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I'm a 29 year old pop lover... I have 3-4 cans (12 fl oz) per day of Mtn Dew or Pepsi. I know I need to cut back on all the sugar.

What types of drinks can serve as a tasty replacement that can appease my desire for these super sugary drinks?

I'm certain someone out there has been in my shoes, needing to find an alternative.

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    I make iced green tea using Luzianne iced green tea bags (2 bags per direction). These are larger tea bags made for making a pitcher of iced green tea. Make at night leave in fridge to get cold. [then put in smaller containers to carry with] I sweeten with Stevia. This still gives me a little caffeine. Good luck with your goal to reduce the soda. You will probably have to slowly wean yourself off them. Not easy but worth it imo.
    – Gordon
    May 23 '18 at 20:54
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    Welcome to Health.SE! For a number of reasons outlined in this meta post, we can not, and will not, give personal medical advice. If you have a question regarding your personal health, you should see a doctor. For further information on how this site is supposed to work, what is on-topic or not, you can take the tour, visit the How to Askpage and Medical Sciences Meta. This post explains question closure.
    – Carey Gregory ♦
    May 23 '18 at 21:43
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    @CareyGregory How is this personal medical advice? The OP is not diabetic. The OP does not mention that he has a medical problem at all. Rather, his core question is: what are some alternatives to soda? Perhaps he should edit leaving off the bit that his parents have diabetes? Omit all references to diabetes?
    – Gordon
    May 23 '18 at 22:33
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    @Gordon That was my thought at first glance, but when you boil the question down it's asking for advice on how to avoid diabetes. Delete all the text about his parents and diabetes and then it becomes a matter of opinion, which is also off topic. There's probably a way to ask the question but adam needs to read the links I provided and reformulate it to fit the site.
    – Carey Gregory ♦
    May 24 '18 at 0:20
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    The edit changed the question from a request for medical advice to an opinion poll.
    – Carey Gregory ♦
    May 25 '18 at 1:50
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You have a job that requires concentration. The caffeine and sugar in the soda provide quick concentrated "brain food". I am not passing judgement on sugar and caffeine. I eat both of these things myself, but in moderation. So you are asking for alternatives.

Why don't you schedule an appointment with your doctor? Discuss your situation and family history with your doctor. Also ask the doctor about some longer lasting food/beverage alternatives. The doctor may refer you to a registered dietician for a consultation.

You may have to move away from "tasty", because I doubt you are really seeking good taste (super-concentrated taste) in the beverage; what you are probably really seeking is the quick concentration and energy that sugar-caffeine provide. I have mentioned green tea sweetened with stevia. You might also discuss with the doctor the bottled water "Gerolsteiner". Yes, a form of bottled water! Remember water? No, it will not taste as good as soda. :)

I don't know if what I have said constitutes medical advice or not according to the rules of this site. I am sure the mods will alert or remove if my answer crosses the line. I want to follow the rules here, so if the mods feel that this answer should be removed, then they should feel free to remove it. What you are ideally seeking is hydration and slower burning, but substantial, foods overall.

P.S. Regarding other preventive measures, see: "Our recent human studies indicate that consuming roughly one half of a teaspoon of cinnamon per day or less leads to dramatic improvements in blood sugar, cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides." https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/docs/cinnamon-health-benefits/research/

"However, not all studies have shown positive effects of cinnamon, and type and amount of cinnamon, as well as the type of subjects and drugs subjects are taking, are likely to affect the response to cinnamon. In summary, components of cinnamon may be important in the alleviation and prevention of the signs and symptoms of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular and related diseases." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2901047/

Note: cinnamon, not cinnamon-sugar!

Type of cinnamon: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.peoplespharmacy.com/posts/which-cinnamon-is-better-for-blood-sugar

So getting some cinnamon in the diet could also be something to discuss with your doctor.

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