We drink soda and other sugary beverages for two reasons.
They taste delicious, thanks to the massive amounts of sugar* (and artificial sweeteners) that can be found in them.
We also drink soda and sports drinks for another reason, one that we often overlook, yet face on a daily basis.
That is the fact that soda and sports drinks are made to make us dehydrated, and in doing so force us to drink more in order to annihilate our thirst.

*Unless the soda is diet, then switch out the enormous amounts of sugar, for huge amounts of added artificial chemicals that we cannot even pronounce and have a minor understanding of.
Remember if it is to good to be true then it usually is.

This fact is often overlooked as we see soda as only being a sweet and sugary comfort beverage.
There are ingredients in soda and sports drinks that actually do the opposite of thirst quenching such as caffeine and salt.
These are substances that we all too often neglect to bring into the conversation.
This article will bring to light why soda is not only addictive, but is actually made never to quench our thirst and leave us wondering why the hell we are still thirsty.
1) Caffeine - Caffeine is a mild stimulant that increases blood pressure and gives us a good kick.
In moderation, caffeine has been proven to have zero negative effects on human health.
Caffeine naturally speeds up the process of urine extraction.
Leaving our bodies craving more liquid.
2) Salt - We often forget that salt is even in soda, because we can't taste it.
There is a reason for this.
Salt dehydrates the body.
Which again leaves us unfulfilled in our quest to quench our thirst.
Although the amount of salt found in soda is small, it still has a huge affect on our thirst systems.
The fact that salt is even in soda is evidence that soda companies are not in the business of quenching our nations thirst.
Salt is found in soda to keep us thirsty and keep us drinking more, which then results in us buying more.
3) Sugar - Sugar is in soda for a few reasons.
By nature it is addictive, so when we consume it our bodies crave more and in result we drink more.
Also a most important reason why sugar is added is that it covers up the taste of salt.
Why else would a 20 oz bottle of soda contain over 130 grams of sugar? Don't we drink soda to quench our thirst? In theory yes, in reality we are simply pouring liquid into a strainer.
Our thirst can never, ever be quenched by drinking soda or sports drinks.
The caffeine forces us to speed up the process of urine extraction, which results in a need for liquid.
Salt dehydrates our bodies and leaves us loathing with the feeling of thirst that we wanted to exterminate in the first place.
This can only lead to one action.
The drinking of more soda.
Sports Drinks This same combination is used in sports drinks as well.
Minus the caffeine.
Sports drinks are incredibly sugary to cover up the salt that is present.
Salt was originally put in sports drinks to replace the sodium and electrolytes that are lost while we sweat.
I am sorry to rain on the parade of those who regularly consume sports drinks after working out, but the vast majority of us "common folk" do not work out anywhere near the intensity and duration to justify the consumption of sports drinks.
If your body truly needs more sodium and sugar, then you will know.
You may feel light headed and completely fatigued.
How often do everyday people like you and me get to that level of intensity while running on the treadmill or playing pick up basketball? Ever wonder why there is over 70 grams of sugar (34 grams of sugar and 34 grams of carbs) in a 20oz bottle of popular sports drinks? It is not put there for our health.
It is present to cover up the taste of the 270 mg of salt that are found there.
Why can't we taste the salt in soda and sports drinks? If we could then nobody would buy them.
I don't know about you but I think salt water tastes disgusting.
Cover that salt up with lots and lots of sugar and we get a drink that is not only incapable of quenching our thirst, which was the goal in drinking the beverage in the first place, but we also get a product that is addictive and (unfortunately) down right tasty.
Drinking soda (or any other sugar containing food) is comparable to being addicted to drugs.
We are happy while we are consuming them but after that initial euphoria we are left unsatisfied and feel utterly worthless.
This results in the consumption of more sugar laced products.
This never ending cycle is what keeps companies that produce high sugar foods in business.
If you are "addicted" to soda, do not fear, you are not alone.
Millions of people across the globe drink massive amounts of soda everyday.
Just know that cutting soda out of the diet could have the single most dramatic impact on your body in terms of weight loss and overall health as any other single act.
Even more important than exercising.
This will not be easy.
Smokers who are addicted to the nicotine found in cigarettes say that quitting smoking was the hardest thing they have ever done.
Breaking the addiction to soda (sugar and also caffeine for some people) is comparable.
I am not kidding.
Sugar is more addictive than most drugs.
Just because it is legal does not change its natural properties and how it interacts within the human body.
Drink water to quench your thirst.
I don't care if you think water is boring.
It has 0 calories, no sugar, salt or caffeine.
Save yourself some money and self-loathing and stop drinking any kind of drink that comes in a bottle* (except for water:))

* I have a feeling that many of the bottled green tea drinkers out there will argue with me that not all bottled drinks are bad.
You're wrong.
Next time you buy a tea beverage that comes in a bottle, check out the ingredients.
High Fructose Corn Syrup is usually in the top three.
The tea that comes in bottles is not real tea.
No amount of antioxidants will save you from the massive amounts of sugar that are found in these beverages