Juicing for Soda --- Say Goodbye to Aspartame

Using my Omega J8003 Juicer I can make my own sodas at home. It’s very simple really.

I purchase produce like ginger, lemon, pineapple, and oranges. I juice these items separately and store them in glass jars --- keeping them in the refrigerator.

Really all you need is:

Sparkling water

Ice

2 Tbs. of your choice of: lemon, pineapple or orange juice.

½ tsp – ¼ tsp of ginger juice for kicks, but be careful cause ginger can get violent. I don’t always use ginger in my soda drinks.

The lemon is my favorite. 2 Tbs. is really enough. You might need more for the orange juice. It’s really up to your own taste.

You can even make a hot drink by skipping the fizzy water and adding boiled water.

 

          I haven’t been drinking soda since September 2014 I believe. I was told by a doctor that I have myofascial pain syndrome.

The first attack I had, I thought I was having a heart attack. The second attack was in my hip and it was causing my toes to move involuntarily. It honestly hurt to be alive. I had an attack around last Christmas and it was around my shoulder. But, the contraction of my muscle, again, made me feel like it was my heart about to explode. Every breath I took was a painful sharp cut in my chest and shoulder.

Luckily, I had some left over muscle relaxers from my earlier doctor visit.

          I read up on myofascial pain syndrome and learned that there is no real cure for it. Other than to relax, stretch often, exercise, meditate, don’t get stressed, and eat healthfully. This information started to bleed into fibromyalgia. The symptoms listed in fibromyalgia seemed to ring a bell in my own life. In my earlier twenties, I had chronic shoulder pain, and itchy ears. I thought maybe it was because I’d been waiting tables forever at a busy Mexican restaurant carrying heavy trays and oil floating in the atmosphere only to find its way in my ears. But, now I believe that I might have had some early symptoms of this muscle condition. In my late twenties, before turning 30 I started to have these muscle attacks. Other symptoms I've had are: early feelings of arthritis in my thumbs and knees, numbness in my legs or hands, anxiety attacks, jaw pain, and foggy memory. I'd forget words while talking. I had an overall bad memory. Not fun at all. It seemed impossible for a somewhat healthy young individual to be experiencing.

          I also began to experience blurry vision which is another symptom of these two muscle conditions. But, what really got my attention was when I read that aspartame can cause many of these symptoms and is associated with fibromyalgia and MPS. I had spent my whole life consuming diet products (both my grandmother and mother are diabetics). Diet sodas and diet mixed drinks have been a big part of my life from an early age. I consumed them thinking that they were a safe alternative to drinking regular soda. I have now decided that I no longer want to have these aspartame poisons in my life. I now drink water, teas or the soda drinks I make at home.

I’d always been keen on exercising and keeping fit, but really I can’t do what I used to. I’m afraid too that it will cause another painful episode. I now lift very light weights or use resistant bands. To be honest, exercise scares me now because I’m always afraid I am going to aggravate a muscle. But, I try and I’m juicing and eating as healthful as possible. I think it’s been helping a lot.I have seen and felt many changes. I haven't had a muscle episode in a while. I honestly believe it's all due to  the changes I've made in my diet.