Interesting article about coke (the pop)

[vintagelover229]

Just thought I'd share an interesting article I read online today with you all about the coke.

http://www.nutritionresearchcenter.org/healthnews/what-happens-to-your-body-if-you-drink-a-coke-right-now/

 

[MissStepcut]

I only drink diet, but I drink a TON of it. I've been waiting and waiting for damning research to pop up, but so far everything I've seen has been pretty speculative

 

[MonkeyPie]

While I can't say anything about my internal doings, I do know that I don't have a sugar high or a crash, nor does soda make me have to pee. Soooo....yeah.

 

[Colltee]

I only drink diet, but I drink a TON of it. I've been waiting and waiting for damning research to pop up, but so far everything I've seen has been pretty speculative

I (regretfully) drink diet coke too occasionally, mainly with alcohol ~ aka if I'm having a vodka etc. I'm not a doctor, nor do I work in any area relating to healthcare, but hate to tell you, most advice is it's way worse than regular coke - which basically will eventually make all your teeth fall out, apart from anything else is does to your inners. Aspartame is very bad for you. Most research done on it says it's not good for your brain at all... along with a host of other nasties...

At the end of the day, all sodas, fizzy drinks, artificial sweeteners etc., are really bad for you and you should just avoid them altogether.

 

[kenny]

I knew it was bad for you but, yuck, that's pretty sad.

Me? I never buy a soda.
My SO loves them and a couple times a year I'll take a sip of his and it's wonderful.
I'm surprised I never got hooked.

 

[Colltee]

I knew it was bad for you but, yuck, that's pretty sad.

Me? I never touch sodas.
My SO loves them and a couple times a year I'll take a sip of his and it's wonderful.
I'm surprised I never got hooked.

It took me years to wean myself of full fat Coke, I used to drink buckets of the stuff as a teenager (my dentist loved me for it a few years ago when he told me I needed 4 fillings in one hit ), I used to think Diet Coke tasted like someone had put dish washing-up liquid in a regular coke and just couldn't stomach it. Now years on when I do taste a regular coke after getting used to diet - Man, it is AWFUL, it's like downing 3 cups of sugar

 

[TristanC]

I've seesawed on this quite a fair bit. Used to be a fan of FatCoke (that's what I call it), then weaned off to Diet Coke, and then I realised that if you read the label, Diet coke is essentially someone brewing a batch of pseudo edible chemicals together and chilling it and then having you drink it.

So I've moved back to Fatcoke. Since that's only gonna make your teeth fall out, and give you diabetes and kill you early. You can always combat it with more exercise and good oral care. Better the known enemy than the friend you don't understand I think (aspartame and other chemicals whose metabolic pathways aren't naturally occuring in our whole food diets in large quantities)

But of late, I've skipped all the canned/bottled sodas altogether. And I can't say that I'm feeling any loss. It was essentially a trained response. The folks used to have a plethora of cans in the fridge and I'd crack one open each mealtime.

 

[MissStepcut]

I only drink diet, but I drink a TON of it. I've been waiting and waiting for damning research to pop up, but so far everything I've seen has been pretty speculative

I (regretfully) drink diet coke too occasionally, mainly with alcohol ~ aka if I'm having a vodka etc. I'm not a doctor, nor do I work in any area relating to healthcare, but hate to tell you, most advice is it's way worse than regular coke - which basically will eventually make all your teeth fall out, apart from anything else is does to your inners. Aspartame is very bad for you. Most research done on it says it's not good for your brain at all... along with a host of other nasties...

At the end of the day, all sodas, fizzy drinks, artificial sweeteners etc., are really bad for you and you should just avoid them altogether.

See, I just am not buying it. I've spent a fair bit of time trying to prove that it's actually bad for you, and it doesn't seem to be supported by the science. FWIW my stepfather, who is a surgeon and fellow Diet Coke addict has done the same and come to the same conclusion: it might be terrible for you, but if it is, no one has shown how.

