My response to Samuel D’Arcangelis About The Coke Infographic

[The 20 oz. cola that I’m holding right now says 66 grams or 22% of my daily intake on a 2000 calorie per day basis, not 100% as you claim. Right off the bat your quantization is off. Way off.] [That’d be the first ten minutes after the sugar hits the intestine, up to an hour later depending on whether or not one has a meal with the beverage in question.] [Phosphoric acid is not there to suppress vomiting. Children eat rock candy and lots of it and don’t even gag at the taste of pure cane sugar. You really are failing miserably already at this point.]

My response:

The calories are empty calories. The WHO advise only 5% to come from sugar. Your facts are completely wrong.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/05/adults-sugar-calories-coke-can-who

Phosphoric acid is added to make the taste tangy and more bearable. Try drinking water that is that sweet from HFCS and with all the other stuff in coke added then get back to me. The reason you can drink straight orange juice that has more sugar in it than coke is because it has citric acid that masks the taste.

http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Phosphoric_acid#section=Uses

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Regulation/Coca-Cola-targeted-in-third-lawsuit-over-chemical-preservative-and-artificial-flavor-phosphoric-acid – Coca Cola getting sued over phosphoric acid.

 Just get over it, it’s not good for you, and nor is the excessive amounts of sugar, acid or salt.

 

2. 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.)

[Insulin goes up EVERY TIME one takes a meal that contains sugar (which is just about every meal). fructose itself isn’t even regulated by insulin and has a naturally low glycemic index. That’s why DIABETICS are recommended to use straight fructose as a sweetener. So much for the high fructose / insulin connection.]

My response:

You are completely off on every point you have made.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?_r=0 – In animals, or at least in laboratory rats and mice, it’s clear that if the fructose hits the liver in sufficient quantity and with sufficient speed, the liver will convert much of it to fat. This induces a condition known as insulin resistance, which is now considered the fundamental problem in obesity, and the underlying defect in heart disease and in the type of diabetes, type 2, that is common to obese and overweight individuals. It might also be the underlying defect in many cancers.

More on fructose metabolism in humans:

http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2009/06/8187/obesity-and-metabolic-syndrome-driven-fructose-sugar-diet

Fructose is no longer recommended to diabetics for the reasons found in studies like this:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150129132918.htm

3. 40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your liver dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.

[Congratulations. You looked up caffeine metabolism. You found 99% absorption at about 45 minutes. Problem is, you left out the part about the fact that it has to hit the small intestine first, again. [and 57 mg caffeine isn’t nearly going to have the effect you claim on anyone I know who drinks coffee]

My response:

That’s exactly the effects of caffeine, and why you feel more alert. Again you are completely off.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-does-caffeine-affect/

 

4. 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.

[Caffeine, sugar, and opiates affect completely different receptors in the brain. The fact that the pleasure centers of the brain light up one could achieve with a bowl of homemade chicken soup. The pleasure centers of the brain light up whenever anything satisfying or satiating occurs. Big deal.]

My response:

Oh really?

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/teaching-packets/neurobiology-drug-addiction/section-iii-action-heroin-morphine/4-opiates-binding-to-opiate-rece

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25573353 – Caffeine had a strong anxiolytic and psychostimulant effect by activation of μ-opioid receptors.

5. 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.

[Phosphoric acid does no such thing. It’s in mono, di or tribasic form by the time it hits the intestine. There isn’t enough of any of it or the alkaline earths to “bind” or precipitate in the intestines. In fact in the presence of other things like proteins in a meal, it’s even more soluble. Calcium triphosphate is a dietary supplement unto itself and is added in may foods. Why would calcium phosphate be used as a dietary supplement if it weren’t available in the intestines to absorb? Fact is, the ions in question are completely disassociated with each other in solution, there isn’t even opportunity for one to affect the other in the intestine or the blood without a mediating protein.]

My response:

Again you are wrong in your interpretation. You really should have done your research before posting this..

http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/bone_health/can_drinking_seltzers_sodas_or_other_carbonated_drinks_harm_bones

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17023723

 

6. >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.

[The kidneys excrete excess levels of these minerals anyway. Funny thing about the kidney is it actively retains minerals when in short supply. You’re not pissing anything away the kidney doesn’t let through. Unless you had enough for your bones in the first place. I’m curious to know how zinc and magnesium play a role in bones, really.]

My response:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2402180 – Total urine output of water, calcium, magnesium, sodium, chloride, potassium and creatinine increased in the two hours following caffeine ingestion when compared to the control beverage.

Zinc and magnesium play important roles all over your body, including your bones:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20035439 – Role of nutritional zinc in the prevention of osteoporosis.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carolyn-dean-md-nd/bone-health_b_1540931.html Why magnesium is crucial for bones.

7. >60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable/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.

[All you’ve done is added sugar to your body. If your body can use it, fine, there’s no problem. Period. The whole rest of that statement is crap.]

My response:

I’ll repeat this study here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2402180 – Total urine output of water, calcium, magnesium, sodium, chloride, potassium and creatinine increased in the two hours following caffeine ingestion when compared to the control beverage.

Researchers at Tufts University in Boston showed that women who regularly drank three or more cans a day had four per cent lower bone mineral density in their hips compared to those who preferred other soft drinks.

Phosphoric acid has also been linked to lower bone density in some studies, including a discussion in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In experiments at Harvard University, it was found to make skin and muscles wither and to damage the heart and kidneys over time.

Phosphoric acid has been associated with urinary changes that promote kidney stones and drinking 2 or more colas per day is associated with increased risk of chronic kidney disease caused by a combination of phosphoric acid, caffeine and other additives.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17525693

Samuel admits himself to be a reformed daily soda drinker and this is probably the best thing he wrote in his otherwise poorly researched and unjustified attack on me.

A study by Harvard university showed that drinking just one can of sugary fizzy drink a day raises the risk of heart disease by 20%.

Sugary beverages also are believed to promote inflammation, an immune-system response involved in both heart disease and insulin resistance, a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

Scientists investigated the connection between fizzy beverages and heart disease by analysing data of 43,000 men, taken from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.

However a small amount now and then wont do any major harm.

The key is moderation!

Even Sandy Douglas, president of Coca-Cola North America, admits that he limits himself to less than a can of Coke a day for health reasons.

http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-07-31/coca-cola-sales-decline-health-concerns-spur-relaunch