What Happens To Your Body Within An Hour Of Drinking A Coke

In Foods that Hurt on October 24th, 2007 | 112,952 views

new-coke-2.jpg

Don’t drink cola if you want to be healthy. Consuming soft drinks is bad for so many reasons that science cannot even state all the consequences. But one thing we know for sure is that drinking Coke, as a representative of soft drinks, wreaks havoc on the human organism. What happens? Writer Wade Meredith has shown the quick progression of Coke’s assault.

The main problem is sugar. It’s an evil that the processed food industry and sugar growers don’t want people to know about. Even dietitians, financially supported by sugar growers and sugary product manufacturers, are loathe to tell us the truth.

Don’t believe that dietitians are influenced by huge corporate concerns that feed people sugar, drugs and other health-defying ingredients? Go to their official website and check out the sponsors yourself. They are right there in plain sight: http://www.eatright.org/corporatesponsors/

When somebody drinks a Coke watch what happens…

  • In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.
  • 20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular moment)
  • 40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.
  • 45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.
  • >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.
  • >60 Minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) 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.
  • >60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down you’ll start to have a sugar crash. 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.

So there you have it, an avalanche of destruction in a single can. Imagine drinking this day after day, week after week. Stick to water, real juice from fresh squeezed fruit, and tea without sweetener.
Primary Source: by Wade Meredith

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  1. Joe Boylan
    Says:

    I read your information on Sugar and on the cure for the cold!

    I would be very enthusiastic to hear some information about Honey as a replacement for sugar. Have you any research information on this topic yet?

    I transferred to honey four years ago and replaced as much of my sugar intake as I could at that time. These are the things which happened to me: -
    1. I found I no longer had a craving for sugar.
    2. I have not had a cold for four years now and I used to get one every month or two during the winter before that. When I feel the tell-tale sign of a tickling throat my ‘medicine’ is a glass of warm milk with a teaspoonful of honey dissolved in it. Ideally the milk should be just warm enough to give that little pleasant ‘bite’ to your taste and the honey for a severe sore throat should be strong enough to feel that ‘honey bite’ also. (I don’t know how else to describe it.) The glass of warm milk needs to be taken at least three or four times per day until the tickling sore throat disappears. Don’t worry it will try it. It has worked for me every time in the last four years. If the cold develops fast as some colds do – within a couple of hours to a runny nose, step up this treatment. You will still clear it up within 48 hours.

    So this is a report of a ‘clinical test’ on myself which I would like to suggest could be followed up by wider testing in some way. Unfortunately I do not have the resources to do this myself.

    Other information I have learned about honey is as follows: Honey contains Propolis, which is the most powerful antibiotic to be found in nature. Recently a honey producer was cleaning out one hive, which had been neglected. He discovered a dead mouse in the hive. Apparently the hapless creature had found its way into the hive – no doubt for shelter; had been attacked and stung to death by the bees and then since they could not remove the carcase it had been injected with Propolis(!), which had the effect of mummifying the creature and thus rendering it harmless to the bees. Maybe the Propolis is contained in the sting? Where I live Propolis can be bought in its natural state and used very sparingly for certain medical purposes. A friend of mine hereabouts tried taking some Propolis neat for a cold cure and ended up badly blistering her mouth. So I have not had the courage to experiment with this very much. However I surmise that since Propolis is the same colour as honey (perhaps a little darker) then it is the Propolis which gives the honey its colour. Pale honey sold as Acacia Honey to unaware ‘connoisseurs’ to my mind is rather weak possibly useless as a health support. I have come across various preparations of Propolis for medical purposes including what I consider a pointless preparation called ‘Tincture of Propolis’. Of course a tincture is a solution of the substance in alcohol. Alcohol is often used as a disinfectant. But Propolis must be a very powerful disinfectant (c.f. the poor mouse above). Why place one disinfectant in another – of dubious value to administer as a medical aid?

    We have a lot to learn about this topic and I would like to hear more. Not without significance is the saying “…the land of Milk and honey…”. Did the ancients know something we don’t know or have forgotten? Is the ‘land of milk and honey’ otherwise known as the mystical Shangrila? And don’t forget how grateful we should be for the bees. I believe it was Einstein who said that if the bees disappeared from the face of the earth then mankind would not be long in following. The bee is responsible for over 70% of the pollination process amongst plants. So the news of Monsanto’s disastrous experiments with genetically modified corn which appeared to have caused the death of large percentages of the bee population here should more than fill us with dismay.

    Interesting?

