Ok, I know, everyone knows that great loads of sugar are bad for your health (especially if you are a woman), but the sad truth is that we all humans have a sweet tooth. Back in the XVIII century, the British started to refined very large quantities of sugar but back then, it was still considered a luxury item. They had a name for sugar, they called it the "White Gold", as it was so precious and expensive that only the very rich could afford to eat it.
Nowadays, the sugar industry is huge (enormous, holy cow!! really big) and while our daily intake of this sweet delight should be only about 37.5 grams for men (that would be something between 8 to 9 teaspoons. This is a little more than 150 calories) and 25 grams for women (approximately 6 teaspoons, which is a little over 100 calories), it is thought that American sugar consumption was at its peak (1990), the average citizen was consuming 111 grams a day on daily basis. Things are getting better now since today we have a national average of 94 grams/person, which is mostly attributed to soft drinks. Now, let's talk about the one that by far is the most important soft drinks manufacturer in the world. Let me present you Coca-Cola.
History of Coca-Cola
The history of Coca-Cola starts in 1886 when an American pharmacist called Dr. John Stith Pemberton started messing around with carbonated water and syrup, and he was so pleased with the results that within a year, he was selling 9 servings a day, 5 cents each.
Today, around 1.7 billions of coke servings are sold every day, that is 42.8% of the U.S Carbonated drinks market.
It's believed that half of the U.S.A population drinks at least half a glass of soda every day of their lives. So I think the question is Is it any good for them?.
First, let's take a look what is actually in Coke. Is there really a secret ingredient that nobody can fathom except its creators?. Well, the secret formula was actually created as a marketing stunt back in 1891, but until today, Coke says that only a few people on the inside know what that is.
Coke actually labels each ingredient as a merchandise, and they numbered from 1 to 9. One of them is of course sugar, or other sweeteners, caffeine, caramel coloring, and phosphoric acid. From here, the rest of the formula is a mystery, although there might be orange, lime, vanilla, cinnamon, and even nutmeg in the syrup. To add a little more mystery, one of the ingredients is called "7X". In a book on the subject, writer Mark Pendergast mentions that he has found the secret ingredients and they were a mix of oils containing extract of orange, Lemmon, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Coriander, Neroli and some alcohol. I'll leave you an Amazon link in case you want to check out this book.
In case that you wonder if the rumor that accuses Coca-Cola of containing coke?. Well, yeah, it used to contain Coke, but in those days the coca leaf was promoted as a health benefit. All we know is that by the year 1902, it contained 1/400 of a gram of cocaine per ounce of syrup, not enough to make you high but enough to get you a little hooked. Cocaine was finally removed from Coke back in 1929 (cocaine was made illegal in the USA in 1914 with the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act).
Prior to that, it was the drink's selling point, with its creator, a morphine addict himself, saying that Coke was "a most wonderful invigorating of sexual organs".
Much has changed, but Coke's marketing strategy is still often related to having a lust for life, youth, spirit, and sexiness. But, let's get to the point now, the sugar.
Sugar In Coca-Cola
There are 9 grams of sugar in every 100 grams of the drink, this means that in a 12 oz. can of coke (340.19 grams) there is 1.08 oz. of sugar (30.61 grams) or 2.16 tablespoons. But of course, we all know how people like to overdose on Coke, so in a 7-Eleven Big Gulp (30 oz. of Coke), there are 2.7 oz. of sugar (76.54 grams), more than 2 times the recommended daily sugar intake for men and more than 3 times the recommended daily dose for women, and a Super Gulp (44 oz. of Coke) contains 3.96 oz. of sugar (112.26 grams), and a Double Gulp (64 oz. Coke), 5.76 oz. of sugar (163.29 grams) or 11.52 tablespoons.
You can do the math by yourself, just multiply the serving size by 0.09 (or 9%) and you get the sugar ounces that you are eating, in tablespoons, you take this last result and multiply by 2.
Since drinks got so big, New York created the "Sugary Portion Cap Rule", but that had no effect on 7-Eleven monstrous portions since it only applies to restaurants, which were prohibited from serving sugary drinks bigger than 16 ounces (23% smaller than a large Mc Donald's soda). No surprise that the sugar drinks conglomerate opposed the bill, stating that the poor income families will lose out those great deals. You could splurge and purchase 3 separated drinks.
So, if you just drink Coke and nothing else, you will be putting yourself in a lot of danger, although it might be acceptable if you are in a Zombie-Apocalypse scenario, and you are locked up in a Coke warehouse, and there is nothing but stock. As you can imagine, your teeth will start to root, since the phosphoric acid on Coke gets in touch with your teeth, therefore destroying the enamel and the sugar will soon lead to cavities. The calories you consumed would be less than the recommended 2000, if you drink 14 cans of Coke at 140 calories per can, you will get near the daily recommended caloric intake, but still, the contents will hurt you.
