To celebrate Making Love In The Kitchen’s first birthday, the bestest posts of the last year are getting another turn in the spotlight. These were selected either because they had the most traffic or should have. While together we stroll down memory lane, I will be away on a farm with no computer! We’ll chat when I get back.
Coke Makes People Fat: First Published June 19, 2009
Last week, I conducted a little cleaning demonstration where I used a can of Coke to clean a burnt up stainless steel frying pan. I received more confessional emails than I expected about people’s love of a cold glass of Coke on a hot day. About ten years ago, I was in Seville, Spain with my mom and it was hot to trot outside. We found ourselves at a bar and neither of us felt much like drinking and so we each ordered a Coke- something we never ever do (and I do think that may have been the last time I did). That night, we were both up until all hours, wide awake and brain-spinning, reading the history sections of our guidebooks in an effort to get to sleep.
Coke is liquid sugar. One can of Coke contains 10 sugar cubes worth of sugar. Grody-to-the-max!
I recently came across one of my new favourite websites called SugarStacks.com. On this site, you can look up different foods and see the equivalent amount of sugar in cube form. Some of my favourite comparisons were the ones for ‘health foods’:
- Yoplait Strawberrry Yogurt: 7 sugar cubes
- Cliff Bar: 5 1/2 sugar cubes
- Power Bar: 5 sugar cubes
- Jamba Juice: 12 sugar cubes
And how about a 40-Oz Coke Slurpee? 23 sugar cubes!
Coke, as a representative of all soft drinks, wreaks havoc on the human organism. The main problem is sugar. It makes us anxious, stressed out, inflamed, fatigued and fat. Now remind me what the main health complaints are in our society?
- 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.
- Within 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.
- Within 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.
- Within 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. Pass me the water please!
Bullet points from October 24th, 2007 Nutrition Researchers Posted in Children’s Health, Food Science Research by Wade Meredith
Update
24-hours after posting this, I received an email from the Public Affairs Manager from Coca-Cola Canada defending the drink. Here is what her email said (in italics) with my comments inserted.
————————————————————————————
Good morning Meghan,
Re: Making Love in the Kitchen: Coke Makes People Fat
Like so many messages on the Internet, this article is full of misinformation and provides no references to back up the claims made within.
As I stated above, I used the information from an article that was in the October 24th, 2007 Nutrition Researchers Posted in Children’s Health, Food Science Research. This was not my own research, and I don’t claim it to be. The same points were also made here.
Having said that, here are some well-document facts about sparkling beverages as it pertains to the misinformation made in the original article:
- A serving of Coca-Cola contains no more calories and sugar than the same amount of orange juice and less sugar than the same amount of apple juice. A 250ml serving contains approximately 26.5g of sugar, which is equivalent to four to five teaspoons of sugar.
I looked into this one and she is correct. There is only 26.5 grams of sugar in a 250 ml serving of Coke. But did you know that one can of Coke then counts as 2 servings. Therefore I hold to it that there are 42 grams of sugar in a Coke- equivalent to 10.5 teaspoons.
-Phosphoric acid is used in very small amounts in colas only, not other soft drinks. The small amount of phosphoric acid found in soft drinks is considered a safe food ingredient in Canada and around the world. The effect of phosphoric acid on calcium excretion and bone health has been disproved time and again by sound scientific research.
http://www.naturalnews.com/021774.html, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5410476.stm, http://www.naturalwayhealth.co.uk/library/bone-health.php, http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/461898… need I go on? You know my theory… when in doubt, why test it
- Human digestion and metabolism treat sugars found in foods and those added to foods in similar fashion. Irrespective of the source, some dietary sugars (and also some other carbohydrates) are broken down by a series of chemical reactions during the digestive processes and converted to glucose, which is then absorbed into the bloodstream through the intestinal lining. Other dietary sugars (such as fructose) are also absorbed into the blood stream and then converted to glucose by the liver. All sugars have 4 calories per gram.
