Diet Starts With D-I-E

About two years ago, I started experiencing serious pain in my joints. Not all of them, mainly my hips, shoulders, and knees. Ok, so that’s most of them, but I digress. I probably shouldn’t have, but I went to Web MD and used the symptom checker. (As I don’t currently have insurance, this was basically my only option.) It gave me an enormous list of symptoms, which I narrowed down to either arthritis or avascular necrosis. Either of which were not great. One you live with the rest of your life; the other basically requires replacing the joint, namely my hip. A hip replacement…

 My hip? What am I 70? Only “old” people are supposed to have hip problems. Guess that meant I was old. Now when I say my hip was hurting, I think I need to give a better explanation of what I mean. I would wake up in the middle of the night in serious pain, unable to move my left leg and frustrated. Yes, frustrated, because I’m 30-something and couldn’t sleep through the night or roll over in bed due to hip pain. I can’t tell you how many nights I woke up in pain, felt helpless and gave in to tears. Talk about being old before your time!

 Trying to get out of bed in the mornings…that was the worst. I was grateful every morning that I’m the early riser in our house and no one would see me limping around for the first hour and hear my moaning and groaning. After an hour or so, I would be fine and go on about my day. I won’t even go into the knee and shoulder issues because, honestly, who wants to hear about someone else’s physical ailments? (I know I’ve already told you a lot, but there’s a point to all this. Just stick with me, ok?)

 A little over a week ago, I went and got my hair cut. So, I plop down in the chair and in the midst of small talk, my stylist tells me that she quit drinking diet pop because she heard the Aspartame in most diet pop causes joint pain. WHAT? I was shocked! No way….I looked down at the ice cold Diet Pepsi in my lap and thought “Surely, “the right one”, my drink of choice, my beloved Diet Pepsi could not be the cause of my suffering!”

 It stayed in the back of my mind, so I googled it when I got home that evening. Sure enough. There is some information about it online. The FDA denounces them as quacks and their research not pure, but it was worth a try I thought. Putting down the diet pop to see if my joints stop hurting? Kind of a no-brainer really. It’s not like I’d be taking some experimental medication. I thought back to when I first started drinking the stuff and realized the pain started just a couple of months later. This could be no coincidence.

 “Oh help me God. The Diet Pepsi in the fridge is calling to me.” I’d be lying if I said quitting wasn’t hard, but it wasn’t as hard as I thought. I discovered it was more of a habit than anything. At work, I would walk across the street for a pop (read: Diet Pepsi) as part of my mid-morning routine. On my first day, I actually pushed the Diet Pepsi button instead of water and for a moment thought “It’s just one…”, but I went back and got more change.

 It’s been a little over a week sans Diet Pepsi and at this point I honestly don’t miss it that much. Most days I would have drank 2-3 20 oz bottles and a can or two after I got home. Yes, I know it’s awful, but I loved the stuff. Now, if I want a pop, I get a Sierra Mist, but I really don’t drink pop at all anymore. Sometimes I’ll share one with Johna, but I really don’t want it.

 As for my pain, believe me or not, but I’ve been pain free for over a week now. I sleep better because I’m not waking up in pain which enables me to function better during the day. I’m not waking up in the middle of the night. I’m not waking up every 30 minutes needing to change my position. I’m not living with pain.

 Here’s my point finally: Diet is everything. Read labels and look up ingredients you’re not sure about. Don’t accept the fact that it is safe just because it’s being dispensed by your pharmacist, grocery store or on the sidewalk. (Look at how many other dangerous substances are dispensed on sidewalks. Yes, I mean drugs.) Question everything you put in your body. It’s your body, so it’s your right. Don’t take medication just because the doctor says you need it. Check your diet first. Ever watch the drug commercials on TV where it seems as if the list of possible side effects is longer than the info about the new wonder drug? Is it worth it to eat these fat-free potato chips now, but have the “oily discharge” later? (Did you just get a visual of that? You’ll thank me later.) Most of this stuff is common sense, but really think about it like this….

 If you’re having trouble sleeping at night, stop drinking caffeine during the day.

If you have high blood pressure, stop eating the bacon.

If you have GI problems, quit eating McDonald’s and try yogurt for lunch.

 If I had went to the doctor for the joint problems, I would have undergone x-rays, an MRI, medication(s), all of which would have been completely unnecessary, unhealthy, and probably quite expensive. So before you go to the doctor and bombard your body with more chemicals and/or radiation, check your diet. We’re killing ourselves with convenience and the rush to get more done, get ahead and be like the people we see on TV who seem so beautiful, thin and happy drinking that diet pop.