 

[lyra]

I can't drink any type of soda, it just doesn't agree with me. I think coke and other sodas must have some addictive property, maybe just the sugar or sweetness, because it seems darn hard to kick the habit judging by the friends I know who have tried. I can't imagine consuming all those chemicals regularly. It has got to be doing bad things. I don't think it's doing anything helpful for sure.

 

[maplefemme]

We use soda to clean out patient's peg tubes (feeding tubes) when they get blocked, they break down everything nicely.
Also club soda to clean mouths that are encrusted with mucus and dried saliva, works a charm...
Can't imagine what it does to our inner workings, I can't drink the stuff now, I see it as a "pipe cleaner".

 

[Amys Bling]

What isn't bad for you these days???

 

[Verdy]

I am stunned. I knew it was bad for you, but I didn't think it was THAT bad. I'm not a soda fan myself, but my dad is and drinks them quite frequently. I have maybe half of one every two or three years, but other than that, it's water for me, always!

 

[HopeDream]

This article certainly isn't written from a neutral standpoint and uses quite biased language. While I don't disagree with the possibility of the outcomes mentioned, I'm not sure they happen to the extent suggested by the article.

Things that struck me as odd:
1)"vomit from the overwhelming sweetness" Vomiting doesn't usualy follow sugar ingestion anyway - even if you eat pure sugar like cotton candy. 2)First your liver is turning the excess sugar into fat at 20 min and then 20 min later it's putting sugar back into the bloodstream? are we storing nutrients or not? 3) 45 min - dopamine receptors triggered : they mention heroine, but they don't mention that dopamine can also also triggered by seratonin released from excercise or any other pleasureable activity. 4)The article also don't mention to what extent the phosphoric acid combines with your body's minerals - are we talking benign trace amounts or serious leaching? There is a difference (drinking any carbonated beverage will leach some calcium from your body, because of the PH of the carbination)

How does the body's reaction to cola compare with the body's reaction to other acidic sugar laden liquids like orange juice, or sugar and caffiene laden liquids like coffee? Betcha it's similar.

I don't think that consuming softdrinks should happen on more than a weekly basis, but I don't think they cause serious damage either. Everything in moderation.

 

[kenny]

I think American Coke now uses High Fructose Corn Syrup instead of real sugar.
Here in California we can get Coke that was imported from Mexico at many stores.
It is made with real sugar and tastes much cleaner and fresher, with no weird aftertaste.

It is much more expensive.

I heard that whole New Coke vs. Classic Coke debacle back in 1985 was just a smoke screen so people would not notice the flavor change when they switched from sugar to HFCS.

 

[centralsquare]

I heard that whole New Coke vs. Classic Coke debacle back in 1985 was just a smoke screen so people would not notice the flavor change when they switched from sugar to HFCS.

Interesting...never thought about it that way. Remember clear Coke? Or was it Clear Pepsi. Lasted just as long as New Coke!

 

[monarch64]

I weaned myself off of diet cola's about a year and a half ago. Caffeine was doing terrible things to my body (I quit coffee altogether as well, but I wasn't ever a fan of it except to wake myself up every morning) and since then I've been curbing my carbonated beverage cravings with clear sodas like generic diet lemon/lime and diet root beer. Clear carbonated beverages, although they are caffeine-free, also allegedly ruin the enamel on your teeth. Other caffeine-free carbonated bevs are full of dyes and other yucky to your system stuff. I'm trying hard to stick to water and natural juices (we bought a juicer this summer) nowadays. Everything is somehow bad for you!

 

[galeteia]

After reading that diet soda could be causing the Metabolism Syndrome symptoms I've been having (no diabetes yet, but I don't have a diet high in processed sugars) I tried to wean myself off soda completely. The only problem I'm having is that the local water here, even filtered, tastes AWFUL.

