diet mnt. dew addict!

[gauf]

I am getting ready to start round 2 of treatment for hep c. Stage3+ liver disease. I quit drinking alcohol 19 yrs ago. Yay for me. Like alot of recovering alkies, I started drinking diet soda (diet mnt. dew) I just saw a post that diet soda can wreck a liver! My luck just keeps rollin. Anybody got any idea what 4-5 cans of diet dew a day for 19 years can do to a liver? thanks.

[chadnd]

The answer is that it will do roughly the same as having 4 or 5 standard drinks a day (whether it's 5 shots of tequila or 5 beer, etc makes no difference. It might even be slightly worse than alcohol because a study conducted in Israel in 09 demonstrated that just 2 soft drinks/sodas a day (even diet is terrible) increases liver disease by 80% long-term. Not even 2 alcoholic beverages a day has been associated with any such risk.

[sfbaygirl]

I used to take the sugar bowl behind the couch when I was little. I wonder what that means? Interesting!

I don't know about anyone else, but I can only drink so much of anything a day. Therefore, I feel like I have to drink water only or I am depriving my body of what it needs for this tx. I drink milk sometimes, but that isn't water.

When I stopped alcohol a month before tx, I started drinking juices. They were great. Nectar and all those expensive juice type drinks. I finally stopped that when I realized how much sugar I was using and how I would grab one of those instead of a water. I was not drinking enough water. I figured it was better for me to grab that water, than that juice.

I am not sure where I heard that pure water was the way to get what a person needs....but I did hear it.

[MissMiss]

Sorry but I strongly DISAGREE with NYG's advice to not worry about drinking sodas.  The carbonation in the sodas is what will draw the minerals out of your body.  Not only that, the additives are horrific.  Sodas in general are addictive.  The more you drink, the more you want.  Any search on the internet will bring up a lot of sites to support this.

This is a very bad virus but to compound tx by drinking a lot of any soda, let alone Mt. Dew, doesn't make any sense at all.  

If folks would realize that a lot of cravings aren't what you think they are.  Often, feeling hungry is your body signalling it needs water.  Weird cravings can also mean you need water.  

But, cravings can have their own meanings too.  My oldest son was caught as a toddler so many times under the table eating the butter it isn't funny.  But, he also had a bad case of excema.  When that cleared up, no more butter craving.

I love my occasional soda too.  But everything in moderation.  And if there is a better choice, you are responsible for making the right choice.  Just my thoughts here.

miss

[doglover28]

I read somewhere that diet soda is bad for your bones because it depletes the calcium.

So-journ,
what geno-type did you have?  Did you treat once?  congratulations on being hep free!

[new-sojourn]

mt. dew has more caffine than just about any other soda.  also, the studies have been showing that people actually gain weight drinking diet sodas.

Hey, being clean and sober and cured of hep c for years now myself, I know that you can find something else to drink.

There are lotsa bottled teas now-many w/o caffine and sugar.

I'm sure you would do better w/teas, green, white, herbal, decaf or not than w/any kind of sodas.

Remember, the fewer toxins/chemicals, the less the liver has to work.  The less energy used for detoxing the body can go to healing the damage.

[MrsOckert]

I think I read a couple years ago that mountain dew was one of the worst sodas you can drink and that it is very addicting.

I've also heard that many alcoholics start mountain dew when they give up alcohol because of the sugar.

Good luck to you.

[gauf]

Thanks all. I have cut down to 3 a day and up 2 bottled waters. I hope to be free of it by the time I take my first shot in round 2 on Aug 1st.

[NYgirl]

LOL with that virus in your system...don't be worrying about diet soda.  That virus is the BAD MOJO that you need to kill off - I really don't think unless you were swimming in diet soda it would hurt your liver more than the virus is, probably your poor liver doesn't even know you are a Mountain Dew addict!

I'm an alkie too and I have a bad problem with Pepsi...the sugar is what I have been CRAVING since I've been on treatment.  You might find when you go on tx too that you need the REAL DEAL sugar...and that will help you ;)

Just try and take it easy from now on if it is bothering you...peace of mind is worth anything on treatment!

Best of luck!

[Dale_Ray]

My understanding from my doctor was that the water quantity (100oz per day for me) should be pure water and this was to reduce symptoms and the water was needed in quantity to assist the drug distribution through the system. I agree that other liquids give you the water but he was specific with me about it being water while on treatment. In reading your referenced article I am sure that the information is correct in general. I think the exception is the treatment. Of course with my brain function of late he could have told me not to drink water and set in the desert at high noon.  Do you think the pure water demand is higher for those on treatment? I'm getting where I can't stand the taste of water. Dale

[cuteus]

other foods DO supply our water intake, it is not just a glass of water providing us with the needed fluids. Fruits, vegetables, teas, etc DO COUNT as part of your fluid intake, plus other nutrients are provided with it.
I will post this again, please read:
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/NU/00283.html

[Stvski80085]

I would say 5 or 6 cans of anything is bad.  Water is what you need anyway.  Soda is horrible for you diet or not.  When I want a taste of something different I do lemonaide or orange juice and even that isn't a daily thing.  I used to drink coke all day long and I will say I feel much better having quit and only drink water.  They even have flavored water now if you can't handle regular water all day long.

Take care!

[sfbaygirl]

I saw the thread name and thought it was another drug or word play like the thread below! You guys KNOW Brian Fog is around and keeps us tripping.

I used to drink a lot of Coca Cola, but stopped and haven't looked back. I wasn't used to drinking lots of water so I had to get used to it. Pretty much I cut out everything else for awhile. Now grabbing for that water comes easily and is needed on tx.

Drinking other drinks is NOT the same to replenish your need for water in your body. So why not just do water? When you drink soda, it most likely takes away your desire to drink the amts of water we need to in a day on tx.

It does take a bit of time to quit, but it can be done. If you quit alcohol, it should help!  I know quitting anything on tx is tough. Some say don't push it. There are worse things to do to your body. So it is up to you to decide if it is something you can live without right now.

[Kalio1]

There are tons of additives in diet soda. As to what they do to the liver? Something else is probably easier on your liver, water, juice, tea. There are studies that have been done on the sugar additives, google it. I'd definately switch to another thirst quencher.