Mid-September 2010
It was killing me!
I could feel it in my head...every time I gave in to that 32 (or 64) ounces of chilly goodness. My brain felt fuzzy. I've known for year's that aspartame (a.k.a. Nutrasweet) is HORRIBLE for ANYONE...not just people with sensitivities to it.
Just google aspartame & a whole slew of articles that describe side effects, how the FDA let slide bad testing, how the approval was rushed through after being denied for years & how the substance is banned in most of the world's nations that we would consider "developed".
But not here...no, in the United States you can drink gallons of it with the assurance that it is "the most tested food substance that has ever been approved by the FDA". What they don't tell you is that this so called testing was flawed & in independent studies causes weight GAIN and several side effects to your brain that are downright nasty. But don't listen to me...do your own research.
As you're reading, the one thing to keep in mind is that once you intake aspartame (and don't fool yourself...Splenda does the EXACT same thing!), it breaks down in your body as GRAIN ALCOHOL...which converts to formaldahyde...that's right...formaldahyde...the stuff they preserve dead things in. And just in case you're wondering...yeah, formaldahyde in ANY form isn't good for your body!
So this was to by my latest attempt to give up Diet Coke. I've done it before (3-4 times for as much as 6 months), but have always gone back...one sip...& I'm addicted again. And ANY product where numerous people have told me they're addicted, can NOT be good for us, right? I was even in a Bible study years ago & when we were asked what we want Heaven to be like, one woman said, 'I don't care as long as they have Diet Coke!' I laughed...but it's sad that my days were filled with thoughts of how I could go out and get a fountain Diet...it had to be fountain! I'd even send my husband out specifically to get one. Ugh!
Finally, I'd had enough! Tuesday, September 14th, we went to a Cincinnati Reds game & I had my LAST Diet Coke. I woke up the next day resolved to kick the habit.
The first thing I did was go to our local Kroger and buy some Hansen's Natural Root Beer and other sodas that are sweetened with natural cane sugar. Pepsi now even has some "throwback" Dr. Pepper & Mountain Dew sweetened with sugar instead of High Fructose Corn Syrup (another evil you should reasearch...or better yet, watch the documentary King Corn) . Pepsi's Sierra Mist is now also only sweetened with sugar. Doing this truly DID help my body not crave Diet Coke the way I had when giving it up in the past. BUT...I did put on a few pounds...which I could NOT afford to do.
Slowly, I weaned myself away from the sugared pop too. Last week, I wanted to have some root bear with popcorn...bought a 6 pack of Hansen's so everyone in the family could have one & I didn't even drink half of it before I had to give it to someone else.
It wasn't always as easy as I make it sound. For instance, when I see the golden arches, it STILL crosses my mind to pull in and get a large Diet Coke. But overall, this has been my easiest transition away from diet...ever. One thing that may have helped was that I avoided any gums, mints, medications, etc that could have aspartame in them as well. It's in a LOT of products, so if you try to get away from it...you HAVE to read labels.
And to people who object to eating better because it's too expensive...my first response is that the $30-60 a month we spent on pop can now be used on fruits, vegetables or even my favorite splurge now...Chipotle's guacamole & chips...yum!
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