Well, we all know that cola is bad. Its sugar content is crazy, and we all know the significant health risks associated with consuming too much sugar, from diabetes, heart problems, weight gain, to lethargy and rotting teeth. Although we seem to be seeing a slow in sales of white sugar over recent years, sales of sugary drinks are steadily increasing. So, perhaps people haven't got the message after all about sugar. Or, perhaps they don't realise there's about 10 teaspoons of sugar in a bottle of coke.
Or, perhaps it's the case that actually, people are addicted to something which they are well aware is no good for them. How else can you explain people who want to get fit, or who are otherwise healthy, who still drink 10 teaspoons of sugar in one go through drinks like coke?
How much sugar is too much? Basically anything which gives you sugar without any of the associated nutritional benefits. For instance, fruit, which is high in sugar, also gives you nutritional benefits. You can't stay under your daily recommended levels of sugar intake AND get all of the nutrients and vitamins you require, whilst drinking sugary drinks. It's impossible.
As well as sugar, cola also has caffeine. The combination of caffeine, which is an addictive substance which you can crave, coupled with the sugary taste, which your body gets used to having a rush from, are a killer partnership causing addiction. It really is true that people who have been drinking these drinks long term find it increasingly hard to give them up. My colleague across the desk from me, after hearing all reasons I list in this article that coke is bad for you, claims that she knows it's stupid but she likes it too much to stop drinking it. Go figure.
I myself have never been in a culture of fizzy drink consumption, i.e. when I was a child we never had fizzy drinks at home unless we were having guests over, so if I had one at the cinema or at a friend's or something, it would always be a week or so until I had another. So while I was still exposed to some of the negative ingredients of the drink, the culture of having it as a treat meant that I wasn't able to become addicted. If I'm thirsty I'll drink water, but if I want a mixer for an amaretto or something, I'll have a little bit of coke and be ok with that. A friend of mine whose parents always stocked the fridge with sugary fizzy drinks while he was growing up, will wake up at night thirsty and reach for a coke. I can't get over the fact that anyone would drink coke as a solution to quench thirst - its madness.More evidence that we should think twice about consuming cola.
The acidity levels in cola are close to those of battery acid, and as you may have seen online, cola is superb at cleaning some surfaces better than toxic household cleaning products do. For instance, its acidity means it works well to remove grease stains, and blood stains, from clothing. It will remove gum from hair, and fade unwanted hair dye quicker than leaving it to fade. It's excellent for cleaning burnt pans - leave them in a sink of coke, cleans grout between tiles, and if poured around your toilet bowl and left, it will clean your toilet for you. If I had known about this years ago I wouldn't have brought all of these expensive cleaning products!
Diet & No Caffeine Sodas
Diet versions of cola confuse your body. Artificial sweeteners have a more intense flavour than natural sugars, so your taste buds can start to not feel satisfied by the sweetness of fruit or other natural sources - leading you to seek sweeter foods long term. What's more, artificial sweeteners trigger the same reaction from your body of increasing insulin levels, which leads to fat storage.
Even though diet sodas don't have any calories, they're not as good as water for your body. If you're thirsty, drink water! If you need fizzy drinks, have sparkling water! The sweeteners in diet sodas can be linked to headaches. The diet version of sodas are just as acidic as the sugar-loaded versions, so you can still expect the sodas to wear away at your teeth over a number of years. Even one diet soda drink per day can boost your risk by 43% of having a 'vascular event' such as heart attack, stroke, or vascular death, and this is a risk which is the sole privilege of diet drinks - as regular sodas don't seem to have the same effect on vascular health.
Do you need any more reason, to stop drinking sugary or diet drinks? Drink water, or soda water, or fresh juice in moderation, or mixed with soda water. It's so much better for you!
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