I used to be addicted to soda. 10 years ago, I was drinking between four and six 20 oz., regular, full flavor Coca-Cola’s a day, every day. I always had a twelve pack of cans in the refrigerator at home and you could almost always find me with a bottle when I was in the car. I had a serious problem and it wasn't until my girlfriend (my future wife whom I had just met) said "you are killing yourself with as much soda as you're drinking". We talked about it and she had done her research. Studies had started coming out about the dangers of high fructose corn syrup and I was sold...no more regular Coca-Cola for me! So what did I do? Of course, I switched to Diet Coke! I was so used to consuming so much soda that I just switched over. Sure it tasted horrible for the first 3 months, but I saw it as a "healthier" option than regular Coke. I stuck with it and soon I didn't mind the taste.
So then I was a serious Diet Coke drinker for about 5 years after that. I loved the burn of the phosphoric acid as I swallowed it and I didn't mind the occasional stomach ache I got after drinking it. Something about the whole thing had me hooked! In late 2005 I started chiropractic school and took some of my first nutrition classes... I couldn't believe what I was learning! I won't get into it too much here because of the limited space, but I felt like everything I had been eating and drinking was going to lead me to an early death! I couldn't believe that this information wasn't public knowledge. I found out that a big culprit in the increase of chronic disease was artificial sweeteners. And they are everywhere! It wasn't easy, but my wife and I immediately stopped drinking diet sodas and stopped consuming anything that had artificial sweeteners in it. I will post a good resource at the end of this post, but briefly, this is what aspartame and other artificial sweeteners can lead to:
Birth Defects
Find out what's happening in Martinezfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Brain Cancer
Diabetes
Find out what's happening in Martinezfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Emotional Disorders
Epilepsy/Seizures
Neuronal (brain cell) death by over excitement
So what is the alternative? That's a good question. What I did was switch to drinking club soda or seltzer water. It still gave me the burn I was looking for, without ingesting the aspartame and phosphoric acid and all the other stuff that's in Coke. It also took some getting used to, but after a while it was wonderful. For the caffeine replacement, try teas or coffee (in moderation).
There is a lot of information on this topic. My suggestion is that when you make any decision regarding your health, you make an informed, educated decision. Please don’t hesitate to email me with questions.
Check out this link for more information:
http://www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/index.htm
Dr. Mark
