The Dangers of Coke (and Diet Coke)

Have you ever wondered what happens in your body when you drink a Coke, or a Diet Coke? This is something that most people probably don't spend much time thinking about. But take a minute to think about it now. Do you love Coke? Do you drink it daily? Did you know that the word "Coke" is the second most recognized word in the WORLD, right behind "ok?" Coke is popular everywhere, but it is consumed most frequently by Americans. Read on to learn what happens in your body when you drink this popular beverage and it's skinnier counterpart, Diet Coke, and what you can do to help cut out the Coke.

Coke is loaded with sugar, caffiene, food coloring, and lots of chemicals. There's more sugar in coke than you can naturally disolve in water because of the way it is processed, and the chemical composition. Don't believe me? Try mixing 10 teaspoons of sugar into 8 ounces of water and see what happens. You'll have a pile of undisolved sugar sitting on the bottom of your glass.

The ingredients in Coke are combined in such a way that your body doesn't realize how much sugar it's drinking in the moment. Shortly after drinking your Coke, your blood sugar increases, which makes you feel high, and also releases insulin. This helps your body turn all of that extra sugar into fat. Meanwhile, the caffeine is hitting your system and adding to your high. Unfortunately, once the caffeine and sugar are gone, you crash--feeling worse than before you started. Coke also works to deprive your body of nutrients. To learn more about what happens in your body when you drink a Coke, click here.

Think Diet Coke is better? Think again...

Growing up, I never drank much soda. We didn't keep it in our house, my parents rarely drank it. Soda was a special treat for special occasions. I managed to keep my soda intake to a minumum until graduate school. Then everything changed. I shared an office with friends who were addicted to Diet Coke. We worked long hours. Diet soda was always in supply, and before long I always had a Diet something in my hand. It got to the point where the sound of a Coke opening made me feel relaxed and happy. I had myself convinced that drinking that much Diet Coke wasn't that unhealthy--after all, there's no calories--so it's kind of like drinking water, only it tastes better, right?

WRONG!

Unfortunately, the sugar content is only part of the reason Coke is unhealthy. The rest of the factors are the same for both Coke and Diet Coke. Plus, Diet Coke is made with artificial sweeteners (usually Aspartame, although there's a Splenda version available now too), which carry their own set of potential health problems. For more about the effect of Diet Coke on your body, click here.

So what can you do if you're addicted to Coke like I was? I tried several times to cut out the Diet Coke with varying success. Usually, I wound up feeling sluggish and having a headache. If you go cold-turkey on Coke and all caffeine-containing beverages, and you're used to drinking several a day, you are likely to have a similar result. I had cut back to one a day, but still felt sluggish. It wasn't until I started taking vitamins that I was able to break the habit. For me, it was the combination of AmeriSciences Sleep, Energy, and Head Start that did the trick. Not only did I not feel sluggish and headachy, I had more energy than I had had in a long time. Energy that lasted throughout the day, with no crash. And I woke up feeling more refreshed. One of the keys is a healthy dose of B Vitamins. To find out how you can get free samples of these products and 10% off your first order, e-mail me at theameriskeptic@gmail.com.

Step one: using the product: AmeriSciences Sleep, Energy, Head Start, and Slim

Our sample pack has four products in it: AmeriSciences Sleep, Energy, Head Start, and Slim. We are supposed to take a packet of Sleep before bed, one Energy with a Head Start in the morning, the other Energy after lunch, and a Slim half an hour before each meal. I'm still trying to do the no coffee thing so that I know how well the products are working. I'm also avoiding Diet Coke. I would have expected it to be much more difficult than it has been. In the past my attempts to give up coffee and Diet Coke have ranged from getting severe headaches to having my boss kindly suggest that I start drinking them again because I was so zoned-out. So the fact that I've been able to cut back without getting a headache or feeling like a zombie is impressive. My goal is to go the whole week without coffee or Diet Coke.

Unlike the other products, I don't see any immediate effect from the Slim. I'm told it takes about a week to notice benefits from the Slim, and they no longer include it in the sample packs for that reason. I look it up and see a testimonial from a girl saying that she was able to lose weight using free samples of Slim her doctor gave her, so maybe it does take time. The nice thing is that I don't feel jittery from taking these products, unlike many other energy and weight loss supplements.

Not a morning person: AmeriSciences Sleep, Energy, and Head Start. Day 1.

Tuesday morning-

I can't say that I slept better or more soundly last night. Strangely, I do feel sort of well-rested. I can't remember the last time I felt well rested in the morning. Especially lately. It's gotten to the point where my morning coffee doesn't do anything for me anymore, and my consumption of other caffienated beverages has been on the rise. I like to keep my Diet Coke intake to one a day, and that's been creeping up. So this is a nice change. I still want my coffee, but Kirk asks me to try the AmeriSciences Energy and Head Start instead. In order to see if it really works, he kindly requests that I forego my coffee. Ugh. He only has one of each, so we split an Energy packet (one pill each) and a Head Start.

Head Start is a powdered drink packet you add to your water, kind of like Crystal Lite single serve packets. It tastes kind of like lemon-lime Gatorade. I hate Gatorade. You cannot get me to drink gatorade. The mere thought of it makes me cringe! And I particularly hate the lemon-lime flavor. But I promised to give this a *real* try, so I choke down my half. Between the Sleep, Energy, and Head Start, I'm not fighting the urge to fall asleep on my way to work. I don't feel the need for coffee, but I do stop at Starbucks for a green tea latte. I feel more alert throughout the day, but I still feel like I'm dragging a bit.

I take the other Sleep packet before bed.