Dr. Pepper, how I love thee. How may I count the ways? The sultry color when it's in a glass of ice; the fizziness as it goes down your throat; the 23 different flavors that combine to make a great tasting pop. There's too many to count.Uh, yeah. I LOVE Dr. Pepper, but if there's none to be found, most any pop (soda) will do. I've consumed Dr. Pepper regularly since I started college. My habit soon became the only "liquid" I would drink. I have been to the point where I have had six 20 oz bottles a day, but my "average" is usually sustained at three.
At one point, about eight years ago, I decided the reason I was so heavy was because of the pop so I switched to Diet Dr. Pepper. That really didn't change much.
Then there was the big reveal about how bad artificial sweeteners are for your body, so I switched back to full-on sugar. Well, that didn't help anything either.
I've tried to quit drinking it about four times now. I'll do really good for a few weeks and then a stressful event will occur or I'll cave into my craving and BAM!, I'm back off the wagon.
There's three things about pop that I think are issues:
1.) The caffeine is addictive. This doesn't really need to be explained, does it? I've tried
switching to non-caffeinate pop like Sprite or 7-Up, but after only a couple days, I
can feel the difference. I'm dragging and always tired.
2.) The high-fructose corn syrup is addictive. This is something I've just figured out.
Pour some sugar into me, and a few hours later I have a headache and I'm craving
more.
3.) The artificial sweetener is more addictive than the HFCS. See #2.
4.) MY OPINION - The carbonation is addictive. I've tried to switch to non-carbonated,
caffeinated drinks and they just don't have the punch, even the ones that have HFCS.
The thing is, I can't have it in the house. I can't be around it at dinner. I can't be around it when I'm at somebody's house. IF it's an option for me, I WILL CHOOSE IT EVERYTIME. Denying it is a serious battle. I can go a little bit and talk myself out of it but as soon as I allow myself one, then it's over. I'll let myself have it over and over. And I can't seem to control myself to only have one. If they're there, I'll drink them.
And I'm fairly certain if I keep it up, it will kill me.
*SPOILER* This will sound gross.
I can smell it when I go to the bathroom. There's a difference in my urine. Pop puts too much sugar in my system and it dumps into my urine and it smells different. (I am aware what that implies). When I don't imbibe, the smell goes away.
I get kidney stones when I only consume pop. I have only ever had one stone that has put me in the hospital. And boy, did it ever cause problems. I was pregnant with Stephanie and I had to have a stint (a straw in my ureter) put in. The doctor told me my ureters were scarred so it wasn't the first stone I'd ever had. It wasn't because of the pop per se that I got that stone. The doctor put me on Macrobid long term to manage a reoccurring bladder infection. What we didn't know at the time was I was allergic to the medication. We assumed I was throwing up because of the pregnancy. It made me severely dehydrated, which in turned caused the stone. It was a few years later when I took the drug again when the allergy was discovered. That doesn't excuse the pop. When I drink exorbitant amounts, I become dehydrated and then start the cycle.
*SPOILER* Another gross subject.
It changes the pH of my gut, causing major issues. This sounds odd, but with my strong chemistry background, it makes perfect sense. There is Celiac disease in my family and it has been thought before that I have symptoms of it. But they're light. They don't happen every time I have gluten. Blood tests I've had show negative for Celiac. I assumed I may just have "Celiac-lite", a type that didn't show on blood tests. Nope. It's the SUGAR. I noticed this a couple weekends ago when I went to a wedding reception. I had a piece of cake with a TON of icing (what is the deal with that anyway?). I hadn't had anything desert-like (or pop for that matter) for about three weeks. Later that evening, I was in the bathroom with loose stools, just like the symptoms of Celiac I am assumed to have. I attribute this to pH. When I have things that aren't acidic, my stools go the other way. Also, when I drink a lot of pop or have a lot of sugar, I have pain in my lower bowel. My doctor diagnosed it as diverticulitis. But, like the Celiac symptoms, it goes away when I don't have a lot of acidic foods.
:/
Yeah, yeah. I see it all. It's clearly in front of me. But, try to tell me this when the next craving hits.....
PS. Since Tyson's work hours have been dropped again (about a month now), we haven't been able to afford my addiction. I have quit cold-turkey. Thus, all of these amazing epiphanies. However, I have quit before, only to run to the quickie-mart to grab a fresh bottle. This is truly my bane.
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