I haven't had a fizzy sugar drink in probably the last 30 years by now. One can avoid a lot of this sh** by awareness and changing habits. Takes a bit of determination, but the new 'habit' soon sticks.
Fried herring with chocolate sauce is ok though, actually quite healthy!
I think aspartame (Nutrasweet) is likely to be a big culprit. As soon as I switched to Pepsi with "Natural Sugar" I lost weight.
Agree Nutra Sweet is poison. gave me brain fog, stopped the day after I stopped drinking it. My dad, a chemist, said it is unstable at body temperature and the compounds it breaks down to are dangerous.
but why mess around with Pepsi...sugar is bad.
flavored seltzer is the way to go, zero calories.
once you get used to it, regular soda tastes cloyingly sweet and is unappetizing.