    Best, Joe Boylan

  2. I see in your last sentence you recommend the use of tea. According to my brief research even un-sweetened tea naturally has caffeine in it and its quantity of caffeine per volume averages nearly double that of Coca-Cola. (If anyone trys to research this on their own keep in mind nearly all tea and coffee data is given in 6 oz. quantities while Coca-Cola is 12 oz.)

    See…
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffiene#Tolerance_and_withdrawal
    Table on right side of page, which is backed up by references.

  3. I started drinking coffee about 4 years ago to the happiness of my husband. I cannot drink it black. I do not like to drink water unless it is ice cold. I crave Coca-Cola. I drank Cokes everyday from the time I was 15 until I was 30. Sometimes, I would drink up to 2 liters. My teeth are fine, I gained and lost a lot of weight over those same years (178 lbs both ways).

    About a month ago, we ran out of coffee for a couple of days. I drank Coke to get the caffeine to keep the headaches away. Now a month later, I drink a cup of coffee in the morning (sweetened with sugar and creamer) and two 16 oz Cokes throughout the day, with another cup of coffee in the evening. Sometimes, a glass of tea instead of the coffee, but everyday for the past month – Coke.

    I have started to loose weight. I feel full most of the time and do not have the hungry feeling to snack. I know all the things you can use a Coke for (cleaning up blood, taking rust off of a bumper, and removing corrosion from a battery). However, I do not eat breakfast, that makes me nauseated. I eat a decent lunch and dinner. Now, because I am full, I do not eat as much at dinner and no longer snack at night.

    Is this my imagination or does this really happen? Can drinking Coke help a person to loose weight? That is the only real changes to my ‘environment’. I have an office job, hate diet drinks, and drive an hour to work. I do nothing, too tired at night to walk, too distracted to workout in the morning, and sometimes I get motivated on the weekends.

    But if my calorie intake is between 1200 and 1500 even with the Cokes, and considering my lifestyle, is this possible?

  4. Nutrition Researchers
    Says:

    Losing weight is a complex issue. It has to do with a number of factors. It is possible to lose weight while drinking Coke. In fact, many models and supermodels eat sugar and keep their weight off. Sugar can give you the feeling of being full. However, is this healthful? Not in the least. What’s going on INSIDE your body is another story. Internally, sugar is very damaging. It’s corrosive, acid forming and poisonous. Cancer loves sugar and so does yeast. Sugar is highly addictive and wreaks havoc on the internal organs, including the pancreas, which is why it can cause diabetes.

  5. I’ve consumed coffee and coke in the past and I’ve found that

    1. Both working together over a long period of time can reak havoc on your teeth.

    2. I’m not healthy. Between the caffeine and sugar and whatever else, I generally feel less than good most of the time, other than when I’m drinking coffee, and I AM slim, but that is just because I am a slim build: there is actaully really noting too me, I just feel really weak.

    I’ve gotten used to this state so it has become normal. It is tolerable, and I have to wonder if there even is anything better, but to be honest I would say there is. I have no motivation for exercise, it is as if the state my body is in is not changing at all. I’m stimulated but I never actually grow, I’m somewhat redundant. So the little exercise I do do has next to no effect because it is canceled out by the caffeine. Even eating well appears to have no substantial effect. It really is as if I’m not absorbing the things that can actually heal me and make me feel better, It is relaced with the caffeine and sugar and the artificial functions they initiate that cause happiness in me. It’s a fake happiness.

  6. [...] Read more on Nutrition Research Center October 24, 2007 [...]

  7. Thanks for highlighting this issue

  8. my wife drinks tab as she is a diabetic but she is always
    bloted can soda cause this? I am 53 yrs. old & my teeth have
    almost rotted away is this from a lifetime of coke?

  9. Nutrition Researchers
    Says:

    If we are to be open and honest with ourselves, then we have to face the fact that soda is not a food, and it’s usually perceived by the body as a toxin. So the best drink is water.

  10. My mom says cola is bad for your body and water is good for you

  11. Cola is so bad for you

  12. Can we please put this on a billboard?

    Also VERY surprised that Wade did not mention the acid forming disaster Coke causes in your body. Coke lowers your pH do low it takes close to a gallon of water to nuetralize it. It’s SUGAR + ACID pH that kills. Cancer & yeast need acidic environments to thrive. Acid is more dangerous than sugar.

    I wish we the citizen consumers could bring a class action law suit against the soft drink manufacters and the Monsanto’s who pump out Aspartame, Sorbitol and the others.

    Thank you for posting this article!

