Whats the real damage done by sugary drinks?

Wanderer2010 · 16-11-2014 5:01pm #1

So i have put on just over 2 stone in a year, and a lot of that is down to my habit of at least 2 cans of coke a day, and on weekends up to 4 cans a day. Plus i have a desk based job and the only exercise i get is about 3 short walks a week - Im so tired after work Im only fit to slob out and watch tv, plus my energy levels are very low. I know in my heart of hearts it cant be good to drink so much coke, but I try to eat a few healthy meals a week (my diet isnt great either - lots of bread and crisps etc), the thing is im almost addicted to it at this stage. I actually get a great high when I drink it and it fizzes my veins and I can feel the rush for a brief few seconds.

When I miss the drink, I get awful headaches, very strong cravings and get very moody with people around me, I have to have it every day at this stage. But I read an article recently stating that sugar damages your hormones, the one that tells your brain you are full, it encourages hard to shift fat and screws up your waistline. Is there anyone here qualified to say these claims are true plus how can you cure yourself of an addiction to Coca Cola? I fear my health will plummet if i dont tackle it but my willpower is so weak I dont know if i can do it!

coffee_cake · 16-11-2014 6:16pm

To be honest it's probably a good portion of why your energy levels are low, in conjunction with the diet.
All I can recommend is going cold turkey. A few weeks of being strictly off it and you'll hardly want to look at it again after as your tastebuds should be readjusted. Stop buying it, replace it with lots of water (lack of may partially be causing the headaches) and get out for a walk most evenings
You'll feel better after a little while of doing this
Try cut down on bread also if you have a lot, you may find it's also making you sleepy

Damage from 4 cans a day? Rotting your teeth and on a fast track to diabetes, I'd guess...

Oryx · 16-11-2014 8:09pm

You want to know how awful it is in hopes it will boost your willpower? Truth is, when it comes to giving up, its going to be tough regardless. But only for a short while, it's not heroin.

You're addicted to a boost of sugar and caffeine. I have read the theories that it messes with your blood sugar, I cant vouch for that, but I can vouch for the fact that you will feel a whole lot better if you give up the fizz and generally clean up your diet. There is no secret to doing that, you have to make the decision and mean it. If you say you can't, try harder!

CaptainAhab · 17-11-2014 4:02pm

I would say that quite likely the reason you are lethargic and have put on weight is due to a poor diet - predominantly the soft drinks but bread and crisps won't help either..

I found that from experience the only way I could cut sugar and junk food out of my diet was to completely cut it out - as even one piece would affect my blood sugar and cause cravings..

If you are willing to learn more I recommend checking out Robert Lustig - The bitter truth on youtube - the message from the video is that yes - soft drinks and sugar certainly do affect your hormones and the hunger sensation.

NoQuarter · 17-11-2014 5:55pm

I used to drink the same amount of it as you, loved it. I too realised the damage it was doing and went cold turkey. After a couple of weeks you wont have a craving for it anymore, and in fact, it genuinely repulses me now. I'd find nothing more disgusting that the thoughts of drinking coke. (Unless there's whiskey mixed in)

ch750536 · 17-11-2014 10:09pm

http://feedfamilyfour.blogspot.ie/

In the above blog I went through cold turkey loss of fizzy drinks & packet snacks. Was odd & yes I got the headaches too. I found quitting caffeine was the way to in the battle as in reality it is a caffeine addiction. Try drinking only water each day. Not only does it curb the crave to drink but it is really healthy. I would drink 3 pints by lunch must days.

Had a huge knock on effect on my diet, my appetite bombed, I was eating <700 calories per day but couldn't even force myself to eat anything. All back to normal now thankfully.

In October I tried fasting, the main issue was still caffeine, which I found very enlightening.

November I am skipping every 2 hours that I am not outdoors. I only mention this as a fellow office worker. We have to keep our bodies moving.
Over 2 months later I am still fizzy drink & packet snack free.

thegreatiam · 18-11-2014 12:05am

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

So i have put on just over 2 stone in a year, and a lot of that is down to my habit of at least 2 cans of coke a day, and on weekends up to 4 cans a day.

But I read an article recently stating that sugar damages your hormones, the one that tells your brain you are full, it encourages hard to shift fat and screws up your waistline.

Id say you know the answer already but don't want to admit it.

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Is there anyone here qualified to say these claims are true plus how can you cure yourself of an addiction to Coca Cola? I fear my health will plummet if i dont tackle it but my willpower is so weak I dont know if i can do it!

of course you can stop drinking them, you're not addicted. Coke is not addictive you don't need a cure. you have a compulsion, like biting your nails. just stop buying it. in a few days, the compulsion will go away.

the amount of coke you say you drink, and if you're like most coke drinkers you're underestimating it. adds up to over 3000 calories a week. that's a lot of excess calories even on top of a healthy diet. add it to an unhealthy diet and you're probably consuming over 4000+ calories a week more than you need to.

Mr. CooL ICE · 18-11-2014 1:11pm

Don't really have much to add because everything above is good info.

