“You sound like you’re talking about quitting a class A drug,” my friend said, incredulously. I’d been telling her about what happened when I tried to give up my Diet Coke habit — about the sweats and shakes that followed, along with a thirst that no amount of water could quench.
“I had a week-long migraine that made me see black spots every time they opened,” I continued. “I’m telling you, it was really tough.”
I’d be lying if I said I ever managed to quit Diet Coke completely, but it’s no longer a necessary fixture of my day. Ten years ago it was a different story. Back then I was living in Strasbourg, on the French-German border, directly opposite an innocuous little corner shop. I worked long days from home, teaching English — and one particularly hot and busy summer, with no time between tutoring sessions to venture further, my corner shop visits ramped up.
Photo: AFP
The tiny store didn’t have much in the way of cold drinks — just water, regular Coke and Diet Coke. Water I could get at home, I reasoned, and regular Coke was far too sweet, so I went for Diet.
My “little treat.”
Pretty soon, though, I was treating myself three times a day — on a good day. It became the first thing I drank in the morning and the last thing before bed, often replacing water entirely. I loved the sound of the ring-pull piercing through the lid; the cool, fizzy liquid; the buzz that would follow as it awakened my senses.
“It’s not as bad as normal Coke,” I told myself, remembering the shocking information I’d seen illustrating how much sugar goes into a single can of the hard stuff.
Still, it was becoming abundantly clear that it wasn’t good for me. The sweetener used in Diet Coke, aspartame, was being increasingly linked to cancer, though experts now say it’s safe in the doses commonly consumed. It has also been linked to an increased risk of stroke.
This, plus my own fixation on the drink, terrified me. I found myself thinking about it constantly — when I could have one, how that first sip tasted. I wasn’t sleeping well and felt more irritable. I got a headache if I didn’t have it before 9am. I had rules: no bottles, no variations (the caffeine-free and lime versions are an abomination), definitely no Pepsi. It had to be ice-cold Diet Coke, from a can, ideally served in a glass with ice. That cracking sound the ring-pull made as it was lifted had me salivating like Pavlov’s dog. I was hooked.
Initially, I tried lowering my intake, popping out to grab one once a headache started to take hold. But I often felt sluggish in the afternoons, especially as I didn’t like other caffeinated drinks.
Pretty soon I started breaking my own rule and upping my daily quota to two. That meant 14 cans a week, or 4,620 milliliters. I was still thinking about it constantly.
I decided that going cold turkey was the only way to stop me obsessing. The headaches, tiredness, irritability and sweats I experienced in the week that followed were a drag to pull myself through, but I did it. I also forced myself to start drinking tea in the mornings, which helped ease my headaches.
Now I rarely drink Diet Coke at all, but I still experience a yearning for it whenever I see someone else enjoying a can. Very occasionally, on holiday or at special events, I’ll indulge, but I have to quickly have a word with myself otherwise it’ll snowball into becoming an everyday fixture again.
The realization that Diet Coke had such a hold on me, coupled with my withdrawal symptoms, was (and remains) enough to scare me off; my body as well as my bank balance have thanked me for quitting. Yet, as bad as it got, I don’t think I’ll ever feel indifferent about the beverage. I can’t imagine a time when, on seeing it, I don’t fantasize about the hiss of the ring-pull, the sight of the beads of condensation running down the can — or the thrill of that first, beautiful sip.
As we live longer, our risk of cognitive impairment is increasing. How can we delay the onset of symptoms? Do we have to give up every indulgence or can small changes make a difference? We asked neurologists for tips on how to keep our brains healthy for life. TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH “All of the sensible things that apply to bodily health apply to brain health,” says Suzanne O’Sullivan, a consultant in neurology at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, and the author of The Age of Diagnosis. “When you’re 20, you can get away with absolute
When the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese forces 50 years ago this week, it prompted a mass exodus of some 2 million people — hundreds of thousands fleeing perilously on small boats across open water to escape the communist regime. Many ultimately settled in Southern California’s Orange County in an area now known as “Little Saigon,” not far from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, where the first refugees were airlifted upon reaching the US. The diaspora now also has significant populations in Virginia, Texas and Washington state, as well as in countries including France and Australia.
On April 17, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) launched a bold campaign to revive and revitalize the KMT base by calling for an impromptu rally at the Taipei prosecutor’s offices to protest recent arrests of KMT recall campaigners over allegations of forgery and fraud involving signatures of dead voters. The protest had no time to apply for permits and was illegal, but that played into the sense of opposition grievance at alleged weaponization of the judiciary by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to “annihilate” the opposition parties. Blamed for faltering recall campaigns and faced with a KMT chair
A police station in the historic sailors’ quarter of the Belgian port of Antwerp is surrounded by sex workers’ neon-lit red-light windows. The station in the Villa Tinto complex is a symbol of the push to make sex work safer in Belgium, which boasts some of Europe’s most liberal laws — although there are still widespread abuses and exploitation. Since December, Belgium’s sex workers can access legal protections and labor rights, such as paid leave, like any other profession. They welcome the changes. “I’m not a victim, I chose to work here and I like what I’m doing,” said Kiana, 32, as she
RSS