  13. Simon Salt
    Says:

    You mention a lot about sugar here, is the study true for the “diet” cola’s with their artificial sweetners?

  14. Since i don’t drink Coke… can you hit me with the shocking facts of what happens when you drink diet cola?

  15. I’m curious the impact coffee has as well as what alternatives, including water and healthy energy drinks might be readily available.

    Interesting read…

  16. I felt that this post was so important I retweeted it a couple of times to my follwers on Twitter! Fantastic information!

    With warm regards,
    Timothy Carter
    http://twitter.com/TimothyCarter

  17. Tom Sherlock
    Says:

    Should it also be noted that US Coke is made with high fructose corn syrup, whereas Mexican Coke is made with sugar cane? Does the type of sugar or the source of sugar make a difference? For example, i have been led to believe that brown sugar is processed more easily by the body than white sugar.

    BTW, i would consider increasing dopamine production as a good thing. Associating it with heroine gives the reader the impression that it is a bad thing.

  18. slightlyoffendedRD
    Says:

    As a registered dietitian (RD), I do not, in any shape or form, have any connection to the sugar growers or manufacturers. I agree that coke is not a food and is not needed by the body and recommend to consume water over pop. Insinuating that all RD’s have been bought by the evil food corporation futher contributes to the confusion surrounding food,nutrition and health, and who the public can trust for the answers.

  19. Nutrition Researchers
    Says:

    Yes, you may use it. We’d appreciate a link. Thanks!

  20. Nutrition Researchers
    Says:

    In an answer to “slightlyoffendedRD:” Well, we’re sorry you are offended, but before you deny the corporate influences over your professional association, note that anyone can just go to the Dietitians’ official website and see some pretty nefarious sponsors right there out in the open, including Coke!! You will also find the National Dairy Council (not organic, but big corporate cattle full of drugs and antibiotics and steroids), Glaxo Smith Kline, a huge pharmaceutical firm, Pepsico, Mars candy and a host of other companies responsible for making health-impairing products. Since the dietitians’ association to be backed by these corporations, they are limited in their ability to condemn their activities. The facts are here for everyone to see.

    Here is the website. Check it out and then explain why you consider our article an “insinuation.” How else can this be explained?
    http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/home_10575_ENU_HTML.htm

  21. slightlyoffendedRD
    Says:

    Yes they are sponsors for the eatright program, but that doesnt mean that RD’s support their products. RDs can be objective even if these companies are providing funding. I am not saying it is ethical to accept funding from them, but where else will the money come from? Surely not from the government. It is also important to know that not all RDs have to be affiliated with the ADA in order to practice. For example I live in Canada and while we have our own governing body, we do not have to be a member to practice. Meaning that there are a lot of RD’s who are NOT in any way connected to these companies. RDs undergo extensive training to gain the knowledge that they know and it is generalizations like you have made that make the general public less trusting of the profession and more willing to turn to other less qualified sources for their nutrition information.

  22. In reference to the person called “slightlyoffendedRD” up above… For shame! I went to the dietitian’s website and was completely flabberghasted at what I saw in the way of sponsors. How can I trust any dietitian anywhere? I am so confused. The tail wags the dog. I went to this website http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/home_10575_ENU_HTML.htm and saw that there’s Coke, Pepsi, drug companies and other big corporations that are responsible for making products that make people sick. And dietitians are in charge of hospital meals? That explains alot to me!! This article is an eye-opener.

  23. [...] of the soda, along with important vitamins and minerals in your body that the soda has bonded to.  The Nutrition Research Center has hosted an article by Wade Meredith , that explains why you shouldn’t drink sodas.  It describes the process of what happens [...]

  24. What about diet coke?
    Thanks.

  25. amazing think))

  26. I never liked coffee and have drank Coke since I was a child. I’m a 51 year old sales manager who is addicted to the stuff. I know I need to stop and have at times. Are there any hints/suggestions/alternatives. I often times need a “pick me up” in the middle of the day but must confess I often times will have a coke at 10 am. Help!

  27. Thanks for this info guys, you would not believe the amount of trash they put in our food now days and expect us to pay overinflated prices for it while crying inflation :|

  28. Johnthepaelocon
    Says:

    “The main problem is sugar. It’s an evil that the processed food industry and sugar growers don’t want people to know about. Even dietitians, financially supported by sugar growers and sugary product manufacturers, are loathe to tell us the truth.”

    This is a confusing statement – most sodas (Coke included) use high fructose corn syrup, which is much worse for you than cane sugar. Unless the author is referring obliquely to the sugar cane quotas in America that have caused the substitution of high fructose syrup for cane sugar (the former is cheaper here), then I really can’t see dragging the sugar industry into this.

