Day 11 - If It's Good For You, It Can't Possibly Taste Good, Too

It's an axiom that applies to so many foods.  If it's good for you, then it can't possibly taste good, too.  And if it tastes absolutely wonderful, then most assuredly, it is very, very bad for you.

I give you bacon.  Universally acknowledged to be the best tasting food product on the planet.  I have happy vegetarian friends whose Kryptonite just happens to be bacon.  After years of eating a plant-based diet, they smell bacon and long for the days when they used to eat meat.  It tastes so good, but it's oh-so bad for a person's health.  It packs an amazing amount of fat, cholesterol, nitrates, and sodium, all into one crispy little strip of heaven.  In truth, bacon is probably the devil in disguise.   Now, there's a theory no one is trying to prove.  And cream cheese is the devil's handmaiden.  Just saying.

On the opposite end of the spectrum we have green tea.  Calming, soothing, noble green tea.  The health benefits are numerous.  Studies say it fights cancer and heart disease.  Other studies say that it can lower cholesterol, burn fat, prevent diabetes and stroke, and stave off dementia.  It's even thought to suppress the appetite.  Green tea just might be the fountain of youth.  The strange thing about about green tea is that I actually love it!  I can drink it all day long and never feel like I'm being forced to do it.  I drink so much green tea that I had to place a big order with Walmart to get my favorite brand.

I drop a few of the oversize bags into a gallon pitcher, fill it with the hottest tap water I can, and let it sit on the counter until it cools enough to put in the fridge.  (Make sure to buy a pitcher that is BPA-free.) With green tea ready and chilled, it's much easier to avoid soft drinks.  It's quite clear that my consumption of diet soda was bad for me.  But what has been so surprising is how easily I've substituted iced green tea for Fresca and my all-time go-to soft drink, Diet Dr. Pepper.

Another great tea that comes in oversize bags for iced tea brewing is Sport Tea.  While the Tazo is flavored with a hint of mint, Sport Tea is very citrusy.

     

There's no reason why I can't drink a diet soda.  It's fat-free, cholesterol-free, sugar-free.  But I do suspect that the caffeine and the sodium and the acid might have had a lot to do with my problems sleeping.  For now, I'm drinking green tea -- and sleeping much better.