All true. But since when does an apple or carrot contain the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar (42 grams). Depending on the type, an average apple has 17 grams of sugar, but as naturally occurring more complex sugars combined with the presence of fibre, they are handled by the body slightly differently, absorbing far more slowly. The sugar as listed in the ingredients label of Coke, is glucose/fructose which means it requires no digestion time, will surge into the blood stream, spike blood sugar levels thereby straining the pancreas to produce enough insulin to get said sugar into the cells). This is the hormonal reaction that not only leads to cranky people mid-afternoon in the workplace (and drive home) but also to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
- Obesity is primarily caused by more calories being consumed than are expended. People consume many different foods and beverages and neither sparkling beverages nor any other single type of food or beverage alone is responsible for the problems of overweight and obesity. But all calories count, whatever food or beverage they come from, including calories from sparkling beverages. We believe all foods and beverages have a place in a balanced and sensible diet combined with an active lifestyle. The foundation of good nutrition is balance, variety and moderation.
They can believe that all food has a place, but I believe our food does one of two things in our body: 1) Makes us healthier or 2) Builds disease. A 2-can of Coke a day habit results in an increase of roughly 2,300 calories per week. That means you are getting one full day’s recommended calorie intake in pure sugar. Coke alone may not be what causes obesity, but it certainly isn’t helping reverse any weight challenges (or other diseases of excess like Diabetes or heart disease). And to the point about exercise, a 160 lbs person would have to walk about nine hours at 3 mph to burn off 2,300 calories.
There were two more points made about aspartame and caffeine which is moot as I didn’t mention it here, but don’t worry… it’s coming.
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I have never been a coke, or pop, drinker, but it is disturbing to see the stats and time-released effects this type of ‘drink’ has on the human body. It makes me sad to think about my dad and my sister who i KNOW habitually go through the day indulging in such yuckiness…..
Thankfully I never liked Coke (which, as a native Atlantan is unthinkable)–but holy cow, the sugar stacking site is crazy! The things I never wanted to know!
Ever since I learnt about the sugar levels in coke and other sodas I have completely given up having them….frankly I do not miss them at all and now I spend a lot of time trying to convince my friends and family to give it up too
Very informative post !
[...] [...]
LOVE this article!
So great. I sent it to a schwack of people.
thank goodness i don’t like soda and never have.
my dad drinks TWO LITERS EVERY DAY.
talk about addiction.
Great post in my early teens I was seriously addicted to coke and wouldnt drink anything else. Now I think that is so gross and would never think about picking up a bottle to down. I cant even stand the ridiculous sweetness.
Last Fall in my health class we did a project in class where we took different “foods” and filled bags with the amount of sugar in them. Let me just say Gatorade and Kool aid are pure sugar!! and this is what we feed our children belck!
My favorite story to tell about Coke though is from a friend of mine. Her Dad spilled Coke on a steak on night when grilling and forgot about it. The next morning he found the steak and there was a hole in it where the coke had been. Is that really something you want to put inside your body!!
What scares me even more than Coke are the energy drinks such as Red Bull.
If Coke did that to a steak, think of what it does to your teeth and gums. (I know what it did to mine.)
Andrea – hubby (a professional driver) had a Red Bull sample one night. It affected him so badly he could not drive and had to pull over.
How different is drinking Diet Coke?
Oh my gosh I’ve definitely seen sugarstacks.com and it absolutely FREAKED me out! Seriously, how can one pack such an INSANE amount of sugar into such teeny tiny bottles, or packages?! Woah! It’s really sad to see that most of the sugar is from unnatural sources, and is usually way overprocessed
Thank the good Lord for water, I agree. Pass it over here!
Love,
Meg
If you eat and drink healthy things most of the time, the occasional coke is no problem…but if you look up how the company conducts itself, your conscience should prod you to switch to another beverage.
Also, if you eat and drink healthy things, a Coke will taste unbearably sweet. You get used to less amounts of sugar.
[...] a very interesting read on how bad coke is for you. I gave up soda about a little over a year ago when I went vegan (all thanks to the book Skinny [...]
A solid representation of this death in a can and we haven’t even touched the surface of Coca Cola’s insane contribution to healthy living … let’s look at the excellent leeching effects of another ‘splendid/Splenda’ Coke offering … Dasani – “Dasani had to be withdrawn in the UK due to contamination with bromate, a suspected carcinogen, produced by the treatment process used on the water [1]“.
Coca-Cola has a bit of a history of writing stupid letters to people. Check this one out (will open as a Word document).
OK, I guess these comments don’t accept HTML. Here’s the link: http://tinyurl.com/n3nxcd
I also have to wonder if the aluminum cans (or whatever they may be lined with) end up leaching into the Coke itself — after seeing what it did to your frying pan, I’d be surprised if it didn’t pick up some toxins from the can itself.