So, I drink Blue Sky (hippie brand) diet sodas that are sweetened with Stevia, which isn't beleaguered with side effects like artificial sweeteners like the ones in commercial brand diet sodas. Most things made with Stevia taste like ass, but Blue Sky doesn't. Their cola is made with real cola nut, apparently, and SO hates Stevia but he loves their coke.

So, FYI to check out that brand if you are jonesing for cola but don't want real or fake sugars.

 

[makemepretty]

Moderation is the only thing people need to learn. I don't believe Coke is any worse for you than any other junk food out there. It's junk food for a reason because it's a treat. If I have a pop(movie theater, maybe a diner, order pizza) I get a real Coke, not diet. I realized most people who drink diet aren't skinny.

 

[Colltee]

I realized most people who drink diet aren't skinny.

Diets sodas actually lend to people putting on weight.

It's similar to the whole 'diet food' phenomenon' aka 'No Fat' foods = little fat but choc-a-block full of refined sugars and sugar is the worst thing you can ingest, not fat.. I always find it hilarious to see the whole: 'I'll take a cream cake and a diet coke thanks' exercise in practice - it's like the diet coke negates out the sugar in the cake.. ?!?

I drink diet coke very occasionally and I only do so it in an effort to save my teeth - somewhat - but over all try to avoid fizzy drinks full stop.

 

[Tuckins1]

I don't really drink soda, but when I was pregnant I started drinking diet Vernors (for my morning sickness, and it's no caffeine). I still drink one per day.

 

[Deia]

I drink Coke Zero. Diet Coke tastes like metal to me now since I switched to Coke Zero. I rarely drink regular Coke. It's just a matter of drinking it in moderation, like everything else.

 

[ame]

I only drink diet, but I drink a TON of it. I've been waiting and waiting for damning research to pop up, but so far everything I've seen has been pretty speculative

Same. I like LIVE on Diet Dr. Pepper. And Diet Coke. Well, if I did I probably wouldn't be a fatty. I also eat too much crapola often with my DDP. Though I usually buy caffiene free.

 

[vintagelover229]

A quick Google of aspartame pulled up these results (not commenting on the accuracy of them or not, just providing the links for reading material)

Either way, for it, against it, there are LOTS going both ways. And if there is a lot of info saying it's bad for you (and coke will take the rust off a penny) I'm personally more inclined to think it's probably not very good for you.

To each their own though. I'm just glad that as a child I didn't like the carbonation of the pop nor the taste so I never really drank it. I was the only kid who didn't order a pop while getting fast food nor did I drink root beer floats because I didn't like pop.

http://sweetpoison.com/

http://www.aspartamesafety.com/

A short minute and a half video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n-gA0wvi84&feature=player_embedded

http://www.naturalnews.com/026656_aspartame_leukemia_formaldehyde.html







A clip from one article

According to the FDA's own audit on aspartame, the Bressler Report, aspartame triggers brain tumors, mammary tumors, pancreatic tumors, ovarian tumors, pituitary adenomas, uterine tumors, etc. A senior FDA toxicologist, the late Dr. Adrian Gross, who tried to prevent the approval of aspartame, told Congress that it violated the Delaney Amendment because it triggered brain tumors (Congressional Record SID835:131 - 8/1/85).

Aspartame has also been shown to trigger birth defects and miscarriages -- not just if the mother uses it, but the father also.

The approval of aspartame was the most contested in FDA history. The approval of the artificial sweetener was not based on scientific evidence but on political (and financial) interests. Aspartame was first discovered in 1965 by G.D. Searle, a Chicago drug company best known for their product, Round-Up®. The FDA eventually approved aspartame in 1981, even though the scientific research clearly showed that aspartame caused brain cancer and fetal deformities in lab animals.

Before aspartame was approved in beverages in 1983, the National Soft Drink Association created a THIRTY PAGE PROTEST (that was later read into the Congressional Record) declaring that aspartame was NOT stable, and that it could actually make unwary users FATTER!

Aspartame is a very sweet chemical, responsible for a host of health problems such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, brain diseases, migraines, ADHD, etc.

