Beer vs. Soda: Which is Worse for Your Health?

[Cyrus]

Serious question. I drink a beer once a day, usually in the afternoon. Sometimes two. I know that most people drink at least one soda a day. Which is worse for you? I think drinking a soda a day is has got to be much worse for you considering it has lots of acid, and sugar.

Also, beer doesn't have nasty chemicals in it like soda does. I've tried many different beers (probably over 50, and going up), but I like a simple Budweiser in a bottle. I'm drinking on right now and boy does it hit the spot.

I used to be a hugeeeeeeeeeee soda addict. But I got tired of all that sugar. I really enjoy a good cold pepsi with ice cubes. But now I find myself wanting beer more than soda. I don't like the way soda is so harsh on my teeth. The acid destroys the enamel.


Which one is worse?

 

[tribdog]

I just spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday out on four wheelers drinking about 25 beers a day and I've got to say a soda sounds much preferable today.

 

[Pengwuino]

Alcoholics

 

[Cyrus]

Last night I had a red bull. They don't keep me wired up like coffee does, but I couldn't sleep until 4am. Which isn't too bad, considering with nothing I usually go to bed around 3:30 easily (Im a night person). But when I woke up my head felt swollen - like I had to move my head side to side fast like a dog does. I think I'm going to have to stop drinking Red bull. I gave up coffee because at one point I was drinking coffee and red bull and that cafine really made by body crash. The more and more I drank it the more and more tired I became. After about 3 days of drinking caffine I just stopped and had much more energy the next day.

I think I'm done with Coffee (except rare occasions), Red Bull (I like the taste though!), and soda (for the most part). I'm sticking with beer.

 

[Cyrus]

Alcoholics

This thread is for real men, not boys.

BTW: Alcoholic means a dependency on alcohol.

 

[tribdog]

Which one is worse?

Pessimist. Which one is BETTER!

 

[Cyrus]

Pessimist. Which one is BETTER!

Real man of geniusssssss.

 

[Pyrrhus]

I never drink redbull or coffee. Try to keep those drinks to a minimum. They are not good.

Soda is also an awful drink for your body, avoid it. You can do it at most once or twice a week.

Beer every day?, You should stop that, too. Alcohol everyday is not recommended. You can search about this.

Keep the beer and other alcohol beverages for the fridays and weekends, or special events.

 

[Cyrus]

Keep the beer and other alcohol beverages for the fridays and weekends, or special events.

Why? I didn't say I binge on beer every day.

 

[moose]

I never drink redbull or coffee. Try to keep those drinks to a minimum. They are not good.

Soda is also an awful drink for your body, avoid it. You can do it at most once or twice a week.

Beer every day?, You should stop that, too. Alcohol everyday is not recommended. You can search about this.

Keep the beer and other alcohol beverages for the fridays and weekends, or special events.

You can definitely also search one alcoholic beverage a day. I am talking about just one, not binge drinking daily.

 

[drizzle]

I used to drink soda on a daily basis but I thankfully change to beer, I think it’s much better than soda, I like pomegranate or apple flavored beer [non alcoholic]…man so refreshing especially when cooled enough almost freezed

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Considering that for quite some time fresh water was very rare and many people drank beer or wine on a daily basis I don't think it can be that bad for you.

http://nutrition.about.com/od/hydrationwater/a/beer_Nutrition.htm

http://www.nowpublic.com/health/one-beer-day-increases-liver-and-bowel-cancer-risk

Personally I drink one bourbon, one scotch, and one beer.
Unfortunately I still can't sing the blues. :-/

 

[getitright]

Considering most soda today is sweetened with a chemical concoction of sweetner, and that beer only has sugar for a short time during brewing to supply the yeast with energy to produce the alcohol content --- I would say that beer is better. But if you look at the front end of my car I should have drank a soda instead.

 

[Pyrrhus]

Considering that for quite some time fresh water was very rare and many people drank beer or wine on a daily basis I don't think it can be that bad for you.

http://nutrition.about.com/od/hydrationwater/a/beer_Nutrition.htm

http://www.nowpublic.com/health/one-beer-day-increases-liver-and-bowel-cancer-risk

Personally I drink one bourbon, one scotch, and one beer.
Unfortunately I still can't sing the blues. :-/

Yes this is fine, but it depends largely on your diet and the amount of beer taken.

Cyrus, it's fine, as long as one beer per day doesn't mean a jar...

 

[neu]

I drink a beer once a day, usually in the afternoon. Sometimes two.

Don't go too crazy

 

[cristo]

But if you look at the front end of my car I should have drank a soda instead.

Wow, you're way cool, bragging about drink-driving

As for the OP, I think I agree with you, Cyrus, in that a beer a day is better for you than a soda a day. It's also much nicer: a cold beer after a long day's work is delicious!

 

[Cyrus]

My main point was that most people would say "oh, don't drink a beer a day!" without ever stopping to realize how bad drinking all that soda is. I wonder how the nutritional value of the two compare?

 

[WhoWee]

I just spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday out on four wheelers drinking about 25 beers a day and I've got to say a soda sounds much preferable today.

I hope you also had lots of spicey/smoked barbecue?

 

[WhoWee]

My main point was that most people would say "oh, don't drink a beer a day!" without ever stopping to realize how bad drinking all that soda is. I wonder how the nutritional value of the two compare?

Given your specification of moderate alcohol consumption, soda is worse because you don't need to control the quantity. I normally drink 1/2 to 1 gallon of water per day and could easily drink 2+ liters of soda if alternatively available...not possible (and work) with beer.

