Decent diet/light sodas

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My father is both diabetic and a survivor of multiple heart attacks, so he's forcing himself to do without Coke and Pepsi as much as possible. I'm always on the lookout for a diet and/or decaf soda for him that doesn't taste like battery acid.

Likewise, I'm a soda junkie -- I'll drive many miles out of my way to get my hands on something new. (A recent trip upstate resulted in the acquisition of several bottles of Moxie, which isn't nearly as nasty as many make it out to be. It's like black licorice in soda form.) I know that sodas in general aren't exactly nutritious or good for me, so I have an interest in finding ones that aren't total disasters.

Much to my surprise, Diet Coke With Lime isn't bad at all. The usual aspartame taste is there, but the lime flavor not only overcomes it, it actually complements it to a decent degree. (I've heard Diet Coke With Lemon described as "carbonated lemon Pledge in liquid form", however.) It's caffeinated, but it's a diet drink I'd actually order in a restaurant without wincing.

Most of the time, he drinks Diet 7-Up, or Diet Coke/Pepsi in restaurants. I've tried all of them and don't know how he can stand them.

The new low-carb sodas are... okay. C2 tastes like a 50-50 mix of Coke and Diet Coke, with enough of the Diet Coke aftertaste to be aggravating. Pepsi Edge is closer to regular Pepsi in taste, just "off" enough to be noticeable but still drinkable.

Caffeine-Free Coke and Pepsi are both surprisingly good; unfortunately, both are hell to find in restaurants. (Caffeine when I'm tired can be a trigger for my migraine headaches, though I haven't had that problem in a while). I curse PepsiCo for introducing Sierra Mist, as it replaced 7-Up at most Pepsi-product restaurants and tastes much worse than 7-Up does.

My current favorite is the "365" house-brand Raspberry at Whole Foods Market. $1.99 for a six-pack, and it's pretty much no-everything; no preservatives, no artificial flavors or colors, no caffeine, no sodium, no glutens, no high fructose corn syrup (they use cane sugar). It's still sugary calories, but it's damn tasty and I can avoid the "High fructose corn syrup is turning America into diabetic lardballs" vs. "Aspartame is not fit for human consumption" war while drinking it.

Oh, and my quarterly "whoop whoop" for Reed's Spiced Apple Brew.