Crap

October 11, 2006 /

Does this mean I have to give up my diet coke addiction? I have a lot of the risk factors for osteoporosis…but on the other hand, I don’t want to turn into one of those people that overreact every time a medical report comes out warning of the dangers of this or that. So if a report says don’t eat butter, I look at the evidence, and try to decide whether or not I’ll eat butter. Generally, my motto is moderation in all things, and you’re fine. But I don’t drink diet coke in moderation. I drink 4 or 5 diet cokes a day. It clears my head and gets me going. I love the bubbles. I love the taste. I can’t switch to cofee, because it hurts my stomach. I don’t do so well with the cutting back. I always backslide. And they’re saying even one cola a day can decrease bone mass. Hmmm.

So, the question is, to quit or not to quit. One option would be to ‘earn’ my cola, by doing extra weight bearing exercises, and adding a bit more calcium to my diet. So if I take my pill, eat a yogurt, and do some yoga, I can have some diet coke. Would that help? Can I wait for the results to come in on this one, or should I not take a risk? (My grandmother broke her hip at 40, but she also dieted a lot and smoked like a chimney, and smoking esp. will deplete your bones of mass.) Would the one counteract the other, and I’m OK? Or is it time to give up my beverage of choice? This quote seems to suggest that I cannot ‘earn’ my soda by diet, but they don’t mention exercise as a factor, which I know it is:

They found that in women, drinking cola was associated with lower bone mineral density at all three hip sites, regardless of age, menopause, total calcium and vitamin D intake, or smoking or drinking alcohol. Women reported drinking an average of five carbonated drinks a week, four of which were cola.

I don’t know. Sigh. What do you think?  To quit, or not to quit?  Should Ted and Maya leave town for a few days while I detox?

15 Comments

  • Py Korry

    October 11, 2006 at 10:48 am

    If you do decide to quit, go slow…

    Day one is your usual intake.

    Each day, decrease that number by one and soon you’ll be drug free. If that’s too fast, then try it a week at a time.

    I’ll buy my plane ticket in the meantime! 😉

  • Heidi

    October 11, 2006 at 11:16 am

    On osteoporosis…There is evidence that a diet high in protein(the meat kind) requires lots of calcium to DIGEST it(the meat) otherwise it is leeched from the bones. Meat is really difficult for our bodies to digest in the first place. I don’t know what the answer is. First wine and now Diet Coke? Geez. Maybe you should take a weekend in a monastery and detox… Maybe we should enjoy life more and worry less? You seem to take good care of yourself and you look pretty darn good for being Cheetos number one fan!

    As Rosalind Russell as Auntie Mame would have said, “Live live live! Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starvin'”.

  • J

    October 11, 2006 at 12:35 pm

    Hey Heidi, Sometimes I feel like the answer is live live live…like the people who live to be 100 by chain smoking and drinking vodka…but then I think, what if they’re right, and I break my hip because of an addiction to something as lame as diet coke? Aren’t there better ways to live? Sigh. I’m stymied. Maybe it’s turning 40 or something. Feeling less invincible than I used to.

    Py, I like your suggestion. I’ll take it slow if I do it…if you need a plane ticket, take Maya too, OK? Why torture the child?

  • Ml

    October 11, 2006 at 9:13 pm

    I agree with the suggestions. I’ve quit coffee several times (why did I ever start up again? who knows…) and the key is to go slooooow. It gives your body time to get used to the depletion better. Cold turkey is the pits, unless it’s in a yummy sandwich after Thanksgiving 🙂

  • Dot

    October 11, 2006 at 11:21 pm

    Well from a fellow diet soda drinker and I drink about the same a day as you….I just don’t know if I can or want to give up one more thing. I want to live a fulfilled life. We don’t know what the future holds for us. Something in the end is gonna get us and I don’t want to be lying in a hospital bed some day wishing I’d enjoyed things more. So, we can moderate, but we should quit all together. We can’t quit you Diet Coke and Sprize Zero!!!! haha

  • Gina

    October 11, 2006 at 11:32 pm

    Maaan. I drink Diet Coke (albeit caffiene free) all the time too.

    I have tried to switch to tea more often, but it only works some of the time.

  • Cherry

    October 12, 2006 at 1:22 am

    Ok, I think its time for you to step away from the TV and the internet (except to blog of course). If we read all there is out there of what we should and shouldn’t do, then we’ll be too worried to live.

    There is simply so much information out there now, that its hard to decide what to do.

  • Amy

    October 11, 2006 at 3:10 pm

    Just say no to the Diet Coke. THere is nothing good for you in that crap. (Of course, there is nothing good for me in hops, and I drink at least a beer a day. But we are not talking about me!)

    Sorry for the news, J–it’s never fun to be “faced with this kind of decision”, as your mom said.

  • Beenzzz

    October 13, 2006 at 6:22 pm

    I’m a diet coke girl myself. Thanks for letting me know about the bone density problem associated with it! YIKES! I guess I’d better start weaning as of NOW!