Dear Diet Coke,

I write this letter to you with sadness and much reluctance but you and I know this day would eventual come. You have been with me for so long but I have to do what is right for my body and so it is with a great deal of grief that I am saying good bye. It's not the color your syrup or the shape of your can it's simple because you're full of crap. Crap that I'm more and more convinced is bad for me.

Why the sudden cut off after years of a joyful relationship? It's simple. I don't feel well and I want to feel well again and I have a hunch (and lots of articles to back me up) that you may have something to do with it.

For years now I have keep you as my constant companion. You have always been there for me whether at home, in the car, among friends, in the morning or late into the afternoon. You traveled with me, enjoyed long days at the beach with me and got me through some pretty crummy hours. I especially loved my McDonald runs when we would greet at the drive up window and I would take you in my hands and joyfully guzzle your cold fizzes down my quenching throat. The first gulp was the best moment and the one I will miss the most. And to enjoy a whole 44 oz of you for a mere 99 cents was a real treat. (Mario, Lisa and Jasmin I will not be seeing you quite as often. You guys rock and are McDonald's best!)

I like you so much I wanted you around every day, sometimes several times a day. But I know now that that is part of your trick to keep friends. And lets face it dependency in any relationship is ultimately destructive.
For years I have weighed the debate; Toxic! Safe! Poisonous! Harmless! Very confusing actually but I always ended up believing you really weren't "that bad" and so I keep you as a friend. My mother always thought my consumption was bad for me. But who listens to their mother, even if they're usually right? It has been my only vice; no tonics, margaritas, cigarettes or two piece bathing suits, just you.

While there does exist a happy list of why I should continue our relationship the list to kick you to the curb is even longer. The caffeine, the artificial sweetener, the other chemicals doing who knows what to my body is reason enough not to mention each week my recycle bin is overflowing with aluminum cans. Which is great that I'm recycling but wouldn't be better for the enviroment if I never bought the cans in the first place? I've also read this article, and this article and this article. But the tipping point for me was when I read this:

"If you are using aspartame ... and you suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting pains, numbness in your legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, joint pain, depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, or memory loss - you probably have aspartame disease.
I will explain why Aspartame is so dangerous: When the temperature of this sweetener exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood alcohol in ASPARTAME converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which in turn causes metabolic acidosis. Formic acid is the poison found in the sting of fire ants. The methanol toxicity mimics, among other conditions, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus. Many people were being diagnosed in error. Although multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence, Methanol toxicity is!This also applies to cases of tinnitus and fibromyalgia.
STOP drinking diet sodas and be alert for Aspartame on food labels! Many products are fortified with it! This is a serious problem.
Diet soda is NOT a diet product! It is a chemically altered, multiple SODIUM (salt) and ASPARTAME containing product that actually makes you crave carbohydrates. It is far more likely to make you GAIN weight!

DING, DING, DING, DING, DING fibromyalgia like symptoms HELLO.

Fact or exaggerated fiction? I don't know for sure but if the claims are even a bit true, well that good enough for me so Monday January 18th was the last time I will ever hold you in my hands.

So long friend....so long,

Me