My Coke Addiction

Hello, 

My name is Tami, and I'm a recovering Diet Coke Addict.

I love McDonald’s Diet Coke, it's my favorite.  You can Google why McDonald’s Diet Coke is better than everyone else’s… it’s true.  Other people agree and McDonald’s gives the middle finger to any other restaurant that wants to sell it.  I love it so much that I have even stopped at subway across the street to get food, and then went across the street through the McD’s drive-thru just to get a large Diet Coke. 

Anyway, I've been taking small steps towards giving up Diet Coke altogether.   I actually had one at lunch today but otherwise can’t remember the last time I drank one.  I feel like crap after drinking it today so I was compelled to write this blog.

I started noticing after lunch, maybe around 1:30-2:00,  I would feel SO tired at my desk.  I would run to the soda machine to get a Diet Pepsi (bleh, not the same… but it’s all they have) and about an hour later I would feel another rush of pure exhaustion.  I mean, I was fighting to barely keep my eyes open.  Eventually I traced it back to the days that I go out for lunch and have a Diet Coke/Pepsi with my meal, and then I proceed to make it worse by having an afternoon soda to get more caffeine in my body because God knows I shouldn’t have coffee at 2:00 in the afternoon…. That’s just crazy.  Right?  Well not as crazy as drinking soda is, it turns out.  Usually, any afternoon dips in energy happen around 3:00ish and can be rectified by a little snack, but not the afternoons after I drink diet soda.  

Not only does Diet Coke make me tired, but I also have noticed that I get hives!  I get so itchy! I take Zyrtec everyday because I always have allergies.  Not always in the form of a runny nose/eyes, but usually in itchy skin/minor hives.  When I drink a Diet Coke, the response is almost immediate.  Again, I always assumed it was because I forgot to take my allergy medicine, and never thought it could be a reaction from Diet Coke but see #5 below!

I googled “Why does Diet Coke make me so tired?” and I got a plethora of results.  I’m not the only one!  There are some really gross facts out there.  Diet Coke can really wreak havoc on your body and you think by drinking “diet” you’re doing yourself a favor.  It’s been about a year that I’ve been trying to scale back since I always knew it wasn’t good for you… but now that I’m reading how BAD it is, I’ve kicked that habit breaking into high gear.  I don’t buy it at work, I don’t bring it along on road trips(maybe THAT’S why I always get so sleepy when I drive for more than an hour!) I’ve never really bought it to have at home, but I sure am putting it on my “do not buy list” now!  I’ve started ordering water with lemon anytime I go to dinner, so I could say I’m on a path to being completely Diet Coke free, but I find myself still craving it every now and then.  Today was one of those days, but I regret it.  Not worth it!  Now I just have to figure out what to order at a bar…  Bacardi Limon and Diet Coke was always my go to drink.  

Here are my top 10 Gross Diet Coke Facts:

1.)    It messes up your metabolism.  While a link to whether diet soda and metabolism is attributed to an ingredient in diet cola or the drinker’s eating habits is unclear, a study shows that even just one diet soda a day is linked to a 34% higher risk of metabolic syndrome.

2.)    It’s bad for your kidneys.  In an 11-year-long Harvard Medical School study of more than 3,000 women, researchers found that diet cola is associated with a two-fold increased risk for kidney decline.  Kidney decline wasn’t associated with sugar-sweetened sodas, and they suspect that the diet sweeteners in the diet colas are responsible.

3.)    Increases risk of being overweight.  A study at the University of Texas Health Science Center found that the more diet sodas a person drank, the greater their risk of becoming overweight.  Drinking just 2 or more cans a day increased waistlines by 500%!!  Artificial sweeteners can disrupt the body’s natural ability to regulate calorie intake making you more likely to overeat.  Your body is tricked into thinking it’s eating sugar and cravings increase.  When waist circumference/belly fat increases, so does the risk of heart disease and diabetes. 

4.)    Cell Damage.  Nearly all diet sodas contain sodium benzoate and/or potassium benzoate.  These are “mold inhibitors” that have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point where they totally inactivate it.  The preservative has been linked to hives, asthma, and other allergic conditions-which I’ve actually suffered from!

5.)    Makes you moody.  As a girl, I don’t need help in this area… Aspartame in Diet Coke can really mess with those who have anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder.  Aspartame is also on the EPA list of potentially dangerous chemicals contributing to neurotoxicity, right under arsenic.  EW.

6.)    It messes with your skin.  Soda lowers your pH levels, which can cause acne and negatively affect your complexion.  We need a high level of alkalinity for our bodies to be healthy and for our complexion to be glowy and radiant.  You want to be radiant?  Ditch the soda.  (I hope it’s that easy!)

7.)    Awful Hangovers.  Cocktails made with diet soda get you drunker, faster because sugar-free mixers allow liquor to enter your bloodstream much quicker than those with sugar, according to a study done by the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Australia.

8.)    Rotting Teeth.  Soda is very acidic.  Wanna know how acidic?  It has a pH of 3.2, Water is 7 (neutral) and battery acid is 1.  This acid dissolves enamel.  Soda drinkers have far greater decay, more missing teeth, and more fillings.

9.)    Reproductive Issues linked to cans.  Soft drink cans are coated with BPA, bisphenol A, an endocrine distruptor which has been linked to everything from heart disease to obesity to reproductive problems. 

10.)  Cancer.  Two contaminants in the caramel coloring used in colas, 2-mthylimidazole and 4-mthylimidazole have been found to cause cancer in animals.  This caramel coloring is purely cosmetic and is un-necessary.  According to California’s strict Prop 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer, just 16 micrograms per person per day of 4-mthylimidazole is enough to pose a cancer threat and most colas contain 200 micrograms per 20 ounces.  Yikes.

Not cool.  I love the taste, but I don't love what it does to my body.  Takes the fizz out of drinking Diet Coke, doesn't it?  Pah ha!  See what I did there?