Doing the Dew

Last week, as part of a jam session at the Nebraska Action for Healthy Kids Summit, dietitian and musician "Jump with Jill," poured large amounts of sugar out of sweetened drinks like Coca Cola and Mountain Dew to visually represent the cups and cups of sugar we ingest in any 12 oz. full-calorie soda. It was disgusting!

To tell the truth, Mt. Dew and I were close friends in college. Today, the thought of this sugary, super caffeine machine does not sound appealing. But, there I was at the UNO library, out of steam and a final round of paper editing to go with my school group.

I went for it. I did the Dew. It had been a long time since I had drank one of these guys and I finished it right before my night class. What unfolded was a series of uncomfortable and odd experiences.

Here's what happened:

•  Immediate taste was too much so I had to pair it with some unhealthy chips that I normally don't eat. (see that one bad choice on my part led to another)
• Two hours later, my stomach began to hurt and I had to step out of my night class to drink some water.
• At the end of class, I was jacked up.
• I couldn't keep my legs still and I was ready to meet my group and finish our paper.
• My eyebrows felt like the could not rest. They kept up, at attention, overly alert.
• During my workgroup, I began to have a visual migraine due to the caffeine overload and lack of sleep. I had a hard time focusing with all the floaters in the air.
• I was a little bossier than normal and my group and I had some loud discussions about our project. I think we were all a little on edge and over-caffeinated.
• After leaving the library I was even more pumped up. I'm one of those people that can't even drink Iced Tea after noon if I want to go to bed that night on time.
• I talked to my brother and he told me he could tell I had drank Mt. Dew. He said that my eyes were tired but weirdly-wide and my cheeks were kind of stuck in a permanent half smile.
• I felt like I could not slow down and could not stop thinking.
• I laid in bed for about 30 minutes and felt sick again. I couldn't shut my mind off.
• Finally I went to sleep.
• I woke up thirsty for water.

Why am I admitting all of this? Although we know what's good for us, we choose things that sacrifice our health. Why? We think improved performance on a project will help us in the short-term. I realized last night, that for me it's no longer worth it. Mountain Dew is not worth it. Being weirdo-turbo charged is not worth it and most of all the long-term health effects are not worth it.

It also leaves me thinking about the value of all the other stuff I eat and drink. What does it give back to my body? Cups of sugar and saturated fat or healthy fats and nutrients

Any scary food stories you want to share?