Diet Mt Dew - always by my side

January 23, 2020 9:25 AM

Should I replace my morning Diet Mt Dew with a caffeine pill? Because soda is terrible for us, right?

I drink a Diet Mt. Dew every morning as part of my "wake up and get going" routine. I carry it around the house while I exercise, shower, and eat breakfast. I don't drink coffee because a) if it takes more than 1 second to prepare I won't do it, 2) I'm vain about staining my teeth, and 3) I'm not a big fan of the taste.

Enough people have told me how bad soda is for me that it's starting to make me doubt my years-long morning soda habit. But I'm OK with caffeine, and I think it helps me get moving.

What are some of the latest thoughts/research on caffeine pills? When I was in high school, things like Vivarin were sold in truck stops and we always gave them the side eye as being unhealthy or even dangerous. I drink loads of water -- would it make sense to replace my morning soda with a big bottle of water and a caffeine pill? Does anyone else do this, or have recommendations for further reading? Thanks!

posted by kinsey to Food & Drink (30 answers total)

Vivaran and other caffeine pills are going to be totally overpowered for your needs here, so you’d need to cut them in half (or maybe smaller) to avoid the side effects of caffeine overdose—when you drink something caffeinated, it’s slowly introduced to your system as opposed to 100mg all being digested at once, for starters. Vivaran will definitely give you too high of a buzz/the shakes, along with...bathroom events...if you’re only used to soda levels.

I think what you want is iced tea, if you can tolerate the tannins. You can buy big jugs of it with or without sweetness, or you just make the largest carafe that you can fit in your fridge twice a week and pour/tap it as needed. Then you control the flavor, strength, etc. and the (minimal!) hassle of making it isn’t on you in the morning.
posted by zinful at 9:36 AM on January 23, 2020 [5 favorites]

"Soda is bad" is one of those three word slogans that people just believe because it's three words long, but it makes no room at all for nuance. Artificial sweeteners are much much less bad for people than the sugar they substitute for. If you've been using a caffeinated sugar free soda for years and had no health problems that you could directly attribute to it, why would you not keep using it?
posted by flabdablet at 9:43 AM on January 23, 2020 [22 favorites]

YMMV of course, but for me, the 200mg caffeine pills have a gentle but persistent effect over a few hours or so. The first time I tried one, but cut it in half, and it must've disolved more quickly (perhaps the outer coating is a buffer? I don't know.) and I got jittery.

Is it better than soda? Probably, for the sake of your teeth and the acidic nature of most sodas.
posted by Wild_Eep at 9:45 AM on January 23, 2020

The well known effect of soda on teeth has far more to do with ongoing production of acids by mouth bacteria fed by the sugar in it than with the acidity of the soda itself, which is only in contact with your teeth for as long as it takes to drink it. If you're drinking soda without sugar in it, this is not really much of a concern.
posted by flabdablet at 9:51 AM on January 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

If you're going to switch from a soda to a caffeine pill, you're going to have a very different wakeup experience, because the caffeine in the pill will hit you all at once or at least in a more concentrated hit, instead of the over-time ingestion of the soda all morning. If you're looking for a reason to quit the 'Dew, the teeth thing is a really good reason to quit. Carbonic and citric acid are destroying your teeth.

Just be careful, and look at dosages. Try to match the dosage of the amount of Mountain Dew you're consuming to the caffeine pill you're planning to take, and don't be afraid to split pills. Having them with a big glass of water is a great idea, and will help manage the buffer of the caffeine hitting your body.
posted by juniperesque at 9:51 AM on January 23, 2020 [2 favorites]

This is a hand-shakingly, heart-poundingly bad idea. I know because I have tried it. Why I have had success in taking caffeine pills later in the day, when they seem to have a more even effect, I can't say.
posted by Countess Elena at 9:53 AM on January 23, 2020 [2 favorites]

Caffeine in forms other than tea/coffee makes me jittery, with a racing heart. I tried whole pills and half pills, both with and without food, and gum (which I don't think even exists any more), and lip balm (tastes bad, does nothing).

