When Jackie Balan started drinking Diet Coke to lose weight as a teenager, she never expected to become totally addicted to the soft drink.
The British woman, who once downed up to 50 cans of Diet Coke a day, hopes hypnotherapy can help her overcome her addiction.
The 42-year-old stay-at-home mom now drinks nearly 10 litres a day and panics if she doesn’t have a steady supply of carbonated drinks.
“This addiction has taken over my life. I won’t send him to school without at least two bottles in his bag,” Balan said. Daily Mail“I’m pretty panicked because I only have one bottle at home. I’m sweating, I’m shaking, I’m pacing back and forth.”
At his worst, Balan was drinking 50 cans a day and spending the equivalent of $920 a month on diet coke.
After much hard work, Balan has reduced his cigarette consumption to 30 cans a day, but he still wants to kick the habit completely and is currently undergoing hypnotherapy treatment.
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“It got to a point where we just had to stop this,” Baran said.
She has even suffered hallucinations after drinking too many drinks, possibly as a result of overdosing on caffeine.
“I see these weird orange-like things flying across the room,” she says. “It’s scary to think what’s going on inside my body.”
Besides the extreme side effect of hallucinations, taking too much caffeine can also cause confusion, rapid heart rate, and difficulty breathing.
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Medical experts fear that excess phosphoric acid from diet cola may be weakening Baran’s bones.
“Fizzy drinks contain phosphorus which is not harmful in small amounts, but in large amounts can have a negative impact on bone health,” says Sarah Shenker, dietitian at the British Dietetic Association.
Also see: How bad is sugar actually for you?
“But my biggest concern is that if this woman drinks diet coke and fills up, she won’t be able to eat a balanced diet and won’t be getting the nutrients her body needs.”
Shenker has recommended cognitive behavioral therapy for Balan, saying her addiction stimulates the reward system in her brain.
Balan joins a long list of people with strange addictions: last year we reported on a teenager who eats almost exclusively ramen noodles.