I've never been addicted to fizzy drinks, but took plenty of sugar in my tea and coffee for a long time. When I stopped adding sugar, I could actually for the first time ever tell the difference between Barrys and Lyons. I have also become an insufferable coffee snob because I can tell the difference between instant and ground brewed coffee, whereas it all tasted the same to me with 2 sugars. Regardless of health, reducing sugar seemed to wake up some dormant taste buds for me

groovyg · 20-11-2014 4:30pm

Thats the thing about sugar, you get an instant rush followed by lethargy, hence if your overall diet is full of rubbish then you are not going to be in the mood to do anything after work. When you go home from work do you ever just go out for a walk or jog just to get some fresh air?

A friend of mine was in similar predicament to you drinking 2 of those 250ml bottles of coke every day, he gave it up over the summer months and lost 2 stone. He still has another 2 or 3 to lose but its a start in the right direction.

Could you try drinking water instead, if you are really craving something fizzy maybe have a bottle of sparkling water on your desk. Going cold turkey is going to be tough and you'll experience tiredness, mood swings and serious cravings for coke but try it for a week or two and you'll soon find you won't miss it. Don't have it in the house or on your desk, or if that is too much reduce the amount of coke you are drinking every day and over the weekend, or try just having it every second day in order to wean yourself off it.

You should bring in your own lunch and have a good supply of fruit, nuts and seeds on your desk for cravings during the day. Alot of times when people are snacking, they are doing it out of boredom or habit and don't actually need food. If you eat a decent breakfast and lunch during the day you shouldn't feel hungry an hour or two later. I go for a coffee most days around a 11 and I'm always surprised by the number of people eating scones, and pastries which are just junk food.

Tar.Aldarion · 21-11-2014 4:52pm

Had my first "macrobiotic" meal recently, have to say I never felt better after eating anything else, ever. Was pretty amazing. They don't eat sugar at all. The chef was in his 40s and looked like he was in his twenties, he looked like the healthiest man I'd ever seen, he was practically shining at me. Anyway I can definitely see why sugar is so bad in these processed foods, it makes me feel like **** whenever I have it in a bad way, big crash and lethargy then. Once you don't eat it for a while you crave it less and things taste sweeter naturally.

neckedit · 29-11-2014 10:45pm

diabetes......obesity. .... high blood pressure.........heart trouble........dental decay......bad skin.........I'm 18 months off and 7 stone lighter.

RandomName2 · 30-11-2014 5:52pm

bluewolf wrote: »

To
All I can recommend is going cold turkey. [...]
Damage from 4 cans a day? Rotting your teeth and on a fast track to diabetes, I'd guess...

If you want to lessen the risk of diabetes, then cold turkey is probably not the way to go. If someone has gotten used to taking in a huge amount of sugar (through soft-drinks, beer, or whathaveyou) then having a radical shift is going to pretty bad for the regulation of sugar levels. It's much more difficult to cut down slowly, (and to do something in moderation than not at all), but it is a significantly healthier option.

neckedit · 30-11-2014 5:57pm

RandomName2 wrote: »

If you want to lessen the risk of diabetes, then cold turkey is probably not the way to go. If someone has gotten used to taking in a huge amount of sugar (through soft-drinks, beer, or whathaveyou) then having a radical shift is going to pretty bad for the regulation of sugar levels. It's much more difficult to cut down slowly, (and to do something in moderation than not at all), but it is a significantly healthier option.

Talking from personal experience, Cold turkey is the way to go, your body does not need refined sugar it gets all the carbs it needs through a balanced diet.
You nay feel with drawl symptoms, but you will be all the better for it.

hfallada · 01-12-2014 2:09am

OP read sugar salt and fat by Michael Moss. It talks about how the food industry add sugar, salt and fat to pretty much every processed food to make us eat of it(the food also tastes better). But the disturbing part of the book, is when Michael talks about Phillip Morris aka Marlboro owning some food giants in the US. During the Tobacco law suits in the US over cancer. All memos in the company were made public for trial. Marlboro used its advertising man, who previously targeted children with cigarettes,to use the same techniques to sell food to children. But most of the executives in Marlboro smoked Marlboro, but wouldnt eat food they produced. If people who sell cigarettes are will smoke their own cancer causing products, but not eat their own food. That tells you that they know the food they were selling was junk

reillynutr · 02-12-2014 5:14pm

I'm not surprised that you are having energy issues with all that coke! It can be a slippery slope drinking sugary soft drinks, you don't realise how addictive sugar can be until you try and give it up. And sugar is an addictive drug. A study done back in 2007 by Lenoir et al. in Bordeaux showed that when rats who were already addicted to sugar were given a choice between sugar and cocaine, 94% chose sugar!

Going cold turkey can be difficult as a lot of people end up just substituting cans of coke for coffee or other sugary substitutes. Another bad idea is replacing regular coke with diet drinks as these are even worse for you - not just for your blood sugars but also due to the chemical nature of whats in them. Chromium can also often be beneficial for people suffering from sugar cravings.

Having such a high sugar intake has likely led to your weight gain, alongside your lack of exercise, as people often get mistaken on diets - fat doesn't make you fat, sugar does!!

I agree with substituting coke with water, add a slice of lemon and lime if it is more appealing. If you are eating fruit, just be aware that although really healthy and good for you, some fruits can be very high in sugar and can contribute to blood sugar issues. A good idea is to have some healthy protein or fat with a piece of fruit to balance the sugar intake - e.g. 3 - 4 brazil nuts, 6 - 7 almonds, small handful of pumpkin seeds.

Whats the real damage done by sugary drinks?

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