Aspartame breaks down into three components:

1. Methanol.
This is poisonous alcohol. In the body, methanol breaks down into formaldehyde, which is a poison.

2. Phenylalanine.
This decreases the amount serotonin in your brain, which leads to mood swings (depressions) and an increased appetite! This is why aspartame is one of the main causes for the current obesity epidemic.

3. Aspartic acid.
This is a neurological toxin comparable to MSG.

The US Department of Health has recorded 92 symptoms following complaints about aspartame. In fact, over 80% of all complaints filed with FDA are related to aspartame consumption!

Some of the brand names for aspartame:
NutraSweet, Equal, NatraTaste, Canderel, Spoonful, Equal-Measure, etc.

Aspartame is used in any of the following products:
Sugarfree, Light, Diet, Zero (Coke, Sprite & Fanta), Coke 007, Pepsi Max, Crystal Clear, Low-Calorie, Crystal Light, No Sugar Added, Sportlife, Stimorol Ice, Stimorol Fusion, Freedent, Mentos, Smint, etc.

Avoid this toxic chemical for 60 days and discover how your health will improve dramatically!

End clip from article




Thoughts? For me personally, the potential harms that *could* be caused by consuming it out weight the actually enjoyment of drinking it (from which I get none but do understand that many people do).

 

[Haven]

Another interesting website about Coke and the company:
http://killercoke.org/

 

[MissStepcut]

The Wiki article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame_controversy#Cancer) on the subject summarizes and cites the research that seems to discount the cancer and weight gain link. As for tooth health, the only study I've seen on the subject was on extracted teeth without the effect of saliva or tooth brushing. Generally, my thought is, diet coke has been used and abused by dieting women in the US for decades. If it lead to teeth rotting out, I would imagine someone would have found the pattern by now.

 

[maplefemme]

Another interesting website about Coke and the company:
http://killercoke.org/

That's really interesting, Haven...
I know when I worked in India there were huge demonstrations and unrest over Coke's impact on agriculture, but I had no idea about the potential toxin levels actually in the final product.

 

[HollyS]

I have worked in auto dealerships; service/parts departments will use Coke to soak rusty parts in. Seriously. Do you want this in your stomach?

I have soda once in a while - - a few times a year - - and never drink the whole can. But, I'm spoiled; I remember glass bottles. The best sodas were always the small glass bottles from a cooler that kept them icy cold. Drinking from a can doesn't taste the same.

I once heard a physician state that the three worst things we can ever put in our bodies -- so eat them only sparingly, if at all -- are refined sugars, refined white flours/starches, and any carbonated drink.

Non-diet sodas, drunk in copious amounts, will cause kidney problems and diabetes. I have the family members to prove that theory. As for diet sodas, I have read that it can raise blood pressure; something about increased sodium in diet soda.

Water and tea, my friends. Water and tea.

 

[kenny]

See what Snopes says about Coke dissolving a tooth.

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/tooth.asp

 

[partgypsy]

A quick Google of aspartame pulled up these results (not commenting on the accuracy of them or not, just providing the links for reading material)

Either way, for it, against it, there are LOTS going both ways. And if there is a lot of info saying it's bad for you (and coke will take the rust off a penny) I'm personally more inclined to think it's probably not very good for you.

To each their own though. I'm just glad that as a child I didn't like the carbonation of the pop nor the taste so I never really drank it. I was the only kid who didn't order a pop while getting fast food nor did I drink root beer floats because I didn't like pop.

http://sweetpoison.com/

http://www.aspartamesafety.com/

A short minute and a half video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n-gA0wvi84&feature=player_embedded

http://www.naturalnews.com/026656_aspartame_leukemia_formaldehyde.html







A clip from one article

According to the FDA's own audit on aspartame, the Bressler Report, aspartame triggers brain tumors, mammary tumors, pancreatic tumors, ovarian tumors, pituitary adenomas, uterine tumors, etc. A senior FDA toxicologist, the late Dr. Adrian Gross, who tried to prevent the approval of aspartame, told Congress that it violated the Delaney Amendment because it triggered brain tumors (Congressional Record SID835:131 - 8/1/85).

