The Case Against Soda

I've been free of soda since January 1st and challenge all of you to rethink the amount of soda you drink per day. Yes, it tastes yummy and might give you a jumpstart to your day but so will water, regular sleep and exercise.

Read this interesting study conducted by the Univ. of Minnesota about the risks of drinking regular soda!

This is a cool website too! Knowledge is power. You can't argue with facts!!

Link here
(CBS) Mothers have warned for decades that drinking too much soda might cause cavities, but those sugar-laden beverages may expose people to a much greater risk - cancer.

A recently released study from the University of Minnesota finds that people who drink as few as two soft drinks a week face almost double the risk of pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of the disease, according to a report by CBS station WCCO-TV.

"Their risk of getting pancreatic cancer over the time period of the study was almost two times higher than their counterparts who were consuming little or no sugar-sweetened beverages in the study," said Dr. Mark Pereira.

The study, which examined data from 60,000 people in Singapore over 14 years, found that regular soft drink consumers were 87 percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer, even after accounting for factors like age, obesity, diabetes and cigarette smoking. The study only applies to consumption of regular soda, not diet soft drinks or fruit juices.

The problem might be the quantity of sugar in the drinks. The pancreas produces insulin to balance the body's blood sugar levels. More sugar means more insulin.

"Insulin has been shown to promote the growth of most tissues including cancer cells, so that might be the mechanism if this is cause and effect," said Pereira.

While fruit juices are also often high in sugar, people often consumer smaller quantities - about 8 to 12 ounces - compared with 20 or 30 ounces of soda.

Our House

I'm sure I have blogged before with the title "Our House" but since our downstairs is looking more and more complete, I want to show it off. We got motivated yesterday when we were hosting 24 people for the Super Bowl Party. We finally hung some things on our wall and feel like we have a general style for our house so we hope to go art hunting and find some more pieces to hang up.

Making Sense of LOST

If you love Lost and are looking to dive deeper into the story line, looking for explanation and clarification as well as new theories, you really should be reading Jeff Jensen's recap every Wednesday morning.

After reading just the first two pages (there are 7 pages on the website, be prepared), all of my ideas and thoughts about last night have changed.

Seriously...go there. Read it. It helps.

Season 6, Episode 1 (SPOILERS)

I've never been much of a Lost criticizer. I love the show, I believe in the writers and I sit back and enjoy it without judging what they are doing with the storyline.

During commercials last night, I logged onto Facebook and saw people saying how they didn't like the first hour and how they were dissapointed in the episode.

HELLO? It is the first episode. You think it would be a good idea to start a season revealing everything? They are creating a slow burn up to the finale. Patience, people. PATIENCE.

Here are my brief thoughts about the episode. SPOILER ALERT.

-So, so, so sad that Juliet died. So sad. Her character was so unlike the others. She went to the island thinking she was going to be doing something positive. She left her life behind. I was hoping she would have a happy ending with Sawyer. It was so awesome to see how much he loved her. Tears.

-So, so, so sad that Sayid died.....oh wait, nevermind. Huge relief. I love Sayid.

-I love Sun and Jin. Even though she totally allowed him to be taken away at the airport!! But what could she have done? Broke out her perfect English? No way!

-I L.O.V.E. the dual storylines. This may be obvious but I'll put it out there for my own record keeping. I think it is a great idea to show what their lives would have been like had the bomb sent them back to a safe landing in L.A. And so far we see, their lives would have run together anyways. And I think it is great that the bomb didn't send them back to L.A. But Juliet was right. It did flash them just not where they thought. Based on the flares that the Temple People sent up, they are in the same time as Sun, et al. Which makes me super duper happy because I really want Jin and Sun to be together again.

-I read some things last night that people said they were sick of the Losties being on the Island. But I disagree. They are not done on the Island. Jacob sent them there on purpose. They have something to take care of there. There is a purpose.

See you next week!

LOST

It is FINALLY time for LOST!!!! I am so excited for tonight. SO EXCITED. Because I am a dork, I think I will blog on Wednesdays my thoughts on the episode. I would love to have other Lost fans join in with their thoughts in the comments.

And just because I think it is funny and cool, here is a picture from our honeymoon in Maui. Apparently, we experienced a Lost-like time flash.....

....minus the nosebleeds and headaches. You can still see my horrid cold sore though. Gross.

Who is your favorite Lost character and why?

This Week....

-I will make sure all the dishes are away in the cupboards before I go to bed.

-I will Shred every single night

-I will take a walk with my husband at least 3 times (if it is not pouring rain)

-I will make dinner 4 nights

-I will NOT answer my phone, check my facebook/twitter or play Words With Friends during Lost on Tuesday night.

-I will eat an apple every day

-I will begin my February Quit item TODAY: No Fast Food! (Starbucks will be given up next month).

I'm a Quitter!

I made it through an entire month without drinking any soda! I won't lie. There were times that I struggled. Like when I went to a work conference and there were cans of soda everywhere I looked. And not just any soda. Mug Root Beer.

Ohhhh.Emmmm.Geeeee. I stared at the cans, imagined the taste but decided to be strong!

Soda is tasty but has NO nutritional value and it actually bad for you through and through. I highly recommend cutting soda from your life.

And in the spirit of being a quitter, I am going to quit something else in February but I need your help. I was thinking of quitting candy but with Valentine's Day coming up, I need to eat 12 brazillion pounds of Conversation Hearts. Yes, I need to. Don't you??

So I have two options: Starbucks or Fast Food. Fast Food does not include restaurant food although I am trying to 1) cut back on going out to eat and 2)make smarter choices when I am at a restaurant.

VOTE in the comments. Starbucks or Fast Food? What should I quit in February?