I Used To Drink 20 Cans Of Fizzy Drinks A Day And Now I Have Heart Disease

[NellieGirl]

I used to drink 20 cans of fizzy drinks a day, mostly coke and irn bru.

A month ago, I was diagnosed with heart disease and I got told I needed to stop drinking fizzy drinks completely or I would be at risk of a heart attack.

I am allowed to drink all other drinks that are not fizzy. I don't like milk, and water is boring and so is fruit juice. It's not only boring, I'm also sad that I'm not allowed to drink fizzy drinks anymore, not even occasionally. I feel sad pretty much all the time.

It is making me never want to go to parties or go out for dinner. Me, my dh, and my two dc used to watch films on Friday night and Saturday night, and even watching films is boring when I can't drink fizzy drinks.

Is anyone in a similar situation? Or does anyone know anything I can do to get over it?

Can you have sparkling water ?

Air up?

I mean, there are dozens of drinks out there that are not fizzy.

OP what is it about the fizzy drinks you can't have? Assuming it's something to do with carbonation and not eg the sugar content but I've never come across it.
And if you can put it into words what is it you like about fizzy drinks which isn't there in eg juice? I love fizzy drinks too so I can relate. I think they're just a bit more interesting/ more of a treat, but is it the same for you?

Fizzy water isn't bad for you.

Could you add a drop of juice to it?

Fizzy water and lime or lemon squash is lovely and really refreshing

Squash or fruit juice diluted with sparkling water , although I’m not sure how NAS fizzy drinks cause heart disease , was it full sugar fizz that you drink @NellieGirl ?

I’ve got an aarke but had sodastream for years and drink a lot of fizzy water either plain or with some fruit juice or lime cordial - it’s all the shite in the drinks not the carbonation that’s the issue with heart

I think you probably need to adopt an Alan Carr type approach and really internalise how bad the drinks are for you. Spend time really imagining what they could do to your body so that you hopefully stop wanting them. Then maybe you will be more receptive to alternatives. I’m drinking quite a lot of fresh, iced mint tea at the moment and it’s lovely.
Also it must be exciting how much money you are saving each month.

I would ask for further explanation of this.

You must have spent a fortune if you drank 20 cans a day! And how did you find time to drink all that?

Ignore my previous post I’ve had a Google and apparently it’s drinks that contain Aspartame (?) and research shows if you drink more than 2 l a week it increases your risk of AF and strokes .

Yes it was the full sugar fizzy drinks.

@NellieGirl could you perhaps try some of the cordials out there? There’s lots of fancy ones available these days that you may take a liking to?

How did you have time to get anything done with all that drinking? I’d have been constantly going for a wee!

Is there any reason you can’t have fizzy water? Add ice and a slice.

Oh yes. There’s an apple and plum one that I really like.

What is it in the fizzy that caused heart disease?
It sounds awful for you because it sounds very much like an addiction. After some time you may find that the association with eg films wears off and you're able to manage those things again.
Out of interest, how are your teeth? I worry about my DHs fizzy drink consumption for that reason, but hadnt considered heart issues!

Elderflower cordial and fizzy water is lovely, especially when icy cold.

Can you say what type of heart disease you have? I'm not sure the fizzy drinks actually caused it, but drinking them going forward will make the issue worse, well that's the conclusion I'm coming to.

Maybe it's arrythmia like Atrial Fibrillation. I don't know, but if it is, there are lots of triggers, some soft drinks, alcohol, full caffeine coffee, that kind of thing. I have Afib and I just drink decaf and sparkling water with lemon and lime, or just plain tap water. You get used to it and I don't miss anything I had before since I'm too afraid of setting the damned Afib off if I do!

Good luck and I hope you'll be ok.

Agree. Belvoir cordial is divine with sparkling water.

Dash flavoured waters are delicious. Just sparkling water and fruit juice, lots of flavours, very low sugar.

Yeah I got told it increases your risk of AF and strokes as well as heart attack. One of my mum's friends died of a stroke but I'm not sure what causes her to have a stroke, but I think you can take a stroke without any known cause.

My doctor told me it's the apartame in fizzy drinks that causes heart disease.

So do you actually HAVE heart disease, or is the doc advising you to stop sugary fizzy (and aspartame) drinks to prevent it happening?

Over 6 litres of fizzy each day? What on earth does your dentist say? Do you have any teeth left?