So, I was so excited about all the new Zero sodas coming out, because they tasted so much better than the old diet formulas, and no calories, yo! Mountain Dew Spark was my beverage of choice, and I could get them on sale and always had cold Mountain Dew on tap in my water bottle.
Two summers ago I started having hip flexor problems after I would skimboard with my kids. I chalked it up to just tight muscles, and tried all sorts of stretches and exercises. This last summer, there were days where right after skimboarding that I was in a LOT of pain in the inner hip area. I actually had to stop skimboarding.
A couple months ago, my wife saw a reel going around where there was a woman who suffered a lot from arthritis, and had been able to lessen the pain by eliminating diet Coke. She said “maybe that is your problem” and I was like “yeah right, there’s no way” but knowing my wife to be wise I began to not drink my sodas. I went two weeks, and didn’t really notice a whole, lot – maybe feeling better because of the placebo effect.
Then on a Saturday, I took a Mountain Dew Zero with me on our date for lunch. I drank it, not really thinking of it. Later that evening I was having pain in my glutes on my right side. I still didn’t make the connection. I had a Fresca the next night, and laid down for a nap. When I woke up my hips were on fire. I then made the connection. Aspartame causes inflammation in me. While it may not for everyone, it definitely did in me.
So, I have quit eating or drinking anything with aspartame in it. And I feel a LOT better. I still have tight hips that I am working on, but at least they are not on fire all the time. I am not sure is sucralose does the same thing, but I am really hesitant to try because of how much I do not like inflammation.
So, what do I do instead now? Plain water is hard for me to really enjoy. Lemon water is much better, and I’ve now switched to La Croix or other essenced sparkling water, where I add either lemon or lime juice. It’s not Mountain Dew, but I do get to have my bubbles.
Aspartame, who’d of thought?