Soda alternative: How about water?

OK, there's no way to sugarcoat this: Soda pop is bad for you, and a lot of the alteratives you're thinking about aren't much better. The best drink is water, with black coffee and tea right up there. But you knew that, right?

Diet soda drops the calories from about 150 to near zero, but the acid still eats the enamel off your teeth, said Dr. Donald Hensrud, head of preventive medicine at Mayo Clinic. Diet pop often leads to weight gain, apparently tricking the brain into craving more calories. Many unsweetened fruit juices have as many or more calories than soda. Same with energy drinks and beer. Here's how the calories in 12 ounces of soda stack up against other drinks: