For many software developers, grabbing a can of soda is far more natural than grabbing a glass of water. At several companies I’ve worked at previously the employers even stocked the fridges with free soda. So when given a choice between grabbing a can from the fridge or getting a glass and going to the water cooler, often soda was chosen, especially in my case. When I was younger I never gave much thought to how much soda I consumed, but definitely in the last few years I’ve been more conscious of just how many bottles of diet soda I go through. I remember a period of time where I would ...

As I mentioned a few days ago, I decided to try giving up Splenda to see if that helps my stomach out at all. Splenda is a sugar substitute (technically called Sucralose), and it’s chemically similar to sugar, although it has a few chlorine atoms added on which makes it mostly indigestible. Unfortunately, since most sugar substitutes essentially can’t be processed by the body, they can sometimes cause some distress as they pass through. At the top of that list are certain sugar alcohols (which are used in gum and lots of chocolates), which sometimes have a strong laxative affect. I came up ...