  29. Nutrition Researchers
    Says:

    You’d really have to take a little time to research the politics of sugar. It’s an ugly one that has been run for decades as a corrupt, exclusive industry.

  30. As a chemist this is interesting reading, even more interesting given your standing on the matter with phrases such as ‘this is how heroin works by the way’. The point here i feel i need to make is regardless of health benefits/effects humanity will continue to enjoy the things that are bad for them.

  31. what is happening on the INSIDE of your body to make you hyper active,etc.

  32. I just think we should be more health conscience when it comes to what we put in our bodies, honey, sugar, caffeine or what have you over indulging in any of those is bad for you. So learn to moderate yourself, follow the food pyramid and live life to its fullest. You may not be here tomorrow so live as if today is the last.

  33. This is why I only drink mountain dew.

  34. Nutrition Researchers
    Says:

    Read mercola.com in which Dr Mercola says Mountain Dew is possibly the worst drink you could ever put in your body!

  35. This is crazy; I never knew coke had such a negative affect on your body. Good information to know. I’m definitely cutting back on soda.

  36. Thanks for sharing this article, everyone should follow this.
    I stopped drinking all sodas several years ago. I was diagnosed with diabetes and decided to take it one with a very healthy regimen. When diagnosed my A1c was 11.7 and now is 4.7. Eating right can change your life for the better.
    I know drink water with added powder nutrient supplements. I feel healthier today with diabetes than I ever did in the past.
    Giving up soda was the best thing I ever did for my health.

  37. My issue with the article (I do not possess enough knowledge to dispute it factually either way) is that it seems to come prepackaged with an agenda. As an article on scientific facts, I feel that it is inappropriate to insert the agenda into the facts.

    Having an opinion is one thing, but statements like ‘This is how heroin works, by the way’ undermines the validity of your facts by presenting them in a manner that can be perceived as bias.

  38. In the spirit of the late great Joseph Campbell, instead of supplying all the footnotes, I hope this leads you on your own exploration to discover more.

  39. o.k., I am an RD in the U.S. and I too am offended by some of the remarks made here that you cannot trust RD’s. It is true that various sponsors may support some of the programs by the ADA but don’t confuse that with an RD’s ethical responsibility to promote and educate healthful dietary practices and good nutrition. Remember that the ADA is simply a professional organization. All RD’s do not belong to it or have anything to do with the ADA. Regardless if they do or not, the funding is not a representation of our professional duties. Most RD’s I know and have seen on morning news shows and such do condemn fast foods, sodas and sugars. Don’t get caught up in misleading information from someone who doesn’t have all eth facts. Do you think Dr. Oz gives less then adequate medical advice because the network that his show is on has McDonald’s commercials which McDonalds advertising dollars pay apart of his salary? I don’t think so. Neither would a dietitian. Before you condemn professionals maybe try to visit and talk with one first.

  40. Remember that many of the ADA sponsors that you may see as not credible to be an sponsor of the ADA such as the coca-cola, Pepsi and Mars companies….unfortunately these are the companies with the deepest pockets and most extensive resources. But keep in mind that it’s the partnership with organizations such as the ADA that have lead to these companies developing healthier alternatives to their traditional products. Change takes time. Inch by inch we can influence people and companies in a healthier way. We can only do that by working together.

  41. Great article… I wholeheartedly agree except for the advice to drink tea. The link to the sponsors of the American Dietetic Association has changed to:
    http://www.eatright.org/corporatesponsors/

  42. Very interesting information, I dont Drink Caffeine due to my health condition when it comes to drinking coke, I never will drink it. As for Tea and Coffee concerned I don’t drink either of these. I intend to drink the same stuff that the Mormons Drink as they cant have tea of coffee either. As for Sugar I rarely use sugar unless I am having something that requires it.

    Also I wont drink anything that contains aspartame in too due to neurological conditions.

  43. Intersting Article, Thanks

  44. I am a very big Coke drinker…..like one after another for many years. Very addicted. I gave it up for Lent and have noticed in the past 2 to 3 weeks I have gained weight. Is it possible after drinking it for so long that now that I have given it up it is causing me to gain?

  45. It is great to see someone writing about this. People don’t want to understand how bad soft drinks are for their body.

  46. This is interesting. I’d like to see a similar breakdown of what happens when the Coke is a diet drink. Thanks.

  47. I laughed hard… but ok, lets begin:

    10 minutes:

    10 teaspoons (*flat* teaspoons) = approx. 60 grams of the sugar. That is about 600 ml or 20 fl. oz. Not 330 / 12 like in one can.
    Also, typical teaspoon isnt flat as well.

