Good News: Americans Are Drinking Less Soda Than Ever Before

Last week, we reminded you that one 20-ounce bottle of cola contains 2.5 days' worth of sugar. The good news? According to Gallup, Americans are actually trying to avoid drinking soda more than ever before. Over 63 percent of Americans polled this month say that they try to avoid drinking soda, as opposed to 51 percent who avoided the carbonated sugary drink in 2004.

If you're still not convinced, check out The Daily Meal's 10 Reasons You Should Never Drink Soda

There was even more of a jump from 2002 to 2004, when less than half of Americans (41 percent) thought about avoiding soda in their diets.

So does this mean the downfall of soda? It certainly seems like lawmakers are trying to push in that direction, with laws in New York and San Francisco looking to tax and even ban sugary drinks.

But the key here is the word "avoid." In 2012, Gallup did a similar poll, and found that nearly half of Americans said that they drink at least one glass of soda per day. But it does seem that we are at least starting to be aware of our sugary drink intake, even if we aren't acting upon it. Americans are also trying to cut down on sugar in general, with 52 percent of people polled saying that they avoid sugar, up from 43 percent in 2002.

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Joanna Fantozzi is an Associate Editor with The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter@JoannaFantozzi