Remember that all that high fructose corn syrup you are consuming would start to increase fat in your liver and will put you at risk of getting a cardiovascular disease.
What is it like to Drink Coke Every day? Let's Ask John.
Meet John Prior, a super fit 50-year-old guy from L.A that actually drank nothing but Coke, every day, for a month, that is, 10 cans (1400 cal.) a day for 30 days. He ate other things too though. After his binge, the British press said that he put on 28 pounds (12.7 Kg). So in a month, from being slim, he developed "love handles", a "pot" belly, and man boobs. He also said that his blood pressure went u from 129/77 to 145/96, his conclusion was that "I think there are a lot of people suffering health problems like diabetes and heart disease, who aren't aware they could help themselves by just stopping sugar." He also admitted that big corporations and their lobbying arm would be hard to stop.
According to some experts at Yale University, we'd start aging rapidly, as well as putting on pounds and losing teeth. The same study says that we'd feel very hungry all the time as sweet tastes increase appetite. We might even start gnawing at the crates in the warehouse and weight gain would be definite. Studies have shown that 1/5 of America's famous obesity epidemic is from people just drinking sugary products compulsively.
Another article about Natasha Harris, a woman who drank 18 pints of Coke every day (a little less than 8.5 liters) and no water for 16 years, died at the age of 30 from a cardiac arrest. At the time of her death, this woman, mother of 8 children had "hypocalemia, or the lack of potassium in the blood, did not have any teeth and one of her 8 children was born without enamel.
 |
| Natasha Harris from New Zeland, downed nearly 9 liters of Coke every day otherwise she'd go crazy |
Research has shown that only by reducing the amount of sugar in drinks could prevent over 1 million cases of obesity.
"We have solid evidence that keeping intake of free sugars to less than 10% of the total energy intake reduces the risk of overweight, obesity and tooth decay"
WHO's Department of Nutrition for Health and Development, 2015
I know things could change, but sugar politics is a big deal and in the end, the bottom line is more important than your health, says most critics.
The sugar industry has spent over 54 million dollars lobbying in the last 8 years and well, in the UK, politicians knew this and tried to come up with a way to reduce obesity in the country by taxing sugar higher. This hasn't come in yet, but already drinks manufacturers have begun reducing the sugar in their drinks in the UK by almost 50% because of this. Coke was one of those companies, but the 30% sugar reduction will only happen in the UK, according to CNN. Let's check out what the Euro News are saying these days.
What Happens when you Drink Coke?
In a 1-hour period of time, after drinking a standard can of Coke, this is what happens.
Start Counting
The phosphoric acid that Coca-Cola contains gets in touch with the enamel on your teeth, provoking dental erosion. This type, unlike the localized erosion that gives you cavities in a certain tooth, affects all your teeth at the same time.
In 10 Minutes
A little more than 2 tablespoons of sugar strike your system (about 80% of the recommended daily intake of sugar). You won't be able to vomit due to the overwhelming sweetness because of the large quantity of phosphoric acid that cuts the flavor. Still, almost all the sugar that you were supposed to intake in a day, is punched at once in a short period of time (sounds pretty bad, huh?)
20 Minutes
You will experience a spike in your blood sugar, followed by an insulin burst. Now your liver gets to work (like when your boss makes you work until you break) turning all the sugar at its reach into fat. It accumulates very fast.
40 Minutes
Your pupils dilate due to all the caffeine absorbed, and as your blood pressure raises, your liver dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. At this point, the adenosine receptors in your brain are blocked preventing drowsiness.
45 Minutes
Your dopamine production increases, stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. In case you have not figured it out yet, this is just how heroin works.
60 Minutes
1) The phosphoric acid binds the calcium, zinc, and magnesium in your lower intestine, generating a further boost in your metabolism. The result is an increase in the urinary excretion of calcium, zinc, and magnesium. (Now you know why Coke is especially bad for women.)
2) Now we experience the caffeine diuretic properties in all its extension. At this point, you will pee all the calcium, magnesium, and zinc previously bonded, that were supposed to go to your bones (teeth included). Sodium, electrolyte and of course water get flushed at this point too.
3) As the rave party in your body dies down, you will start to have a sugar crash. It is possible that you get irritable and/or sluggish. Since you pissed away all the water of the Coke that you just had, not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used to build strong bones and teeth or hydrating your system, you will get thirsty again, only this time, you also get hungry, since you need to replace all the valuable minerals you have just pissed away.
So you take another Coke and there we go again.
There are several health issues involving Coke, and the one that I think is the true and silent-slow killer is the progressive damage to your kidneys. So eat well, drink more water, and try not to drink Coke...so you can "Enjoy".
0 comments:
Post a Comment