Would you like some nutrition with your salt?

At some point, each one of us has turned around a bottle or can of diet coke and thought, "I wonder how something could have no calories, no fat, no carbohydrates, no sugar, and still taste good". I'm sure these thoughts resonated in our minds for a few moments before we shrugged, and tilted back the can to partake in the calorie free, sodium filled nectar.

The Experience of drinking diet coke is one which is very different from most refreshments. The funny thing is, not many of us stop to actually analyze what exactly it is that so addicting about the beverage. I personally indulge in a diet coke every now and then, and always find it quite pleasing. Yet, it wasn't until a few weeks ago in class that I really stopped to analyze, and answer the question; why are we addicted to diet coke?

As I sipped the the diet coke, I had mixed feelings, but only because we were just analyzing as a class just how bad diet coke really is for you. On any other day, I would have slipped on the blissful beverage with glee and not thought twice about it. But on this particular afternoon I began to analyze what exactly it was that made diet coke so delicious to me. I believe it begins with the carbonation, it fizzes on your tongue and down your throat with a chemical burn you just can't get from juice. This fizziness almost opens your taste-buds and sends a shock to its system, immediately wanting more. 

But then there's the debate on how to drink it. Personally, I like it out of the can with a straw, I think there's something about the aluminum which is so enticing. Others prefer lots of ice, which I feel waters it down and lessens the flavor. Either way, diet coke contains the sensory satisfaction which is  the combination of salty and sweet which covers your tongues every desire, and makes it so addicting.