Diet Coke

There is a lot going around on facebook about Diet Coke and the affects it has on you.  For a long time, I chose to ignore those posts.  I LOVED Diet Coke.  And felt like, there had to be alot worse things out there that I could be putting in my body.  I wasnt addicted to any of those, so I must be good.  :)

And then, I started to feel differently.  I still didnt read any of those posts.. but I just started thinking that it might be best if I gave up Diet Coke. I am clearly, not the most healthy person in the world.  And I would like to be MORE healthy for my family.  I thought it was a good place to start.  I did not WANT to.  I LOVED Diet Coke.  I contacted a fellow OBU alum, who is very health conscious.  She works daily to help people get in better shape and lead a healthy life style.  I asked her opinion.  

She gave me some great advice, and then sent me a link to this article.  I suggest you read it as well, if you are on the fence about giving up diet sodas.  Some interesting excerpts from this article are:

Made from L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanyl-methyl-ester, aspartame is 200 times as sweet as sugar and contains negligible calories. Once in the human body, aspartame breaks down into phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol. Methanol is a wood alcohol poison that, when heated above 86 degrees Fahrenheit (the human body temperature is 98.6 degrees), converts to formaldehyde. Aspartame is also an excitotoxin that builds up in the brain, and can excite brain neurons to the point of cell death.

(REMEMBER THIS ONE!) Made from a modified sugar molecule, sucralose is supposed to pass through the body unabsorbed. Because sucralose is relatively new in the market still, its long-term effects have not been measured. Some evidence1 suggests sucralose may cause migraines, gastrointestinal issues, and thymus gland damage. Sucralose may also intensify sugar cravings, increase appetite, and trigger insulin release.  

Studies show that although diet soda has no caloric value, it may have an impact on insulin similar to sugar ingestion. This is most likely due to the cephalic phase insulin response in the brain. When you taste the sweet in diet soda, your body perceives it as sugar and causes the pancreas to release insulin just as it would if you were consuming actual sugar.

Seriously, read the article.

So, my hope was that if I stopped drinking diet coke, I would lose a few lbs.  And maybe I have lost some- its not a HUGE amount.  Definitely other things in my lifestyle have to change, other than stopping the diet coke drinking.

But something else has changed- that I was not expecting.  Let me take you back to my sophomore year in college.  It was the hardest semester of my life (remember when you thought life in college was hard.. ha!).  I was going through Accounting, CIV and Economics.   A few classes with a big work load, not to mention accounting did not come naturally to me at all.  I was highly stressed.  I developed some gasto intestinal issues.  I totally blamed them on stress and my age and gender.  Alot of college aged girls develop these sympotoms.  I totally self diagnosed myself.  Well, those symptoms did not stop after my sophomore year in college. In fact, they got worse.  I never went to the doctor, or took medicine. I kind of just dealt with it.  I prayed alot, and Craig and I kinda figured out routines.  I just figured it was something that I was going to deal with my entire life. 

WELL.. I stopped drinking Diet Coke... and those symptoms immediately went away.  I am not joking.  I have been diet coke free for 2 months now.  And have had literally NO issues.  I am not exaggerating.  If, I can tell this HUGE difference in one outward way of my life.. who KNOWS what has changed on the inside of my body.  Kinda scary. 

I wanted to put my situation out there- I know there are alot of people who are just like how I was.  I NEEDED my Diet Coke.  Think about it.  Who knows what changes you might see in your life too!  :)