Aspartame has also been shown to trigger birth defects and miscarriages -- not just if the mother uses it, but the father also.

The approval of aspartame was the most contested in FDA history. The approval of the artificial sweetener was not based on scientific evidence but on political (and financial) interests. Aspartame was first discovered in 1965 by G.D. Searle, a Chicago drug company best known for their product, Round-Up®. The FDA eventually approved aspartame in 1981, even though the scientific research clearly showed that aspartame caused brain cancer and fetal deformities in lab animals.

Before aspartame was approved in beverages in 1983, the National Soft Drink Association created a THIRTY PAGE PROTEST (that was later read into the Congressional Record) declaring that aspartame was NOT stable, and that it could actually make unwary users FATTER!

Aspartame is a very sweet chemical, responsible for a host of health problems such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, brain diseases, migraines, ADHD, etc.

Aspartame breaks down into three components:

1. Methanol.
This is poisonous alcohol. In the body, methanol breaks down into formaldehyde, which is a poison.

2. Phenylalanine.
This decreases the amount serotonin in your brain, which leads to mood swings (depressions) and an increased appetite! This is why aspartame is one of the main causes for the current obesity epidemic.

3. Aspartic acid.
This is a neurological toxin comparable to MSG.

The US Department of Health has recorded 92 symptoms following complaints about aspartame. In fact, over 80% of all complaints filed with FDA are related to aspartame consumption!

Some of the brand names for aspartame:
NutraSweet, Equal, NatraTaste, Canderel, Spoonful, Equal-Measure, etc.

Aspartame is used in any of the following products:
Sugarfree, Light, Diet, Zero (Coke, Sprite & Fanta), Coke 007, Pepsi Max, Crystal Clear, Low-Calorie, Crystal Light, No Sugar Added, Sportlife, Stimorol Ice, Stimorol Fusion, Freedent, Mentos, Smint, etc.

Avoid this toxic chemical for 60 days and discover how your health will improve dramatically!

End clip from article




Thoughts? For me personally, the potential harms that *could* be caused by consuming it out weight the actually enjoyment of drinking it (from which I get none but do understand that many people do).

OK, let me just say that this article is very biased. I'm not going into a point by point issue, but a very small amount of aspartame is used as a replacement for the sugar that would have been used. Whatever byproducts are released are at really low levels. Many FDA approved products don't have 0 risk, they have very low risk based on normal usage. If you have a mice study in which mice developed tumors eating the amount of aspartame that is a certain percentage of their body weight, hopefully you can weigh the relevant risks yourself.
So many issues. Phenylalanine is considered an appetite SUPRESSANT, not an appetite inducer. There is theoretical support that diet or low calorie food can contribute to obesity but for an entirely different reason. Regarding it releases aspartic acid, which is a "neurotoxin comparable to msg". Yeah, we see all the people over the world, especially in Asia keeling over from msg ingestion.

Let me go on record I drink sodas once in a blue moon. Drinking full sugar sodas are associated with a worse diet because you are consuming so many empty calories, and it can fill you up ruining your appetite for healthier foods. Diet sodas aren't so great because I think they can mess with the feedback mechanism for appetite, in that the body is expecting calories and doesn't get it, which means your metabolism/digestion is not going to be ideal. Plus it often seems psychologically people think if they are drinking a diet soda they can then reward themselves with those calories elsewhere... I guess having brain tumors is more attention-getting.

 

[zoebartlett]

I can't open the article for some reason.

I drink diet coke and other diet sodas but I don't like the real stuff. It's way too sweet. I also like flavored seltzer (Polar's my favorite brand), and that usually curbs my craving for soda since it's fizzy. I'm trying to drink more water than I already do but if we have soda in the house, it's hard to ignore.