How about tea? Double-teabag it if you need more kick. It won't give you the feeling of "gut rot" like coffee can.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:54 AM on January 23, 2020

I'm someone who is naturally tachycardic, and diet sodas and or tea are about the only form of caffine I can tolerate without heart medicine. It's actually less caffine than you think depending on how much you are drinking.
A Bottled tea (like gold leaf or honest) may be a good option for the instant drink factor.
posted by AlexiaSky at 10:11 AM on January 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

Enough people have told me how bad soda is for me that it's starting to make me doubt my years-long morning soda habit.

Yeah, I hear you, and people who have really unhealthy behaviors can also get a bit scoldy with others. I think part of the thing around soda is a class thing? Like, it's not fancy to drink name brand diet soda, even though lots of folks do it. The bad thing about soda is partly the sugar in non-diet soda. That's a lot of calories and sugar and not much nutrition. And we have lots of lingering concerns about artificial sweeteners.

But one diet soda a day for someone is exercises and drinks a lot of water doesn't sound all that unhealthy to me, a complete non-expert.

Do you go to the doctor regularly? I would have this conversation there.
posted by bluedaisy at 10:17 AM on January 23, 2020 [3 favorites]

Nthing caffeine pills gave me the jitters. Be careful switching to tea it also stains teeth if that's a concern, green tea less so. Tea is a great option though if you're not a fan of coffee and contains healthy compounds soda doesn't and both coffee & tea despite staining your teeth contain compounds that help dental health. Add milk to your tea or coffee to help prevent tooth staining.
the proteins in the milk attaches to the polyphenols in the drink (the thing that stains your teeth) So, rather than attaching to your teeth most of them will pass on by to your stomach. And clean your teeth after your morning tea coffee.
posted by wwax at 10:19 AM on January 23, 2020

i considered doing the same thing with the same diet mt. dew. caffeine pills have way more caffeine than diet dew, and so i decided against it. plus, i really actively ENJOY my morning pop, and so fuck it.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 10:24 AM on January 23, 2020 [8 favorites]

Best answer: I have no idea if this Crystal Light with caffeine is any better for you than soda, but in my opinion it tastes better, and unlike caffeine pills it doesn't make me feel like I'm having a panic attack. It's widely available at grocery stores.
posted by metasarah at 10:29 AM on January 23, 2020

It's less the soda per se, than the citric acid in the Mt Dew (and other citrusy sodas) that would be my concern. It has a significantly higher pH than regular sodas (which don't get me wrong, still have acid), so if you're vain about your teeth, you're kicking your enamel in the butt each morning. Is it something you could replace with other sodas? (Your digestive tract is equipped to handle the acid in any of them, if you're healthy.)
posted by librarianamy at 10:31 AM on January 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

Nthing iced tea. You can add fruit-flavored blends to the caffeinated tea. Berry flavors are especially nice, and I also love lavender iced tea for the super-refreshing taste.
posted by jgirl at 10:34 AM on January 23, 2020

If you're worried about exposing your teeth to acid, just use a straw.
posted by flabdablet at 10:45 AM on January 23, 2020 [2 favorites]

Mt. Dew also has the issue of brominated vegetable oil, which is banned in europe (linked article says don't drink more than 2 liters a day).
posted by 445supermag at 10:58 AM on January 23, 2020

To the extent that it factors into your decision—neither coffee nor tea has ever (noticeably) stained my teeth. I did not drink either for a long time, but now drink both on a daily basis (for about the past ten years) and my teeth haven’t changed, even looking at photos side by side. I don’t use any special whitening products.

You can also buy ready-made tea or coffee if you don’t want to spend time making it.
posted by sallybrown at 11:15 AM on January 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

Best answer: While I can't speak to issues of product safety, slower-release caffeine pills do exist. I've used these when I can't do my usual low-sugar iced tea in the morning, and I don't get jitters or an immediate hit that wears off quickly. Only problem with them is that if you drink more caffeine on top of it you can get jitters, or if you take it too late in the day, you can have trouble falling asleep.
posted by Aleyn at 11:22 AM on January 23, 2020

Black tea is very staining, I drink a lot of tea and have made my peace with it. Green tea, which has less caffeine in it than black, won't stain. Also, I don't know why, but green tea is super energizing for me, more so than black tea by far.

