Hello, my name is Noelle... and I am addicted to Diet Coke... literally. And I am not alone.
You may wonder what the harm is in being addicted to Diet Coke is. I mean, no calories, no sugar, no fat... so who cares. Well, diet coke (and diet sodas in general) are actually not so great for you.
Caffeine
Caffeine is a stimulant and diuretic. And it is VERY addictive. Withdrawal causes rebound vasodilation and hence those nasty headaches. Caffeine causes a net loss of water, so you should stick to the 2 glasses of water for each serving of caffeine rule-of-thumb. Increased caffeine intake is also a risk factor for osteoporosis.
Aspartame
This artificial sweetener breaks down into methanol and formaldehyde in your body. Yes, formaldehyde, the stuff they preserve dead bodies with. Some studies suggest that this may get into your fat cells and make it harder to break them down. That's totally not cool. Aspartame may also cause migraines. It certainly does to my husband. Artificial sweeteners in general trick your brain into craving sweets. Also not cool.
Acid
The acid is soda increased risk of osteoporosis and in all-around bad for your teeth. Soda is a major culprit in the increased enamel breakdown of our generation.
Diet Coke is not helping my weight issues. All medical science still isn't sure about the effect of diet soda, it certainly isn't good for you. So, I am giving it up. I shall rid myself of this dragon on my back.
I went all last week without Diet Coke cold turkey (5 long, hard days). The first thing I wanted on my free day was a glorious sip of one... and oh my was it glorious. I felt like what druggies wanting there next hit must feel when they finally get it... it was euphoric. In the end, I had 4 Diet Cokes that day. Not too bad.
I've now been Diet Coke free for 5 days. Free day is tomorrow. I'll try to limit it to 3.
3 comments:
Aspartame safety
I just wanted to see if your statements were true, this was the second link that came up during a search for "aspartame formaldehyde" in google
What Wikipedia says
I agree you probably shouldn't drink it, but maybe it isn't as bad as it sounds? I think the acidic nature of soda is probably worse for you than the aspartame. I had regular stomach aches when I was drinking 40oz or more a day of Mountain Dew.
In my opinion, the acid and caffeine are indeed the worst part. So I agree with you in that respect.
As for the snopes link. I believe the carcinogenic potential is not clinically significant, but also not something to ignore. As for the google link, yes formaldehyde is a normal byproduct of metabolism, but we talking about additional formaldehyde here. It's like saying it is okay to inhale carbon dioxide because it is a normal product of cellular metabolism.
Bottom-line, man-made chemicals are generally not beneficial to your body and should be avoided.
Quit trying to rationalize your own addiction to Diet Mountain Dew ;-)
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