When the fizz falls flat.....

I am, or should I say (sort of) was addicted to Diet Coke.

And, it should be said, Coke Zero, Pepsi Max, Barr's Cola, etc. and so on, (to be fair).

Not as bad as some-two or three cans a day max, but at least one. Most days. Of most of my adult life.

Why worry? You might say. At least it's not sugar. Well, it hasn't made me happier, I'd say. Of course, like any addiction, the fix can lift you. I don't drink tea or coffee (I never have), so it's that caffeine buzz I suppose. And, when I first tried it in around 1985, I actually didn't like the taste. But it's healthier for you, isn't it? Right? So I persisted.

And somewhere in America (and Falkirk?) a bean counter is celebrating as another sale means another customer is enjoying the cool, refreshing, taste of an ice cold..... etc.

But, that customer is struggling with a (caffeine fuelled) addiction. And a nagging feeling that those artificial sweeteners can't be good for you....? Yes, I know they don't get absorbed by digestion, and pass through you. But where do they go then? Are they filtered out during sewage treatment? Well, the scandal in the UK right now is that raw sewage is not being treated, but is being pumped directly into our rivers. So, do the fish drink in the artificial sweeteners? Oh, no worry. There aren't any fish-they've been killed by the sewage. Problem solved. Kind of.

And do diet sodas actual help you lose weight? What about the reverse? The evidence on the internet I've seen seems inconclusive. But personally, in a sample size of one, I feel heavier if I've been drinking 'diet' sodas. And what if you're taking Olanzapine, or any other drug in its class? Does the combination actually

cause you to gain weight? Again. the evidence seems inconclusive.

But, for me, the love affair is over. It started as a schoolboy crush. It's ended with me feeling let down...