I like to think there is a little something for everyone here.  It isn’t necessarily out of spite that I do this, but I’ve drawn inspiration from the comments before.  Why stop now?


This is my review of Perrier Peach.  Hat Tip:  mikey.


What, this isn’t beer?  You don’t say?

I actually drink a lot of these during the day a a substitute for something else I used to drink a lot of:  energy drinks.  About a year ago I stopped when it occurred to me that I was drinking three to four of them a day.  It all started during the fall 2007 when I was assigned to the airfield lighting crew.  It was a nice gig at the time because all airfields are a high voltage series circuit.  Each light is connected to a device called an isolation transformer, which is connected in series with each other like Christmas lights, so it is easy to troubleshoot.

It also meant we had to complete the check prior to the start of the ops day, which meant I reported in at 0430.  I compensated for this when I discovered something called Boo Koo Energy Drink.  This eventually led to me switching to sugar-free energy drinks due to a concern for the amount of sugar I was drinking. 

So why stop?  It had absolutely nothing to do with concern for aspartame which is a bit of a myth.  It turns out there is no causal effect between aspartame and cancer.  This, according to the American Cancer Society.

It really didn’t have anything to do with concerns over aspartame and nerulogical disorders either.  Apparently, this is the claim floating around the ether:

75% of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA each year including seizures, migraines, dizzinesss, nausea, muscle spasms, weight gain, depression, fatigue, irritability, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety, tinnitus, schizophrenia and death.

None of these are linked to aspartame.  In anything, these symptoms have more to do with other compounds like food dyes, used in products along with aspartame.  It’s only been used in food products since the 80s, if it caused seizures wouldn’t this kind of information show up beyond WordPress sites and Facebook memes?

Finally, I didn’t stop drinking them because energy drinks are all that dangerous.  In fact, there are no fewer than 2097 studies on the subject, as determined in a literature review published in 2014.  They concluded,

Energy drink consumption is a health issue primarily of the adolescent and young adult male population. It is linked to increased substance abuse and risk-taking behaviors.

In other words, people that engage in risky activities, like to drink Red Bull.  Funny, given Red Bull markets itself with people that engage in high risk activities.

Red Bull is not responsible for injury, accidents, or death resulting from extreme sports

So why did I stop drinking energy drinks?  I never let my kids drink soda, and it seemed hypocritical that I drink so much of it in front of them. So I quit.  The caffeine withdrawal subsided after a couple months but I still choke down a cup of coffee or two.  The mineral water is…nice.  Its water, but with little bubbles.  The lime flavored one is much better; the peach is weird.  Perrier Peach:  0/5.