercise and healthy eating. Even with my initial skepticism I decided to cut back on the amount of sugar-free pop I was drinking in an effort to improve my health. I was drinking between three and four cans per day, and I wondered if the sodium content was contributing to water retention.
I’m not satisfied with ordinary water, so instead I purchased Diet Lipton Green Tea with Mixed Berry. What I discovered upon comparing labels was surprising to say the least, and I’m once again rethinking my sugar-free drink decision.
Diet Pepsi
I was told that diet pop contains a lot of sodium, and I assumed it did – until I read the can. One can of sugar-free Pepsi contains a mere 35 mg or in simpler terms, 1% of the recommended daily allowance of salt. I thought it would contain much more, so the theory of diet pop adding too much salt to the diet went right out down the drain. I’d have to drink 100 cans to reach my daily limit of salt, and my three or four cans didn’t even put a dent in the recommended daily amount.
Maybe other brands of sugar-free pop has a higher sodium content, but diet Pepsi certainly didn’t. After realizing how low the sodium truly was, I immediately grabbed my bottle of Diet Lipton Green Tea to compare the contents. I was hoping I’d find out the sugar-free green tea had even less sodium, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Diet Lipton Green Tea
I recently purchased my 12 pack of Diet Lipton Green Tea with Mixed Berry. The flavor is natural, and this was a nice surprise since so many sugar-free drinks contain artificial flavors, but the sodium content was what really surprised me. A 16.9 fluid ounce bottle of Diet Lipton Green Tea contains twice the amount of sodium as the sugar-free Pepsi I gave up in an effort to cut back on sodium. Although 70 mg of sodium is still low, I had given up my favorite drink thinking this drink was healthier. I’ve heard that green tea contains beneficial antioxidants, but nothing on the label indicates any other health benefits whatsoever. It would have been nice if Lipton had added vitamin C or something else that would prompt me to drink this particular beverage more often.
I Want My Pop!
Diet Lipton Green Tea with Mixed Berry is a refreshing change from the bubbly sugar-free Pepsi I usually drink, but I’m going back to drinking diet pop once again. The sodium content of sugar-free Pepsi isn’t high at all, and that assumption was completely unfounded. Diet Lipton Green Tea with Mixed Berry is a nice change, but other than containing naturally protective antioxidants, it isn’t a lower salt option in comparison to Diet Pepsi. In addition, I paid $4.99 for 12 bottles of Diet Lipton Green Tea with Mixed Berry. This was the sale price, and I certainly wouldn’t consider spending more.
