WHAT TO DRINK???

Not exactly a health package! (Photo by Josh Resnek)

By Josh Resnek

I know many people who drink water throughout the day everyday as though they might become dehydrated and faint or develop diabetes if they drank anything sweet.

I also know folks who believe they will extend their lives by drinking copious amounts of water.

Those folks buy bottled water by the 12 and 24 packs. They keep the Poland Springs Company and others in business when they could be drinking the same water out of their tap.

This short bit is about what I drink, when I drink it and why.

The line-up in the above photograph shows you what I like to drink.

I love Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice. I grew up on it. My mother loved it. My father drank it. It always satisfies. But it is very sweet. Some doctors claim cranberry juice is good for the kidneys. That’s good enough for me. My father died of renal failure…When he was 91.

Coca-Cola is one of my favorite and favored carbonated, sugar laden treats. I go on and off with Coca-Cola. Sometimes I drink it every day, and especially when I eat pizza or spaghetti. At times, a few sips of Coca-Cola satisfies me as much as a solid snack.

Recently, I read that one of the world’s richest men, Warren Buffett, drinks five Coca-Colas every day! Some claim he does that because he owns so much Coca-Cola stock. Buffett is in his late 80’s. If it is good enough for him, I figure, it is certainly good enough for me.

Newman’s lemonade is a solid treat early in the morning or late at night with a few potato chips or toasted cheese sandwich. It is a wonderful product vying with other lesser lemonade that don’t compare to the taste and smoothness.

However, this is also laden with sugar.

Even skim milk is supposed to be bad for us. Those of us who grew up drinking gallons of milk like water when we were kids are still drinking milk, but not as much or as often.

I need milk mainly to wash down something chocolate when I’ve eaten it.

Pellegrino is a favorite. I like the smoothness of its fizziness. I can down an entire flask of Pellegrino when I am really thirsty. There is the belief, widely shared, that drinking bottles and bottles of Pellegrino will somehow not only improve your life but lead to a longer life.

If that were the case, then everyone would be drinking Pellegrino.

Bottom line, the sugary things can and will kill you – but if you’ve already lived a long life consuming cranberry juice, Coca-Cola, lemonade, I’d suggest you go on doing that until the end comes.

The end will be that much sweeter that way!

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