There’s a reason nutrition experts recommend drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day while limiting soda -- or better yet, avoiding it altogether. Water is calorie-free and hydrating and the benefits are priceless.

Soda is generally thought to be a nonalcoholic, flavored, carbonated beverage that is commercially prepared and sold.

The levels of some substances in your blood vary substantially, according to when and what you last ate. To control for variability introduced by eating, you must fast for a specific number of hours before certain blood tests.

Soda varieties come with a refreshing fizzy feeling and varieties ranging from light, citrus drinks to strong, dark colas. Unfortunately, compounds contributing to that fizzy feeling and those flavors can have negative effects on your kidneys.

If you’ve gone on a diet, you may have tried switching to diet soda because it has fewer calories. Diabetics will sometimes drink diet soda because it’s made with sweeteners rather than sugar. Just because diet soda doesn’t contain real sugar and has fewer calories, it doesn’t make it healthy.

Diet soda is one of the most controversial beverages around. According to Purdue University, research suggests that there is nothing diet-friendly about such sodas. When compared with regular soda, diet soft drinks seem like healthier selections, because they lack sugar and calories.

When you decide to purchase soda, it is important to know that not all types of soda are created equal. For example, soda that is dark in color is comprised of different substances than clear soda, and can affect the body differently.

The Atkins diet is a low-carbohydrate diet, and although diet sodas generally do not contain any carbohydrates, not all of them are allowed on the Atkins diet. Learning which diet sodas are allowed on the Atkins diet is essential if you are on the diet or considering starting it and plan to drink diet soda.

Club soda is created by infusing water with carbon dioxide. Although the carbon dioxide provides an effervescent carbonation, it only slightly alters the overall nutritional content of the beverage.

The fizzy carbonation of Diet Pepsi makes it an appealing addition to your diet. Unlike traditional Pepsi, which contains calories from sugar, Diet Pepsi is a calorie-free choice, which is available in caffeine or caffeine-free configurations.

When choosing which type beverage to drink, you may be concerned about the health benefits of your choice. While plain water is hydrating and recommended by medical professionals as a preferable choice, diet soda or tea can give you a punch of flavor without adding calories.

Fanta, a Coca-Cola brand, makes a variety of fruit-flavored soda. Although over 180 flavors of Fanta soda exist worldwide, only a small fraction of those flavors are available in the United States.