Maybe try oolong, which is oxidized to a degree between black and green, and also has pretty strong effects on me (to the extent that if I drink a pot of it say, midmorning, I have more trouble falling asleep than I do if I drink the same pot of black tea at the same time of day.)

If you don't like hot beverages, you can make it ahead and keep it in the fridge.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 11:23 AM on January 23, 2020

I've mostly made this switch (the main thing I miss is the feeling of ritual in drinking something as I'm ramping up for the day, so sometimes I fall back to that), I'd recommend looking for caffeine buffered with L-Theanine. (commonly found in green tea)
The interaction is pretty well substantiated, and it's good for smoothing out the onset/drop. (Bonus, it's one more thing in the pill that's "active" and not "filler")
posted by CrystalDave at 11:47 AM on January 23, 2020 [2 favorites]

Nuun, who makes electrolyte tablets (to dissolve in water), also has ones with caffeine. They can be mildly fizzy, and you can experiment with breaking tablets to control the dosage.
posted by itesser at 12:06 PM on January 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm team drink your Diet Mt Dew and don't worry about it.
posted by booooooze at 12:44 PM on January 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Here's a third way: caffeine mints. A mere 40 mgs per.
I'll have one mid-afternoon for the tiniest, non-jittery pick-me-up.
Bonus: they won't make you pee.
posted by BostonTerrier at 1:09 PM on January 23, 2020 [2 favorites]

I built up a significant tolerance for caffeine pills when I was in high school. I would pop a Vivarin with breakfast, drive myself and my brother to school (15-20 minutes), then fall asleep in the library until my first class some 90 minutes later. As an adult, I became overly accustomed to free coffee at the office, and would suffer headaches on the weekends unless I made coffee or had a caffeinated soda. I stopped drinking coffee because it was staining my teeth and they quit providing it free. I took up caffeinated mints (penguin reds, to be specific) for several years and was buying them in bulk. Easier to know how much caffeine I was getting with the mints, but I tended to eat more of them just because I liked the taste. I eventually decided to quit them and took up tea instead as a cheaper alternative to get my caffeine. I have a diet mt.dew with my lunch for my weekend caffeine fix. I'll probably get another batch of the mints just to have around or in the car for traveling.
My experience is: no problems with the jitters with either the mints, sodas, or tea. Coffee is really hit or miss, sometimes a big caffeine buzz, sometimes not. Caffeine pills; almost guaranteed jitters unless you've built up a tolerance.
posted by coppertop at 1:37 PM on January 23, 2020

There are caffeinated flavored sparkling waters that might be a better alternative. I assume most artificial sweeteners are sketchy, though Stevia has a lot of love from a nutritionist I know. The phosphoric acid in soda pop is said to be very bad for our bones. Caffeine (specifically coffee, but probably the caffeine) seems to be protective against diabetes type 2, liver disease, dementia, so it's not all bad news.
posted by theora55 at 1:48 PM on January 23, 2020

I love the HiBall caffeinated seltzer water - no real or artificial sweeteners, just bubbles, slight flavor and caffeine. There are two sizes, the large is a pretty big dose, so maybe small. Only downside is that they're way more expensive than regular soda, maybe $1.50/$2.00 per can.
posted by mercredi at 2:46 PM on January 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

How about substituting with some chocolate covered coffee beans.
posted by BoscosMom at 2:58 PM on January 23, 2020

I quit coffee with caffeine pills. I took the 100mg ones and a pill cutter. Worked great for me.
posted by halehale at 3:55 PM on January 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for all the great responses! I'm going to try the products in the answers I've marked, and I'll report back.
posted by kinsey at 3:33 AM on January 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

As a former Mt. Dew every morning drinker, one thing to watch out for is the interlinked joy you may be getting from the caffeine, the flavor, and the carbonation. I was able to switch over to drinking coffee in the morning (via aeropress because it's fast and less bitter), but I often still drink soda with lunch or in the afternoon because I still love the flavor and carbonation. I do also drink unflavored carbonated water, which I enjoy on its own, but nothing quite hits the center of the venn diagram like all three things together.

So, I'm team "live mostly healthy but joy is valuable, so drink the dew" too.
posted by past unusual at 8:13 AM on January 24, 2020