And let’s not forget the amount of high-fructose corn syrup in this “beverage” — not only has that been proven to contribute to diabetes, it wreaks havoc on the environment (hello, Monsanto? Monocrops? GMOs? BAD?).
Aaaand, even if the ingredients in Coke aren’t damaging to one’s health, the fact remains that there is NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE in there whatsoever. Not even any hydration benefit because the caffeine makes you pee immediately. So why pay money for something that leaves you with nothing?
This entire ordeal makes my belly grumble. Go team Meghan!
You tell em Meghan!
I have always been surprised that yogurt is considered a healthy breakfast when it has so much sugar. I don’t know anyone who buys the unsweetened. Also, you might know this for sure, but I have read in a few places that all of the sugar in your average yogurt actually negates many of the good effects of the probiotics. I am curious if this is true.
Meghan,
An impressive article. Wow, 2,300 calories a week for a 2-can a day habit. That certainly could pack on the pounds.
Thanks Megan for such a lucid post. And how do Coke people know about your post ? Are there some secret health seekers in their midst ? You wonder at how much time they must spend defending themselves from the research ! Do they scour the internet for all references to their product ? I suppose they must muddy the water of what is health fact and health notion or risk the population getting wise to what is causing some of their health problems. Their response to your blog (great as your blog is !!) does seem to give credence to some of the accusations that surround these big companies of sending out misinformation and conspiracy theories.
I can’t believe I missed this post! It is odd how the PR firms scour the blogosphere with references to their products. At least you’ve got them concerned enough to respond. I do like your response to their letter. Nice work!
Meghan
You are awesome. Telling the truth will always prevail.
You’re one of the few brave enough to do it!
Coke should be illegal for their incalculable damage to public health – and one day it will be. Venezuela at least is waking up to that.
Keep up the good work.
–Toby and Michele
Toby and Michele- Thank you so much for your encouragement, I may be brave enough to tell what I see as truth, but conflict still gives me angst
Very interesting article—off to check out Sugar Stacks now.
My only concern is . . . “hot to trot” means sexually excited (or, um, horny), which I don’t think is what you were going for here.
Great article, and great response to the letter.
Yuck. Really
Meghan! I am so proud of the way you stood up to this very eloquent Coca-cola rep.
I’ve always admired your ability for healthy debate. It’s not the first time an industry representative has contacted you with a rebuttal to a post, and I’m amazed at your professional, non-aggressive responses.
Unfortunately, in the holistic field, we are still the little guys, and the big guys are still trying to bully us…but they’re losing aren’t they?
Consumers are increasingly more aware of false advertising and the need to research a product themselves…marketing has largely failed us as a reliable authority. I think people are becoming more independently educated, and websites and blogs like yours are a huge contributor to this awareness.
I’m on your team, little guy!
Thanks so much,
Alex
Ps. I’m on day two of the green smoothie cleanse…haven’t felt this great in months
Hi,
I hate the overwhelming sweetness of Coke, so as a rule I do not drink it and do not want it in my house. However, I suffer easily from migraine and possibly dehydration in hot weather. Thought I drink water, I sweat a lot and once i found out that Colas help reduce the symptoms. Sometimes I makes my own concoctions of water + sea salt + sugar cane but it is not as efficient. Any other suggestion?
Thanks
[...] like body image, the birth control pill, sunshine and cancer, artificial sweeteners, vaccinations, soda pop, the authority of doctors, high fructose corn syrup, margarine, and most recently, MSG. I am [...]
Roger- Diet drinks are a beast unto themselves, will write about that soon.
As for all the negative nelly comments, I appreciate differing view points and welcome discussion, but please, if you want your comment posted, don’t make it personal, rude, or offensive.
maybesane- great point!
Jill- That is an amazing point! I never really looked at it like that but it is so true. And having just seen Food Inc., and knowing how these big companies are sueing little independent farmers, I thought the same thing when a rep from Coke felt the need to defend their poisonous product to little me.
Coconut water is the best drink to rehdrate with in a flash- otherwise what you’re doing sounds great though I would recommend honey over sugar and you can add some lemon and maybe a dash of pure cranberry juice. It is likely the caffeine in coke that is helping with the headaches but that is a slippery slope.