I know what you’re probably thinking. Oh my God, why would she expose herself of her addiction to coke.

Well, it’s LA ..Everyone…

Drinks Diet Coke.

Recently, Elon Musk tweeted out:

It went viral. He said “this is why our grandparents could walk 20 miles in the snow…” We all had a good laugh.

Enough Elon talk. I’m here to tell you about how I would go about my life drinking 12 diet coke cans a day. Imagine the amount of recycling I did. Nowhere near exageration. Just an average habit of an extremist. Ridiculous? I know.

Diet Coke not only addicting but it’s also an eating disorder’s dream come true. 0 calories. Like are you kidding? This addiction kept my weight off but it also had a lot of side effects such as bloating, high caffeine tolerance, and a leaky gut.

Diet Coke contains a “synthetic chemical composed of the amino acids phenylalanine and aspartic acid, with a methyl ester. When consumed, the methyl ester breaks down into methanol, which may be converted into formaldehyde.” This artificial sweetener is called aspartame and even the smallest dose of aspartame converts our gut bacteria into toxic. This phenomenon led scientists to conclude that “this is further evidence that consumption of artificial sweeteners adversely affects gut microbial activity which can cause a wide range of health issues. They’ve been associated with weight gain, slashing the chances of getting pregnant during IVF, tripling the risk of a deadly stroke and dementia, and raising the risk of developing diabetes.”

“Good gut health relies on a healthy gut microbiome, which has been associated with everything from digestion, nutrient absorption and immune system function.”

Personally, the consumption of Diet Coke led to residual problems that caused me issues beyond just bloating itself. I developed a leaky gut.

What exactly is a leaky gut and what’re the signs you unknowingly might have one?

It’s basically a domino effect:

I started eating fast food (consequences of food industry) > led to unhealthy habits causing leaky gut > leaky gut caused me to crave sugars > craving sugar led to gaining weight > compensation of gaining weight with consumption of diet foods containing artifical sugars > consumption of Diet Coke soda > the aspartame component converted good bacteria to bad bacteria > that bad bacteria started to build up and created microscopic holes in my intestines > intestines started to leak > leading up to a leaky gut.

Intuitively, you would now know that a leaky gut is basically your intestines leaking from the microscopic lesions the bacteria has caused.

Simple cause and effect. Here are the symptoms I noticably experienced:

• Gas and bloating (caused from fermentation by overgrown bacteria in your gut)
• Low energy from the reduced ability to draw energy from your food (nutrients leaking out from the microscopic holes that were created from the toxic bacteria)
• Excessive fatigue (which is why energy drinks don’t even keep me awake)
• Skin rashes and problems such as acne, eczema and rosacea
• Cravings for sugar and carbs

It’s good to know these things so you are informed where your ailments are developed from (called micromanaging).

You could be going about your daily life, consuming all of these things without knowing the detrimental side effects. The biggest worry we have is making money and maintaining a sustainable life, why do we need to be worried about the little things such as health? I blame the food industry, but that’s just going down a whole another rabbit hole.

Through this toxic cycle that ruled my life, I started the new obsession of pill popping and my life was never the same since then.

Let me clarify.

Probiotic. pill. popping. This wonder pill allowed me to stop craving the massive Cheesecake Factory chocolate cakes, Starbucks Matcha Frappes, and completely wiped out my chronic yeast infections. How? The excess of sugars cause an overgrowth of yeast cells that feed on sugars, which will create an imbalance inside of your microbiome causing the yeast cells to demand of more energy to reproduce and multiple (your body craving of sugars like cake and frappes).

So what is this probiotic?

“Probiotics are live microorganisms that are intended to have health benefits when consumed or applied to the body. They can be found in yogurt and other fermented foods, dietary supplements, and beauty products.”

However, one common and huge misconception that people have is that they think they can simply reap all the benefits of probiotics with the single consumption of kefir, kombucha, kimchi, and yogurt. But, this is totally not the case. Let me explain:

Basically, if you have consumed these foods with the assumption that probiotics are good for you, you’re not completely wrong. You’re on the right track, but not performing as well as you are capable of performing. People need to understand that foods can only contain so many probiotics which is why the word “supplements” exist because we are supplementing for what we are lacking. Probiotics supplements must be taken to counteract the diet we consume if we want to avoid the mysterious ailments we experience.

Now that you are more informed about probiotics,

YOU have the power to be smart, sexy, skinny, and a bad b*tch. The only bad we need is in Bad B*tch, we don’t have time for bad bacteria. If you’re looking for a sign, this is your sign.

Click here to shop one of the strongest probiotics on the market.

Thank me later, see you on the flip side bestie. xoxo

Thank you for listening to my version of a TedTalk 

Michelle Oh publishes on Medium three times a week; follow her here to get each post in your email 

Michelle is a CEO of Ohbiotics, USC Marshall Alumni, and a strong supporter of the Asian American community. She’s @ohbiotics on Twitter, Instagram, Discord, and Pinterest.