The Judgies: Diet Pop and General Health of My Kids

Hello there!  So, I'm trying very hard not to get a case of the judgies ... you know, when you send out an e-mail that has all sorts of judgmental things in it to specific people because you care about them.  But it ends up not seeming like you care about them ... more that you want to be all holier-than-thou and, well, judgey.

But I found this interesting article that scared me and actually made me want to have a case of the judgies and send it out anyway.  I mentioned it to my husband and even he looked at me like, "Do you REALLY want to do that?".  So, in an effort to not be a judgey to specific people, I have decided that, because I care about all of you, I'm going to be a judgey to everyone.

How's that for awesome?  Here goes ...

I read this article on Huffington Post last week, and I sooooo wanted to share it.  Why?  Because I know a lot of people who drink diet soda on a regular basis.  People that I wouldn't want having a stroke.  (No, there isn't anyone I'd actually WANT to have a stroke ... what kind of person do you think I am?)

For those of you who aren't going to read the article, it says that for some unknown reason, the people in their study who drank pop had a "48 percent higher risk of stroke or heart attack than people who drank no soda of any kind".  And yes, they took into account smoking, waistline sizes, diabetes, and other differences in the groups.
But I refrained because I didn't want to make people feel bad about their choices; they are THEIR choices, after all.  Then last night at dinner, my dad offered my son a sip of his Diet Coke.  (For the record, I love you, Dad!  And usually I am cool with how you grandparent my kiddos.  But this ...)  Yeah, he looked at me like I had three heads when I told him that Baylor most certainly could not have a sip of his Diet Coke.

Here's the thing, I wouldn't have been okay if it had been regular Coke either.  I don't want my two year-old drinking pop.  Caffeinated pop, uncaffeinated pop, whatever.  It has no nutritional value, it will rot his teeth, and it takes away his chances to drink something healthy (e.g., milk or water ... and no, not chocolate milk).  Baylor likes white milk and water, why screw that up, right?  He is allowed to drink juice on special occasions (or apple cider when it's in season ... he LOVES that stuff and I don't blame him), but I don't want that becoming a habit.  Those are my rules, and I'm pretty firm about them.  If you want to give your kiddo(s) juice, chocolate milk, pop, whatever, that's fine.  That's your prerogative.  But if you're dealing with my kids, I prefer you stick to my rules.  And try not to make me feel bad about them.

For myself, I stopped drinking caffeinated pop in 2006 when we started trying to get pregnant; I knew we were going to have a tough time of it as it was, and I didn't want to throw any monkey wrenches into an already tenuous situation.  Fast forward a few years, and I haven't really had much pop to speak of in the last year or so.  I don't like the way it makes me feel after I drink it - all sugar buzzy and whatnot - and I know it's not good for me.  I stick to OJ in the morning and water the rest of the day.   And once I'm done nursing Mollie, I plan on drinking milk like a fiend; it is my favorite beverage, after all.  When I do drink pop, I figure I might as well do it up right, have the regular stuff and enjoy it - I don't like the taste of most diet pops.

And now, knowing how bad diet pop is, I just can't justify it.  It's my choice, and I am comfortable with it, just like I am comfortable not drinking; I stopped when I had kids and I don't plan on pretty much ever drinking again.

So, where am I going with this?  Well, I'll try to sum it up.

What we put into our bodies is our choice ... isn't that great?  But I found out that something that lots of people drink on a regular basis is bad for you.  I didn't think the study was widely-published, so I felt the need to share it.  Mainly because I care about all of you - even those of you I don't know.  You cared enough to read my words so I care about you.  (I care about others who don't read my blog, but they aren't reading this so I guess I didn't feel the need to address them.  It's circular and, quite frankly, I'm a little too tired for circular thinking right now.)  But, regardless of what I think, it's up to you to make the decision about what you put in your body.  I wish I could keep all my loved ones safe and get rid of all the ills in the world, but I can't.  So maybe I'm being a little judgey ... but it's because I care.

As for your kids, I'm not going to lie; I feel a lot little judgey when I see people give their kids things I think are unhealthy.  It's one thing for you to put something into your body, knowing full-well how craptastic it might be for you, but it's another to give something to your kids on a regular basis knowing that it holds no nutritional value.  I'm all for treats every now and then; Baylor loves M&Ms and I employ them when I need/want to.  But I think of childhood as a time to start things out right.  We have the rest of our lives to screw up our bodies.  I hate feeling all judgey, but it happens and none of us are perfect.  Which is what I try to remind myself of when I see other parents doing things I wouldn't do; its their prerogative, and I have to be okay with that.  So, I guess do what you want.  Do your best ... it's all we can expect of each other, right?

Enough with my rant.  Leave comments if you like - I'm prepared for the worst.

Have a happy, wonderful, healthy day!