When it comes to medical opinions, it's sometimes wise to get a second one. Case in point: An avid watcher of Dr. Oz [1], I recently came across his 28-day plan [2] to help kick a serious soda habit. While his audience seemed excited by the plan, I'm not sure I'm buying his monthlong program.
- Week one: Go from regular soda to a diet soda to get over the sugar craving. He encourages one to eat fish, eggs, and beans during this phase to help curb sugar cravings.
- Week two: Go from diet soda to caffeine-free diet soda to rid your body of the caffeine fix. He suggests taking ibuprofen for headaches and snacking on foods rich in vitamin B.
- Week three: Cut your soda intake in half. Instead of only drinking the caffeine-free diet sodas, drink a seltzer water combined with a small percentage (about 20 percent) of your favorite fruit juice.
- Week four: No more sodas! Just chew sugar-free gum when you need a sweet treat.
Don't get me wrong . . . I'm all for quitting a soda habit, but I wonder if this is the best route. I rarely advocate artificial sweeteners [3], which is what most of the diet sodas have (hello, steps two and three!), and I wonder how easy it would actually be to give up the real deal for similar substitute items. If I were up for a no-soda challenge, I think I'd just go cold turkey and not mess with the aspartame. But hey, that's just me. What do you think about Dr. Oz's stop-the-soda-madness plan?
Related Stories:
Why You Need to Stop Drinking Diet Soda [4]
Your 24-Hour Detox Plan [5]
4 Things You Should Never Eat [6]