Jan 01, 2002 12:18 PM
39742 Views
(Updated Nov 03, 2006 04:00 PM)
In a process catalysed by the reading of funkydhruv‘s review of coke , I decided to browse through the coke reviews. Many of them tell about the so-called “bad effects” of coke. No doubt drinking too much coke might lead to tooth decay and gaining weight ,but I found the other claims outrageous and based on the wrong explanations. Being a semi-perfectionist , I was really pissed and so I decided to set the facts straight.( besides I had nothing else to do )The text in italics was taken from funkydhruv‘s review.
But first , my opinions on coke. Ever since I was a (small) kid , I have been drinking coke( occasionally ) . I find that it has a milder taste than Pepsi( My personal favourite) and that it leaves a unique taste in my mouth after I finish. It also has a wee bit less sugar and much less gas than Pepsi. But the reason I prefer Pepsi is that it pack more oomph than coke. The coke can design has never changed ( or did it ?) and I think it should stay that way . The cursive writing lends a human feel to the drink. On the other hand , it’s loaded with sugar and caffeine that could be bad for your health in the long term. But I don’t think it’s harmful if taken in ,moderate quantities.The above may have been a little short , but how much can you write about a black, sugary ,liquid ?
Now for a point-by-point decimation of a few urban myths about coke/Pepsi: Coke & Pepsi For your info :The average pH of soft drinks, e.g. Coke, Pepsi is pH 3.4. This acidity is strong enough to dissolve teeth and bones! Our human body stops building bones at around the age of 30. After that it’ll be dissolving about 8-18% of the bones each year through the urine depending on the acidity of the food intake (acidity does not depend on the taste of the food, but on the ratio of potassium / calcium / magnesium / etc.
wrong!the only way to dissolve bones and teeth with coke is to dip them in the stuff for a few days.Did you know that for the proteins in the food to be digested , the pH of the stomach under normal conditions has to be 1-2 ? This is as strong as a some industrial acids and coke is nothing compared to it. ( lower values on the pH scale means a stronger acid).These acidic conditions are achieved through the secretion of HCl by the stomach , which is an industrial strength acid , strong enough to dissolve various metals.The strongly acidic pH level is needed to activate the enzyme pepsin to digest the food.So by taking coke, you are actually helping in the digestion process.
Think before you drink Coke or Pepsi or any another soft drink. Have you ever thought what you drink when you drink an aerated drink? You gulp down carbon dioxide, something that nobody in the world would advise you to do..
Wrong!the stomach does not absorb much of the CO2 : it comes out as a burp.There is no way you can get CO2 into the blood is by breathing it( or drinking it) . CO2 is expired through the lungs. The partial pressure of co2 in the lungs is higher than that of CO2 in air. Therefore you CANNOT use/absorb CO2 because gasses move from higher to lower partial pressures.
Two months ago, there was a competition in Delhi University ’’Who can drink the most Coke?’’. The winner drank 8 bottles and died on the spot because too much carbon dioxide in the blood and not enough oxygen. From then on, the principal banned all soft drinks from the university canteen. Slightly Wrong! This may or may not be true( I personally think it's false) but anything in excess is bad. Just like taking more than 5 tablespoons of salt(the one you put in you food) can kill you , maybe coke can too. But who ever died from drinking one bottle of coke ? And you cant get CO2 in your blood through drinking.( explanation above)
Someone put a broken tooth in a bottle of Pepsi and in 10 days it is dissolved! Teeth and bones are the only human organ that stay intact for years after death. Imagine what the drink must be doing to your soft intestines and stomach lining!
Wrong!The enamel present in the teeth is a salt of calcium. It is continuously replace through various biological processes. After the tooth is removed, these processes do not take place, so the tooth disintegrates in prescience of an acid. And as I stated before , the stomach way more acidic than measly coke. Besides the stomach has a layer of tough cells lining it that prevent the acid( HCl) from damaging it.
Some people like to take cold soft drinks after each meal, guess what’s the impact? Our body has an optimum temperature of 37 degrees for the functioning of digestive enzymes. The temperature of cold soft drinks is much less than 37, sometimes quite close to 0. This will lower the effectiveness of the enzymes and put stress on the digestive system, digesting less food.
Ha Ha The temperature of the food( no matter how cold it is) eventually reaches back to 37 degrees. I f that were not true , cold water , ice cream , etc would probably cause just as much damage.
Well , that’s it for now. If there are any others I missed , please do tell me.
Still not convinced ? Check out the following : Here ae some websites that very effectively bust all these urban legends :
Acid in Coke: https://snopes.com/cokelore/acid.asp
Carbon Dioxide Poisoning : https://snopes.com/cokelore/deadly.asp
Disolving tooth: https://snopes.com/cokelore/tooth.asp
Coke legends : https://snopes.com/cokelore/
The Boston Globe: https://boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/10/03/does_drinking_ca
rbonated_beverages_harm_bones_or_teeth/
