I thought I asked about this a long time ago, but I couldn't find anything other than a mention of soda, but not exactly this topic: Does soda impair your ability to play Go? I once thought so because when I stopped drinking, my level seemed to spike. But that could have simply been a coincidence.

I quit drinking soda in September and it lasted at least a month or two. I can't really remember when I picked it up again. But I'll admit, I've gone back to guzzling soda.

But I'm thinking of giving it up entirely. Go wasn't my initial reason for this though. I've had other concerns, which aren't important to this topic, but I was wondering if maybe I'll be able to absorb concepts better if my head was clear.

Don't get me wrong, this is probably a silly question, but it was just something I was curious about. If I'm going to reach the level I'm trying to attain, I want to limit the amount of speed bumps as best as possible.

_________________
"I got an idea, an idea so smart my head would explode if I even began to know what I was talking about."
- Peter Griffin

You should consider giving up soda regardless of you go ambitions, or at least switch to diet soda if you haven't already.

Oh No! Better to stop completely. Diet Soda has even more harmful chemicals and carcinogens. If you have to drink soda, drink a non-cola no-diet soda like sprite.
http://www.womentowomen.com/healthyweight/dietsoda.aspx
http://www.livestrong.com/article/210926-ingredients-in-diet-sodas

Maybe it's the caffine or sugar that is causing the OP to lose concentration or something.

_________________
Studying Go in China- http://www.Aaronko.net - My Go Blog

Don't close your eyes or the stones die.

In Go it's not how thick it is, it's what you do with it!

My Kgs Rank Graph

Bad part is, it is diet soda that I drink. But starting tomorrow, I'm just going to stop drinking it altogether. I just wanted to see what people thought on this, and apprently nobody feels the affects diminish go ability. I just remember seeing an article about how caffeine can lower the ability to solve abstract puzzles.

_________________
"I got an idea, an idea so smart my head would explode if I even began to know what I was talking about."
- Peter Griffin

I play just as badly whether I'm drinking coffee or not.

I gave up soda and lost 20lb. YMMV.

I used to drink lots of soda (cola).
Now I drink lots of coffee.
No difference.

I voted yes, just because I think it's a great idea to stop pouring such swill into your body.

_________________
"When you are learning, it is not so important whether you are right or wrong." - Bill Spight

I don't know if it would be a major effect on your daily play, but depending on how you consume it, it's entirely possible that soda leads you to a rush/crash cycle (from sugar, caffeine, etc). In a day long event like a tournament it might be quite noticeable. What I've heard is "best" for your mind if you're looking to keep yourself focused/balanced is actually something along the lines of a sports drink. They might not be particularly healthy for you (depending on what your diet is and whatnot), but they are essentially designed to provide "cheap" energy to your system while causing a minimum of shock to your body chemistry (pH, osmolarity, etc). Whether this is really noticeable to you with your play would be hard to say, I would imagine for some simply breaking their regular routine would throw them off a bit, but it might be worth trying.

full octane is better for you than diet.

diet anything is a terrible food substitute full of awful garbage.

man, in the end, we're all just as dead..
my dad never drank, never smoked, never ran around, died at 44 of liver cancer..
moderation is the key..

_________________
"Hell if you understand everything I said, you’d be me." ~ Miles Davis ~

Amen

_________________
Studying Go in China- http://www.Aaronko.net - My Go Blog

Don't close your eyes or the stones die.

In Go it's not how thick it is, it's what you do with it!

My Kgs Rank Graph

Hmm, just beat by resignation a former ECG 2k (he thinks he's closer to 8k now) with 6 stones while drinking coke. Go figure.

Tea; oolong. Green. Even black are the only beverages worthy of consumption while playing go.

With water, you could've smashed him with 5 stones

_________________
Studying Go in China- http://www.Aaronko.net - My Go Blog

Don't close your eyes or the stones die.

In Go it's not how thick it is, it's what you do with it!

My Kgs Rank Graph

That's exactly what I did yesterday.

I think he's closer to 10k now though. To be fair to him he hasn't played go in 20 years so he's very rusty. He's only had 5 games under his belt since he came back and 3 of them were versus me.

You can play better when you are healthier. Take what you will from that.

Sugar helps restore willpower and decision making capabilities. People have a Willpower pool that gets consumed by doing things that need willpower (like holding hands in icy or scalding hot water and the like) or by locking in decisions (reading out lines of play and the like isn't apparently very costly, it's the act of making the decision that saps your mental endurance). Sleep and sugar regenerate that. Caffeine doesn't, it helps with focusing on routine tasks.

The high/crash cycle from taking in a lot of sugar is bad though. So slow and steady, and you'll be good. Definitely have some kind of sugar booster on hand for a long tournament.

EDIT: And definitely drop the diet bs. Eat/drink the good stuff if you consume anything at all.

It makes me worried that in the absence of research we're having a vote whether or not soft drinks impair our cognitive abilities. It makes me even more worried that dubious sites on the Internet advocate view that such claims are true. Coke contains benzoic acid, which transforms into benzene - a carcinogenic molecule - in the presence of ascorbinic acid (or vitamin C) and heat.

Key here is values. Anything is lethal in high enough dose. Walking through the city, driving a motor vehicle, filling gas tank, etc. all expose us to carcinogens. Risks of soft drinks and other foods are tested by FDA in U.S.

Unfortunately one needs to have education and knowledge of spot all the hoaxes, but there's nothing preventing any person from spreading lies and rumors on the Internet. It is my opinion that we're bent on finding meaning in things around us. Radical claims and conspiracy theories have their charm. We should never forget what the null hypothesis of scientific research is: there is no connection.