If you had seen my Facebook post last week, then you are surely
asking what happened? One even asked for the backstory. Now if
you haven’t, let me tell you what I wrote: “If you had told me last month that
I would become repulsed by Dr. Pepper and all HFCS sodas, I would have scoffed.
But here we are.”
Yep, that happened. And now you are wondering what that backstory is.
After all, I was a king of Dr. Pepper. At the height, I was drinking at
least a gallon a day. Yeah, I love Dr. Pepper that much. Then it
happened. A rabbit trail here, but I never liked the horrid taste that comes
after having a sweet snack, such as a candy bar. Then Dr. Pepper released a new
flavor, Cherry Dr. Pepper. I gave it the test by taking a sip after a big
bite of brownie. It wasn’t bitter. If there was a choice, it became
Cherry, always. I would drink the original formula only if I had no
alternatives. Sure, I drank other types, root, fruits, citrus types, just
never imitation Dr. Pepper, however. But 80% of the time... you get the point.
Now back to the whole being repulsed. How did that happen? I am still a bit
flummoxed how it happened. Ever since I was a teen, I have had people telling
me that soda is bad for me, that I drink too much. Others were telling me about
how high fructose corn syrup was bad, and corns were GMOs. Now I am not
nay-saying them. But those aren’t the reasons that I stopped drinking Dr Pepper
and all things HFCS.
Before I answer that, let me tell you about a food I loved as a kid. I
don’t care for it anymore. That is popcorn. I enjoyed that marvel of a food
like any kid. Then I was fitted for braces and given a list of food that I was
to avoid. Popcorn was on that list. When the braces finally came off, about my
junior year of high school, I learned that I had lost the taste for this. And
ever since, I maybe have a kernel or two each year. The same thing happened
with gum, as well.
And now it has happened with my beloved Dr. Pepper. You see, back
mid-June, I became quite ill. I had a summer cold. My throat was on fire for
days, and frankly, I just didn’t want to leave the house. During this time, Dr. Pepper 2-liter bottles had nearly doubled in
price, so we had already stopped buying it at the store, just filling up my mug
and sharing it with my kids. But like I said, I didn’t leave the house during
this two-week period, except for some of the church meetings.
Also, during this time, I was following the awesome transformation of
my friend. He had shed quite a few pounds using the circadian rhythm. No
medical intervention was used. Just determination. I’ve not referenced him
because I didn’t obtain his permission, yet. As I was reading about his
“Live-it”, he said that the first step is to see HFCS as evil. (There’s a bit
more to his story. I am just telling you where his story grabbed me.) He
encouraged readers who had done their homework to avoid HFCS products.
Then I finally started feeling better. The rest was useful and needed.
July 2nd came along, and Carol was all into birthday lunch with Papa
tradition that I have had going 14 years now. We went for burgers and decided
on Jake’s Café here in Las Cruces. It’s the best burger in town, though not a
quick experience. I ordered Dr. Pepper with my lunch. It was the first I’ve had
in a week and half. And I couldn’t stand it. When that glass was empty, I asked
the waitress to switch it for lemonade for me. I couldn’t stand that either.
Now there are times that a soda fountain is just adjusted differently than one
might be used to. For example, I can tell you that the Circle K on the corner
of Elks and Main is the best fountain for Dr. Pepper, with the second best
being Circle K on Lohman and Amador. (Yes, I have tried nearly all the
convenience store fountains here in Las Cruces.) So back to point: I figured
that I wasn’t going to like Jake’s fountain, though I do love his burgers, and
I am looking forward to trying his biscuits and gravy as well as his chorizo omelet.
The next day, I owed my eldest his birthday lunch due to our being
otherwise committed on his birthday. He wanted to go to Chick-Fil-A. I love
their sandwiches. But I was hesitant about drinking their Dr. Pepper. Their
fountain was one of those that isn’t adjusted to be “Pepper friendly”. I was
about to order their lemonade made with sugar, but the machine was empty during
this little rush. I settled for Sprite. Mind you, I have had their Sprite
before, so I hadn’t made the connection. But I couldn’t stand it. It just
wasn’t appealing to me. As soon as I saw that the lemonade was available, I
asked them to exchange the Sprite for the lemonade. Then it dawned on me. I am
repulsed by the taste of high fructose corn syrup.
Just to make sure, my boy the next day, while celebrating at the
church with a cookout, had root beer from the store in front of the church. I
would place their fountain in the top 5 in town. I didn’t like his soda either.
Then I lamented to myself, not making a big deal, that companies
should bring back sugar as the sweetening agent. Then I became curious about
two points. 1. Where all can I order a drink that isn’t HFCS? I pondered about
all the places around Las Cruces, as well as around Yuma, where I might be able
to find a sweet drink made with sugar. So far, only Cracker Barrel, Wendy’s,
and Chick have alternatives, their lemonades. (I prefer them in that order due
to pulp quantity.) But it really will be hard to find alternatives. I am still
not grabbing onto the teas, unless they are variations of an Arnold Palmer. But
even Subway’s tea blends have HFCS. So I will be drinking more water when eating
out, which my wallet will thank me.
2. How much has HFCS infiltrated my diet, or liveit, besides my soda
intake. I searched. If I thought something was sweet, then I checked the
ingredient list. What amazes me is that take Malt-O-Meal’s Tootie Fruities,
Fruitie Dyno Bytes, and Honey Nut Scooters. These are the most requested
flavors in the house. The last being my request. And they are listed from
sweetest to least. Which do you think lists Sugar in the ingredients and which
has HFCS as the first ingredient? Tootie and Honey are made with sugar. Color
me surprised. For myself, I never liked the first two, just the Honey Nut
Scooters.
I learned from there that most of our “liveit” is HFCS free. I am
thankful that in our quest a few years ago to limit our processed food intake, to
which it has become no more than 10% of the menu, it had become mostly natural
as well.
I even quickly noticed something else that has changed during this
sudden repulsion of HFCS. In the past, when I have attempted to stop the flow
of Dr Pepper and sodas, I would suffer horrid migraines, or withdrawals, that
would last days. (Sometimes I would go 6 days before I gave in and had a little
caffeine.) But with this latest turn, nothing happened. Maybe being sick at the
time masked the withdrawals. But I wasn’t that pained that long. So, yeah, I
would say that I didn’t suffer the typical withdrawal. Mind you, I won’t lie to
you, I still drink coffee. I have a cup on Sundays. Dunkin’ Donuts’ Vanilla
Roast with Italian crème made with real sugar. It’s maybe 12 ounces of coffee
with crème taking it to 15ish ounces, once a week.
To make a long story short, which is a little late now, I just lost
the taste for HFCS drinks. I have had a couple of drinks with them since, once
at Men’s breakfast yesterday, and then I took a sip of root beer at lunch with
the family today. Nope, still can’t stand the taste of HFCS.
Now you know the backstory to my story. Good bye, my old friend, Dr
Pepper. When you return to using sugar as your sweetener, as you once did when I
first fell in love with your fine elixir, I will take another evaluation.
Thank you for reading. 🤠