 

[mgb_phys]

Also, beer doesn't have nasty chemicals in it like soda does. ... Budweiser

Some would argue about that

Beer contains no fat
Beer is low in sugar.
Beer is a source of soluble fiber which is derived from the cell walls of malted barley. A liter of beer contains an average of 20% of the recommended daily intake of fiber and some beers can provide up to 60%.
Beer has no cholesterol.
Beer contains significant amounts of magnesium, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, biotin, and is chock full of B vitamins.
Beer has about 150 calories in 12oz
(from the campaign for real ale)

It's practically a health food

 

[mcknia07]

I thought that alcohol is bad for your body! I almost lost my grandpa to alcohol His doctor said that if he ever has another drink, he will die...He has been sober for quite a few years now.

 

[Alfi]

It's practically a health food

ok, time for the old joke

Well you see,it's like this...

A herd of animals can only move as fast as the slowest one.
And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first.

This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members.

In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells.

Now, as we know, excessive intake of alcohol kills brain cells.
But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first.

Regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine.

And that is why you always feel smarter after a few beers.

 

[mgb_phys]

I thought that alcohol is bad for your body! I almost lost my grandpa to alcohol His doctor said that if he ever has another drink, he will die...He has been sober for quite a few years now.

"Those who drank between 1 to 3 drinks per day had a 42% lower risk of developing dementia than the nondrinkers. Those who did not drink daily but had more than one drink per week day had a 25% lower risk of developing dementia than the nondrinkers. One final point, it did not seem to matter what people drank, (beer, wine or liquor), the effect was the same."
The Lancet January 2002

"Why mortality from heart disease is low in France" (answer - red wine)
BMJ. 2000 January 22

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I thought that alcohol is bad for your body! I almost lost my grandpa to alcohol His doctor said that if he ever has another drink, he will die...He has been sober for quite a few years now.

The alcohol is bad for you, particularly in large quantities. Its the other things in beer and wine that can be beneficial to the health.

And if your grandfather's liver is shot then it will not filter out the alcohol and it will run continuously through his system until it finds some other way out of his blood stream. Alcohol gets worse for you the further you are along and the more damage that has been done to your system.

 

[Danger]

Regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine.

And that is why you always feel smarter after a few beers.

Actually, Drizzle hit upon a really good compromise. A good .5% beer like O'Douls tastes almost like the real thing. You can slug 10 of them and it's the equivalent of one regular beer.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Actually, Drizzle hit upon a really good compromise. A good .5% beer like O'Douls tastes almost like the real thing. You can slug 10 of them and it's the equivalent of one regular beer.

Do they have any low or non-alcohol beers that are not light? I think that New Castle is the lightest beer I have ever enjoyed.

 

[mcknia07]

The alcohol is bad for you, particularly in large quantities. Its the other things in beer and wine that can be beneficial to the health.

And if your grandfather's liver is shot then it will not filter out the alcohol and it will run continuously through his system until it finds some other way out of his blood stream. Alcohol gets worse for you the further you are along and the more damage that has been done to your system.

I think his liver is shot.

I did hear, once, that red wine is good for you, but I was too scared to believe it. What does the red wine do for you?

 

[mgb_phys]

I did hear, once, that red wine is good for you, but I was too scared to believe it. What does the red wine do for you?

Makes life worth living longer for?

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/foo_win_con-food-wine-consumption
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_hea_dis_dea-health-heart-disease-deaths

 

[JasonRox]

I think his liver is shot.

I did hear, once, that red wine is good for you, but I was too scared to believe it. What does the red wine do for you?

Make your teeth yellow.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I think his liver is shot.

I did hear, once, that red wine is good for you, but I was too scared to believe it. What does the red wine do for you?

Red wine is a particularly rich source of antioxidants flavonoid phenolics, so many studies to uncover a cause for red wine's effects have focused on its phenolic constituents, particularly resveratrol and the flavonoids. Resveratrol, found in grape skins and seeds, increases HDL cholesterol and prevent blood clotting. Flavonoids, on the other hand, exhibit antioxidant properties helping prevent blood clots and plaques formation in arteries.

http://www.healthcastle.com/redwine-heart.shtml
I knew that it was supposed to be good for your heart but didn't know the exact reasons so I found them for you. :-)
There are similar reasons that beer is good for you which are talked about in a link I posted earlier. There was also another article I found and linked in the same post about raised risk of certain types of cancer from drinking either of them daily.

 

[drizzle]

I tried this drink last night I think it was only peach flavoured water [slightly sugared], it was really cold and good too, but I don’t know if it’s considered as a soda drink or is it as bad as these sodas, I’d like to know?

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

The real question is should you drink beer or wine. I say six of one, half a dozen of the other.

 

[getitright]

Ease up just a bit Cristo. Your point is made, but my reply includes humor and sarcasm, and I'm poor at both. I don't think anything on this site qualifies as role model material. BTW... I haven't had a traffic ticket since I was 22 and that was 21 years ago.

 

[Moridin]

There are detailed negative health effects from consuming beer and soda regularly. Long-term negative health effects of beer consumption can include memory deficits, liver issues, and impairing verbal and motor skills. Don't forget hangover. It can also have a direct impact on level of triglycerides and beer actually does contain energy ("calories").

Similarly, there are sodas without added sugar or caffeine.

 

[Cyrus]

There are detailed negative health effects from consuming beer and soda regularly. Long-term negative health effects of beer consumption can include memory deficits, liver issues, and impairing verbal and motor skills. Don't forget hangover. It can also have a direct impact on level of triglycerides and beer actually does contain energy ("calories").

Similarly, there are sodas without added sugar or caffeine.

Hangover from one beer? Mmmmmmm.....no.