The Effects of drinking a Can of Cola (Coke, Pepsi etc)

[Bathsheba]

just found this while surfing the net:


Recent headlines have already told us that drinking any kind of soda is bad for you, but below is some food for thought about what happens in your body after you consume a Coke (courtesy of Better Health News). It probably applies to any kind of cola. It'll make you think before you grab that next cold one.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DRINK A COKE

In the first 10 minutes:
Ten teaspoons of sugar slam into your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) Instead of vomiting from the extreme sweetness (which would most likely occur if you actually somehow managed to ingest ten teaspoons of actual processed sugar all at once), phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.

At 20 minutes:
Your blood sugar spikes, which causes your pancreas in turn to emit an insulin burst. Just like a domino, your liver will in turn respond to this by changing any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (And you've just ingested plenty of sugar, so your liver is finding a lot to work with.)

At 40 minutes:
Your body has completely absorbed the caffeine by now. Your pupils dilate and your blood pressure rises. You liver responds and releases more sugar into your bloodstream.

At 45 minutes:
The dopamine production in your body is increased, which stimulates the pleasure centers of your brain. Heroin, and most other drugs, work in exactly the same way.

Over 60 minutes:
The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.

Over 60 minutes:
The caffeine?s diuretic properties come into play and you'll have to run to the bathroom. It is now assured that you?ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.

Over 60 minutes:
As the party inside of you dies down you?ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You'll also lose valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like hydrating your system or building strong bones and teeth.

Source:
Better Health News

[visitor1]

OMG thats amazing.....thankfully im not allowed coke anymore!!!

[~Belinda~]

Are you serious? Man...I love lollies, imagine what my body does then!

[Bathsheba]

I don't drink the stuff. Don't like the taste or that burning sensation you get when you drink it. I'll have maybe 1 or 2 glasses a year though... when I'm at a party and there's nothing else on offer.... but i might even avoid that now. Give me a lemon lime and bitters anyday!

ETA: mind you i "need" my two cups of coffee each day! But at least you can have that without sugar (i don't put sugar in proper coffee, only instant).

[~Belinda~]

Yeah COKE is awful, it's so fizzy and makes me hiccup everytime I have a sip (which may be once a year if that!)...and to think...there are some parents out there that give their kids COKE all the time! Scary....

[Smoke Jaguar]

I'm another 'once or twice a year at a party' member!! This is exactly why, too! Thanks for the reminder

[Bathsheba]

I wonder whether parents realise drinking coke leads to mineral leaching? (depletion).

Interesting that it leads to dehydration instead of hydration. It's not a drink at all... more like a 'sponge'.

[Smoke Jaguar]

I wonder whether parents realise drinking coke leads to mineral leaching? (depletion).

Interesting that it leads to dehydration instead of hydration. It's not a drink at all... more like a 'sponge'.

people treat me like a puritan when I say that Oscar doesn't drink it EVER...yeah, what a terrible deprivation!
Also, I too think of it as exactly the opposite of quenching a thirst and I make sure I drink water or a mineral drink in the same session.
The whole product is pretty loathesome, especially when I remember being in Central America and seeing families with next to no money buy bottles and bottles of Coke for their kids who are brainwashed with the marketing from the US. I have cousins there who drink it, I kid you not, instead of water because they think water is horrible...and before anyone thinks that this is because water quality is crap there, I'll tell you now that everyone there drinks bottled water (when they're not drinking Coke or Pepsi!), so they're opting to buy more expensive Coke than nice water.

[Heaven]

Omg, that's bad. Lucky I hardly ever drink it. I could never get through a whole can, makes me so full!!
I read once if you put a tooth in a glass of coke overnight it will be dissolved by morning!

[saslia]

Give me a lemon lime and bitters anyday!

I get migraines from bitters so I used to substitute with vodka

But I do love Coke!!

[Bathsheba]

That's a shame Salsia Bitters is meant to be good for you (unless you get migraines)... I think I might go make one right now! Soooo hoooot! Lots of ice *clink*

[Rouge]

I'll just get aspartame poisoning instead

Oh well I'm not quite ready to give up my diet coke just yet. Happy to say though both my kids thing its poison and have never even had so much as a taste and Marc swore off Coke a long time ago after being addicted to it for ages.

[slyder]

I used to buy the 2L bottles routinely, but eventually started to notice how many were piling up each fortnight at recycle time.

Then when I was training heavily I went cold turkey for months for the first time ever. It wasn't that hard.

But now I still crave it. So instead of buying the big bottles, if I do have any I limit myself to one can on any given day (375ml).

I don't really feel any guilt though, as I don't drink much alcohol, don't smoke, don't drink coffee or have any other common vices. I take on board what that article says, but the effects of numerous other highly processed foods and beverages would be similar.

This reminds me of my Grade 4 teacher who used to drink a 2L bottle of coke every day! She wanted to give up, so she started drinking 2L of Diet Coke.

[New Dawn]

I don't really feel any guilt though, as I don't drink much alcohol, don't smoke, don't drink coffee or have any other common vices. I take on board what that article says, but the effects of numerous other highly processed foods and beverages would be similar.

My thoughts too slyder I dont have many vices in this world but coke looks like it is it shame I am having to much heartburn at the moment to enjoy any...

Thanks for the info though Bath now at least I can tell the kids why its only for mummy...

[paradise lost]

To be fair to coke the effects listed only happen to the extent listed if you drink a can of coke on a totally empty system on its own and don't eat or drink anything else while it's in your system.

If you have a burger with your coke (lets not go into calories right now!) the fats in the food bind to the nurtients and prevents the coke from leaching them out. If you have a good salad with it so much the better. If you had the burger on a wholemeal bun you won't have so severe a sugar crash because it burns slower. That will also curb the initial sugar high as the body breaks down the mixed GI foods all together (i.e. not the coke first, then the bun etc.).

Dopamine is produced in response to all food eaten after the hunger sensation has begun and to any high sugar or high fat food ingested unless one is full-to-vomiting.

If you want a reason not to drink coke consider this: the energy it costs to make ONE can the coke comes in could run your television for THREE HOURS.

Bx

[feeb]

i must say i do like coke but I DO NOT drink alchol appart from socially but not while preg, i dont smoke i dont drink tea or coffee!

I do not aggree with kids drinking it especailly the little ones with coke in a bottle.

[DoubleK]

This reminds me of my Grade 4 teacher who used to drink a 2L bottle of coke every day! She wanted to give up, so she started drinking 2L of Diet Coke.

that sounds like me, i can go through a 1.25L bottle before dp gets home from work, then probably another one with him.. im kinda dependant on it! i dont think ive gone without a drink of coke for more than a day(if that!) i know its bad for me, but like slyder said.. i dont drink coffee, or smoke, very rarely drink alcohol... i dont think i could ever stop!

i wont be letting Krystal drink it, maybe a sip but not a glass full one afte rthe other like i do, thats for sure!

[doulamamma]

we dont have soft drinks in our house and anytime we are out and there is on the table, dd always asks for it - with a spoon - she can't handle the bubbles and needs to stir it till there aren't any. i dont think kids should drink any fizzy drinks - water only and juice for special occasions - the sugar content is just too high for them- and if its not in the fridge it wont get into them - and eventually they will stop asking - i;ve seen it happen