People who drink soda regularly are at greater risk for high blood pressure and obesity, while some believe coffee to be more nutritious as it has less sugar than soda; some even claim it can burn fat. Unfortunately, both coffee and soda contain calories – and without taking time to read labels properly they could contain harmful sugar additives that contribute to serious health concerns.

Coffee’s caffeine can also increase heart rate and blood pressure, so if you’re an avid soda consumer, switching to caffeine-free beverages such as water or unsweetened iced tea may help break the cycle of cravings and addiction. If that is too difficult, try cutting down by increasing water or unsweetened iced tea consumption instead, milk with its lower calories and calcium content or non-dairy alternatives such as soy, almond, coconut and rice as replacement beverages.

Along with calories, many beverages contain unhealthy additives such as artificial sweeteners and food dyes that may interfere with mood, digestion and cause weight gain. Furthermore, caffeine increases your risk for high blood pressure and cholesterol.

A 12 oz can of popular dirty soda from chains like Swig or restaurants like Taco Bell typically contains between 200 and 440 calories depending on its variety, while adding just one tablespoon of coffee creamer, commonly found in “diet soda”, adds an additional 5 grams, or one teaspoon, of sugar to your drink. A search on how much creamer should be added yields recommendations of anywhere between one splash to four tablespoons!

To make soda healthier, replace some of its sugary creamer with zero-sugar drinks such as Zevia made with safe stevia extract or no-cal flavored waters such as Silk Natural Bliss or Chobani’s no-calorie water flavored varieties. Or switch out for diet/low cal options like Hulu’s “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” Dr Pepper or Orange Crush which have similar flavors at a fraction of the cost while having few calories per serving – great options that work great!

While black coffee may be healthier than soda, coffee with sugar or sweetened creamers still contains more calories. You can reduce how much sugar goes into your coffee by choosing no-sugar creamers, cutting down how much you add or opting for unsweetened black coffee instead. For flavored drinks that contain artificial sweeteners such as sucralose, stevia extract or acesulfame potassium instead of high fructose corn syrup as sweeteners.