I don’t know when my addiction to carbonated beverages began. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that my bottles were spiked with Pepsi and Sprite as a baby.

I always knew carbonation was bad for me, but I never realized just how bad it is until I stopped consuming it altogether.

Suddenly, my waistline is cinched and more slender. I don’t look or feel puffy anymore. I’m not gassy. Not that perfect me ever had issues with gas, I’m just saying…

I could only wonder, what in the world does carbonation do to the human body to make it expand and swell like I had experienced? It must be pretty potent stuff to cause me to loosen my belt buckle a notch after partaking in it.

I always heard that most sodas are acidic. I had no idea that Coca-Cola has a pH level of 3 on the pH scale. A lemon has a pH value somewhere in the range of a 2! That is really scary, and makes me want to develop amnesia as to how much Coke I have sucked down over the years.

Add the phosphorus and calcium-leaching factor to your soda, and you have a sure-fire recipe for rotting teeth, acid reflux, calcium loss, and bone weakness.

I’m not referring to the occasional soda drinker. That is NOT the person in question here. I’m talking about those of us with an addiction to sodas that we just can’t seem to shake.

You know who you are. You drank more than five cans of Coke yesterday. Or maybe you switched to Diet Pepsi because you thought it was a healthy substitute.

I am proud to say that, save for the occasional glass of champagne (of which I will never completely abstain), I am now an avid water drinker. My food tastes better! I’m slimmer!

My best advice on the topic is to ease up on the sodas, tapering off gradually. I never thought I could do it, but I have.

This may sound trite, but if I could do it - anyone can. Here’s to your health!