    “You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.”

    First, sugar has no “flavor”. Second, you can easily drink plain 10% sugar without vomitting, though, when not sour, it isnt too pleasant. Third – the orange juice has exactly the same amount of sugar (even sweeter, because it is fructose) and… do you vomit when eating oranges?…

    So, citric acid works as well. But “phosphoric” sounds better…
    Dont believe? Add calcium to coke, wait a while. Calcium has high affinity to phosphoric acid, and it will remove it from the coke. Now, try to drink it (carefully, dont shake). Do you vomit?…

    Ok. Next part:

    20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (There’s plenty of that at this particular moment)

    Again nonsense. Glicogen, not fat. But – again “fat” sounds better for scaring people.

    40 minutes. Same effect as after coffee… you forgot to add this. You didnt forgot to compare…

    …45 minutes. the mechanism to heroine. Again, better for scaring.

    60 minutes. Calcium and Zinc binding. With this I agree. Though supplementation to my diet can easily overcome it. Just make sure dont do it wihile drinking coke :)

    >60. Drinking the same amount of plain water and one cup of coffee would have the same effect :) . Amount of caffeine in typical coffee cup is equal to about 3 cans of Coke.

  48. I have been drinking coke all my life not that i know what it does to your body i am completly shocked.I am 13 years old and i am sufering from a little acne, now that i stopped drinking coke.Thank you so much for some bad facts about coke! :D

  49. if htis really happens hwicvh i belive then day after day why dosent it show any effect on the human body?

  50. Jim Primock
    Says:

    It would be helpful to see a similar study about diet soft drinks.

  51. This is reality horror! Awesome article! :)

  52. lmao @ matt3046!!!

    also, vincent, good for you! sounds like you’re super-healthy and super-boring! are you just trying to make the rest of us look and feel bad?!

  53. Hey, when I read your article it really affected me, I don’t think I’ll ever drink coke again!! I also mentioned you on my blog:

    http://thatgirlingymclass.wordpress.com/

    Cheers.
    That Girl In Gym Class

  54. Eric the Bread
    Says:

    This article is pure BS. If it were true how to people who drink 2 liters of Coke a day even survive? It may be bad for you but don’t overstate the effects trying to scare people.

  55. [...] So there you have it, an avalanche of destruction in a single can. Imagine drinking this day after day, week after week. Stick to water, real juice from fresh squeezed fruit, and tea without sweetener. Primary Source: by Wade Meredith [...]

  56. wow i never want a soft drink again

  57. I’ve found out sugar itself isn’t an “evil,” as you claim it is, but it is a necessary nutrient that people often overdose on. Your report on soft drinks(mainly Cola) seems pretty well thought out, with plenty of research that must have been done. It isn’t right, though, to proclaim that sugar is an “evil.” It’s actually NECESSARY to your body for energy. The only problem is that too any people take in too much of it in one sitting.

  58. Sugar is evil. Read the work of Dr Nancy Appleton for a solid reason how this processed carbohydrate can ruin your health, from inflammation to skin problems and beyond. nancyappleton.com

  59. im 18 years old and have been drinking coke and running to the store and addicted to it since i was about 12. It’s all i drink with occasionly having a bottle of water, and boy let me tell you has it taken a toll on my health im only 18 years old and i have passed out from dehydration and have had burning sensations in my body if i stop drinking this i get headaches and can not sleep so if i do’nt have a coke i can’t sleep this stuff is evil parents should keep from introducing there kids to this!

  60. after seing this i will never ever EVER drink coke agin
    instead im drinking choclate milk

  61. Seems that the dieticians got wind of being called out for promoting/being influenced by big corporations, as the link you’ve provided isn’t working anymore. If you manage to find it again, I’d love to see it & would be happy to share it with as many people as possible. Dirtbags!

  62. British coke
    Says:

    is british coke in any way different to american coke because you are all talking about how much you are addicted to cokes, but you do not find that with anyone over here can anyone explain what makes us differnet in this?

  63. I’m 15 and for years I have drank coke and I have never had a problem. After a death of someone very close to me in my family I thought I had an ulcer and was tested for it. However, ever since that little ulcer scare I can’t drink coke because it makes my stomach feel like it is being ripped to shreds. I just drank a coke tonight and I ended up laying in bed rolling around and crying feeling my stomach get torn out. Is it just me or does it happen to other people too?