You’ve decided not to drink full-sugar soft drinks, but is it any better to drink diet soda? Before you buy a twelve-pack of Diet Pepsi, check out the latest health advice about the effects of artificially sweetened soft drinks.

Soda pop (both diet and full-sugar) eats away at the enamel on your teeth. The problem is phosphoric acid, a corrosive acid that erodes enamel. Full-sugar sodas are the absolute worst because the acid and sugar mixed together becomes a potent corrosive bath for your vulnerable teeth. However, diet sodas also hurt teeth.

You might be changing to diet soft drinks as a means to lose weight, but sadly, doctors are finding diet sodas to be obstacles to weight loss. The latest studies show a link between diet soda consumption and obesity. According to recent studies, the number of diet beverages you drink per day is related to your chances of being overweight.

Doctors and lay people alike are confused by this, wondering how diet soft drinks could be linked to weight problems when the drinks are low or zero calorie. Doctors are trying to get to the root of this mystery. Some researchers hypothesize that artificial sweeteners trick your body into thinking it requires more sweeteners, making you crave and eat too many sweets overall. Another group of doctors have put forth the idea that artificial sweeteners may affect your body differently than sugar, making your body respond inappropriately to real calories, hindering metabolism. In any case, it looks like dieters should limit the number of diet soft drinks they imbibe each day.

It can be difficult to stop drinking all soft drinks, so it may help to remind yourself that sound health advice recommends you do so. You may find seltzer water to be a palatable substitute. At least you’ll get the carbonation, even if you don’t get the intense flavor or sweetness. You can find citrus and berry flavored seltzer waters in most grocery stores.

Everyone knows that ice cream is a wonderful treat to enjoy at the end of dinner; at the same time, however, it is not exactly healthy! You can certainly keep ice cream as a once-in-a-while treat, especially if you are a true ice cream lover. But you should also make sure ice cream is not part of your nightly routine, and you can do this by uncovering some of the great alternatives to ice cream.

Most people who crave ice cream start to find (as they try to cut ice cream out of the routine) that what they really crave is something cold and either creamy or juicy. Of course, it is also nice if this “something cold and creamy/juicy” that you try to use as a replacement is also sweet! And you can go to the opposite extreme of ice cream by trying something such as watermelon or pineapple as a replacement. Both of these fruits are cold and juicy, and they also have an element of sweetness; what’s more, of course, is that they are very healthy!

Many people also find that yogurt is a satisfactory after-dinner replacement for ice cream on most nights. Make sure that you shop for yogurt that is organic, however – and that is not loaded with sugar; otherwise, you might as well just eat a bowl of ice cream!

Another treat that many people find to be enjoyable is popsicles – and if you make your own popsicles, they can actually be healthy! Try freezing some of your favorite juice in ice cube trays, with toothpicks taking the place of the popsicle sticks.

And finally, you can replace something cold and creamy with something that is hot and creamy, trying some after-dinner coffee instead of some after-dinner ice cream. This can be a great way to go if you are a coffee fan – and, of course, if the coffee will not keep you up all through the night.

Even though you do not, of course, need to cut coffee out of your diet entirely, you should find some alternatives that work for you so that you do not end up eating ice cream every night!

If you have ever dealt with a time in your life where you felt unusually tired, you certainly understand what a hassle this feeling is. After all, in order to function, we need to be awake! Life becomes less enjoyable when we are always tired, and our thinking becomes impaired. Some people turn to energy drinks or to caffeine in order to solve the problem of always feeling tired, but others cannot go with these options, as caffeine and energy drinks tend to keep some people awake at night, while for others these options do not seem to work at all. But there are healthy, natural ways to stay awake as well – beyond having to take caffeine and energy drinks; here are a few of those ways.

The first and most important way to keep from being tired is to get more sleep. This might seem like an elementary solution, but too many people get less sleep than they should, and they feel constantly tired as a result. Eight hours of uninterrupted sleep is what your body should get each and every night. You just might be “tired all the time” because you are failing to give your body as much sleep as it requires.

Catching a nap in the middle of the day is an excellent way to stay awake. While your place of employment may not allow naps, you might consider taking a nap during your lunch break. Your naps should always be thirty minutes at the most, otherwise the nap might make you even more tired. And during your lunch break, it is very easy to squeeze in a 15-30 minute nap.

Finally, be aware of what you are introducing into your body. If the foods you are eating are always packed with sugar and preservatives, your body will be much more likely to feel tired. You will also feel more tired if you are only sitting down to eat two or three times a day. Instead of doing this, you should eat all throughout the day – small, healthy meals. This will keep you from being tired, and it will even keep you much thinner than if you eat only three meals.

It is very easy to take steps that will ensure that you are not feeling tired. All it takes is a few small adjustments, and your body can start to feel a whole lot better!