One of my theories on life, is that diet soft drink, in particular Diet Coke and Coke Zero, are going to be the nicotine of my generation.
I believe that in the years to come, it will be revealed that big corporations have been aware of the addiction and health issues connected with phenylalanine and that they are equally as detrimental to health as nicotine. And, that like nicotine, in the race for the mighty buck, companies turned a blind eye to the health risks (maybe even hiding them under the carpet) and continued to financially benefit from people's addictions.
Let's face it, a chemicals that make a sweet drink free of calories and the additional caffeine cannot possibly be good. In fact, a doctor that my mother saw a couple of years ago, said that Coke (despite it's sugar levels) is preferable to the diet options which he considered paramount to poison.
Don't get me wrong, I actually like the stuff. In fact, I would almost admit to a slight addiction myself. I crave it as a quick pick-me-up in the slump of my work afternoon, and I get a headache if I don't have one. It is probably my drink of choice when I go out, as I don't often drink alcohol. I don't drink a lot of it, but regardless, knowing it can't possibly be good for me, I should have given it up years ago.
The final straw (ha ha) was an article I saw on tv recently where a young woman was talking of her addiction to Coke Zero. She drank 70 (yes SEVENTY) litres every week. That's 10 litres every single DAY! Crazy!
She can't even remember the last time she drank water. She admits to bad moods and headaches if she doesn't drink it. In fact, when her partner didn't buy it one week, she hit him in her fury!
The health official on the show (asked for his professional opinion), said that the additives in the drink, had the worrying side effect of disturbing the absorption of calcium into the body and thus will have a serious effect on her future bone density. And other side effects too including weight gain!!! Seriously!
So why am I drinking this stuff? Well, I have been asking myself the same thing for months without any reasonable answer, and so on May 31st, I drank my last Coke Zero. I'm going cold turkey. And on June 2nd I'm doing ok. No hissy fits or cold sweats. Mostly I'm feeling a little bit pleased with myself. A bit like giving up cigarettes for a smoker.
But now, I am looking for an alternative, because I still would like to have something with a bit of fizz sometimes. I have heard of a brand called
Zevia which is a natural diet soft drink alternative and I have a friend who says it's good.
Any other ideas anyone? I would love to hear about them.
