What's your drink of choice?

ATLANTA - Health officials say half of Americans drink a soda or sugary beverage each day — and some are downing an awful lot.

A new study found that one in 20 drinks the equivalent of more than four cans of soda each day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research also showed teenage boys drink the most soda, sports drinks and other sugary liquids.

Sweetened drinks have been linked to the U.S. explosion in obesity, and health officials have been urging people to cut back. Many schools have stopped selling soda or artificial juices.

The CDC report released Wednesday is said to be the first to offer national statistics for adults and kids. Past studies have focused on certain groups, particularly school kids.

Half of Americans are drinking their sugar daily.  It's no wonder we're obese.  It's no wonder us kids of the 70's grew up with weight issues.

I remember as a kid drinking soda from bottles like these.  They came in 6 packs from the Red Owl store that my mom shopped at and my aunt worked at.  I remember going up and down those aisles and coming home with lots of food.  What specific food, I can't remember.  I remember the soda though.  And when it wasn't soda, it was Koolaid made with the maximum amount of sugar.  And when it wasn't Koolaid, it was Schwann's Vita-Sun. 

Water?  Water was for washing dishes & clothes, for sprinkling lawns and taking showers.  We never drank water.  Wait, I take that back.  When we played softball, we'd bring water jugs.  I remember begging for the powered Gatorade to make it taste and never getting it.  Water is something that I discovered in my 30's as a drink that I should be drinking.  Even then my relationship with water was limited.  I did it when I was really thirsty in the summer or I was sick and not feeling good.

I gave up sodas 3 years ago and I don't regret it.  But I will tell you that I rarely drink plain water unless it's from a bottle.  I use Crystal Lite or frozen fruit/fruit juice in my water.  While I like not drinking sodas and sports drinks, most times I crave flavor.  It's as though my mind expects that the drink should have taste.  I think my mind is programming to expect a flavor and it's a really hard habit to break.  There are times when I'm better at it than others.

So how many spoonfuls of sugar did you drink today?