Confessions of a Coke addict

I read a piece in the Daily Mail today. I don’t know why, I think I do it as some kind of self-flagellation style penance. This one wasn’t berating the unemployed, single mothers, ethnic minorities or indeed working mothers, so it goes without saying that it was telling me that my lifestyle is going to kill me and it will be All My Own fault.

I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life,  don’t eat much red meat, I occasionally over-indulge on the drinking front but other than that it’s very much an ‘in moderation’ pastime. I like cakes and the like, but I only have them as a rule if I go out to dinner, and I generally eat a lot of fruit, veg, chicken and fish. I exercise four times a week, at least, and my BMI is 21.

But apparently I am 87% more likely to contract pancreatic cancer than the next person because I drink fizzy drinks.

According to this study, done in Singapore over a 14 year period, those who drink two cans of fizzy drinks a week are more likely to get the disease than those who don’t. The experts have admitted they’re not positive that it’s definitely as a result of the drinks, so that’s okay, they can’t be accused of scaremongering if they’re not sure. I drink more than two a week – my addiction to Coca Cola goes back a long, long way and my dentist actually hates me (God knows why, he’s a bloody rich man thanks to me) because even though I know, have seen indisputable evidence of the damage that the stuff does to my teeth, and have experienced enough palpitations and sleepless nights to demonstrate beyond measure that Coke is very, very bad for me, it is an addiction and one I cannot kick. I have done liquid detoxes, juice diets and all manner of healthy eating junkets but the one thing I absolutely cannot kick is my Coke habit. I’ve cut down on my intake, and I even go so far as to concede the sugar argument and switch to ‘Bloke Coke’ – Coke Zero with its no sugar content, but kick the habit altogether? Unfortunately, not a chance.

The hope I am clinging to is the fact that if I believed everything I read or heard, I wouldn’t use shampoo, deodorant, talcum powder, drink tap water or fruit juice, and wouldn’t eat anything at all just in case I contracted some form of cancer.

As it stands, I think I’ll stick to my exercise and reasonably healthy eating plan, get checked at the doctors regularly for any signs, and enjoy whatever life I do have, fizzy or not.

Back to the Future

I’ve become something of a movie buff of late, but I’ve recently developed an annoying habit of being affected by what I watch, and going home and letting it prey on my mind, forcing me to question things that I have never really bothered to question before.

Up In The Air was the first culprit. The story of the corporate downsizer with no ties, no home to call his own and no problem with his lifestyle hit some real chords. I’m lucky enough to have heaps of friends and the support of a loving family, but I’ve always been insistent I’d never want a family of my own. Ryan Bingham, played by George Clooney, is way more concerned with his portfolio of privilege cards than in settling down and living happily ever after, and it made me wonder if my life is shaping up to be just as soulless. While I did chuckle at the comedy, I also went away with food for thought and have been wondering ever since just how messed up my priorities may be…

George Clooney - inside my head for all the wrong reasons

So to knock those concerns out of my head, off we trotted to watch the Book of Eli. Well, that made everything so much more light-hearted. The post-apocalyptic wasteland of some future war that could happen tomorrow, in 2012 or after I die just emphasised again how vacuous, materialistic and unimportant so many priorities have become – when we value power over education and fear others accessing one through the other… Blimey.

All in all, it’s made me rather question the route I’d got planned out. Watch this space, I’ll get back to you.

PS: I hope these movies win a few awards, I’d like something to justify the mental beating up I’ve had.