Tip of the Day: Diet Soda Substitute

  

Yup, sodas are generally a major NO-NO on the Protocol.  Even the ones with artificial sweeteners have been clearly proven to cause cravings, one of the things that got us into obesity to begin with.  I know that sodas do not contain fat, but that High Fructose Corn Syrup sure does facilitate the production of fat in the body using those extra calories, which is how these statistics were evaluated.

 I don't recommend anything with artificial sweeteners (e.g., Splenda, Aspartame, SweetnLow, etc.) on or off the Protocol.  Those toxins are likely factors in causing the hypothalamus to do the crazy things we are trying to re-set it from!  Although there are folks who have used those products and still had success on the Protocol, I feel that we are trying to optimize our results and will accomplish that more readily by avoiding toxins.  
Sooo, if you want to have sodas, I highly recommend that you consider getting

- The Fountain Jet Home Soda Maker

A great way to make your own healthy, Protocol Legal sodas! I use purified water and then one of the delicious flavored stevias you can find in the Stevia page. My favorite is Mango! The Fountain Jet Home Soda Maker from Soda-Club lets you make your favorite carbonated beverages for less than half the price of cans.

Stevia is an excellent sweetener.  You may want to try the unadulterated powdered leaf (which some folks say doesn't have the bitter aftertaste) HERE.

You may also find that the

organic, vegan, Kosher, gluten-free, alcohol-free

Flavorings

at the site below combine well with stevia to come up with even more options, including

• 
  
  S'Mores,
• 
  
  Cheesecake,
• 
  
  Irish Cream,
• 
  
  Cream Soda,
• 
  
  Caramel,
• 
  
  Butter Pecan, and
• 
  
  Bananas Foster!

 

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Then there is also Zevia!  It is the new stevia sweetened soda that is showing up in all the health food groceries, and even in some standard grocery store.  Try the Black Cherry for a real treat (my fave), but avoid the couple containing caffeine as that also can produce cravings!