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Wellness Tip of the Month

The Harm of Drinking Sugary Drinks (Sodas)

One of the many contributors to the epidemic of obesity, in children and adults, is drinking sugar loaded sodas. In fact, Dr. Bunch preaches regularly in his motivational wellness seminar, Enemy in the Mirror, one of the first steps in changing to a healthier diet and weight control is to stop drinking sugary drinks! However, gaining weight is not the only health risk from drinking sodas.

First, let’s look at what happens to the human body after drinking a 12 ounce coke:

In the first 10 minutes ten teaspoons of sugar hit your system which is 100% of your recommended daily intake. Your body doesn’t immediately reject the sweetness overload because phosphoric acid in the coke cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.

By 20 minutes you blood sugar level spikes causing an insulin burst. In response, your liver turns excess sugar into fat.

By 40 Minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises due to your liver dumping more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain become blocked which prevents drowsiness.

By 45 Minutes your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same response to heroin.

By 60 Minutes, 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.

After more than 60 minutes, the caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to urinate.) You will lose calcium, magnesium and zinc that is part of your bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.

Insulin, which has become elevated in response to the high level of surge intake for the coke, will beginning to lower blood sugar levels resulting in a sugar crash (hypoglycemia). As you become hypoglycemic you may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.

Now look at the chemicals in Coke. The active ingredient of Coca-Cola is orthophosphoric acid. Due to its high acidity, cisterns used for transporting of the concentrate have to be equipped with special reservoirs designed for highly corrosive materials. Food coloring, obtained through the processing of sugar at specified temperatures, with or without addition of chemical reagents. In the case with Coca-Cola, ammonium sulfate is added.

Sodium Cyclamate is a sugar substitute used in Coca-Cola. Cyclamate is a synthetic chemical, has sweet taste, which is 200 times sweeter than sugar, and is used as an artificial sweetener. In 1969 it was banned by FDA, since it as well as saccharin and aspartame, caused cancer in rats’ urinary bladder. In 1975, prohibition seized also Japan, South Korea and Singapore. In 1979, WHO (World Health Organization), “who knows why?” rehabilitated cyclamates and recognizing them as safe.

Acesulfame potassium is 200 times sweeter than sugar, containing methyl ether, where it aggravates the operation of the cardiovascular system. Likewise, it contains asparaginic acid which can also cause excitant effect on our nervous system and in time it can lead to addiction. Acesulfame is badly dissolved and is not recommended for use by children and pregnant women.

Aspartame is a sugar substitute for diabetics and is chemically unstable. At elevated temperature it breaks down into methanol and phenylalanine. Methanol is very dangerous: 5-10ml can cause destruction of the optic nerve and irreversible blindness. In warm soft drinks, aspartame transforms into formaldehyde which is very strong carcinogen. Some number of cases with aspartame poisoning include: unconsciousness, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, palpitation, weight gain, irritability, anxiety, memory loss, blurry vision, fainting, joint pains, depression, fertility, hearing loss and etc. Aspartame can also provoke the following diseases: brain tumors, MS (Multiple Sclerosis), epilepsy, Graves’ disease, chronic fatigue, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, mental deficiency and tuberculosis.

Orthophosphoric acid can cause irritation of skin and eyes. It is used for production of phosphoric acid salts of ammonia, sodium, calcium, aluminum and also in organic synthesis for production of charcoal and film tapes, for production of refractory materials, ceramics, glass, fertilizers, synthetic detergents, medicine, metalworking, and textile and oil industries. Food orthophosphoric acid is used in the production of carbonated water and for preparation of ingredients in pastry. It is known that orthophosphoric acid interfere with the absorption of calcium and iron from the body, which can cause weakening of bones and osteoporosis. Other side effects are thirst and skin rashes.

Sodium Benzoate is used in production of some food products, as an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agent. These products refer to jams, fruit juices and fruit yoghurts. It’s not recommended for use by asthmatics and people who are sensitive to aspirin. A study conducted by Peter Piper at the Sheffield University in Britain, found that this compound causes significant damage to DNA. According to his words, sodium benzoate which is an active component in preservatives doesn’t destroy DNA, but deactivating it. This can lead to cirrhosis and degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease.

So what really is the secret recipe of Coca-Cola? Is it much more than a weak solution of cocaine with preservatives, colorants, stabilizers and etc.? Diet Coke is even worse, because the aspartame in it, replaces sugar, becoming pure neurotoxic poison.

So, if you can’t imagine a life without Coca-Cola, take advantage of the following recommendations:

– Many distributors of Coca-Cola in U.S use this drink for cleaning their truck engines.

-Many police officers in U.S have bottles of Coca-Cola in their cars and when a car accident happens, they wash the blood out of the road with it.

– Coca-Cola is a great tool for removing rusty stains on chrome surfaces of cars. To remove corrosion from car battery, pour it with Coke and the corrosion will disappear.

– To unscrew a rusty screw, dip a cloth in Coca-Cola and wrap around it for several minutes.

– To clean stains from clothes – pour Coca-Cola on dirty clothes, add washing powder and run the washing machine as usual. You will be surprised of the results.

– In India, some farmers use Coca-Cola instead of pesticides for pest extermination, because it’s cheaper and the effect is completely satisfying.

So, Coca-Cola undeniably is a very useful product. The key is to be used for intended purposes, but not for drinking!

Other statistics on the health dangers of soft drinks include:

One soda per day increases your risk of diabetes by 85 percent.

Soda drinkers have higher cancer risk. While the federal limit for benzene in drinking water is 5 parts per billion (ppb), researchers have found benzene levels as high as 79 ppb in some soft drinks, and of the 100 brands tested, most had at least some detectable level of benzene present

Soda has been shown to cause DNA damage – courtesy of sodium benzoate, a common preservative found in many soft drinks, which has the ability to switch off vital parts of your DNA. This could eventually lead to diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver and Parkinson’s

A link has been shown between long-term regular cola intake and osteoporosis in older women 1. This was thought to be due to the presence of phosphoric acid, and the risk was found to be the same for caffeinated and non-caffeinated colas, as well as the same for diet and sugared colas.

In 2016, a Framingham Heart Study published by the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation showed daily drinkers of fizzy drinks suffered a 30% increase in fat linked to diabetes and heart disease which the researchers said reinforced existing advice to minimize sugar sweetened drinks 2.

So the obvious message here – Don’t drink sodas like Coke if you want to be healthy! If you are still drinking sodas, stopping the habit is an easy way to improve your health. Pure water, real juice from fresh squeezed fruit, and tea without sweetener are much better choices. If you must drink a carbonated beverage, try sparkling mineral water with a squirt of lime or lemon juice. Consuming soft drinks is bad for so many reasons that science cannot even state all the consequences.

1. Tucker KL, Morita K, Qiao N, Hannan MT, Cupples LA, and Kiel DP (October 1, 2006). “Colas, but not other carbonated beverages, are associated with low bone mineral density in older women: The Framingham Osteoporosis Study” (PDF). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 84 (4): 336–342. PMID 17023723. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
2. Lucy Clarke-Billings (12 January 2016). “One can of fizzy drink a day increases risk of diabetes and heart disease”. Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 January 2016.