Cola Consumption Can Lead To Muscle Problems 420
wjousts writes "As I'm sure many Slashdot readers live almost exclusively on cola drinks, a new warning from doctors:
'Doctors have issued a warning about excessive cola consumption after noticing an increase in the number of patients suffering from muscle problems, according to the June issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice. ... 'Evidence is increasing to suggest that excessive cola consumption can also lead to hypokalaemia, in which the blood potassium levels fall, causing an adverse effect on vital muscle functions.' And sorry, diet colas aren't any better."
Cool story bro (Score:4, Funny)
I drink mountain dew instead.
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Informative)
It appears that hypokalaemia can be caused by excessive consumption of three of the most common ingredients in cola drinks â" glucose, fructose and caffeine.
So first off, Yes, Diet makes a difference- lacking two of the ingredients. And Diet Caffeine free is just fine. Additionally, these three inrgedients are not cola exclusive. Coffee (from dunks with liquid sugar), Root Beer, and other drinks, I'm sure, could find yourself in the same dillema.
I'm annoyed at this doomsday article (not just TFS, but TFA) which is totally shock value, and one paragraph of truth.
But then again, I suppose I should get used to that.
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Funny)
And Diet Caffeine free is just fine.
I wouldn't be as bold as to suggest that anything about Diet Caffeine free coke is "fine".
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh Jesus, Internet. Not this again. Can't we all agree that the science indicates aspartame is either harmless or barely measurably harmful, and certainly less harmful than the obesity one gets from consuming large amounts of sugar?
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Sorry this will be a little long, but I promise it's good:
So you feed your lab rats a fair number of their calories via yogurt (because it's easy to tamper with). They do reasonably well on this diet, and they don't overeat compared to their activity level -- they stay a reasonable weight. Now you leave half
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Interesting)
While that's perfectly logical and well-reasoned it flies in the face of actual real-world studies. Science now knows (for certain, using statistics and actual data) that drinking diet soda versus regular soda has no positive impact whatsoever on obesity rates. Source [webmd.com] In fact, that article actually claims that diet soda drinkers are MORE likely than their regular soda drinking counterparts to be obese.
Now, as the article points out, correlation isn't causation, but the taste of diet soda combined with no proof of its efficacy as a weight reducing substance means that I'll certainly never consider drinking it.
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Insightful)
"diet soda drinkers are MORE likely than their regular soda drinking counterparts to be obese"
Cuz if you're not fat, why put yourself through diet? It's hardly rocket surgery.
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Insightful)
no positive impact whatsoever on obesity rates.
Statistics is that they don't necessarily apply to the individual, though. I lost 20 pounds recently, and while part of it was strict diet and exercise, part of it was cutting out crap like soda. But sometimes I want a soda, so I have diet soda. Technically I'm obese but my BMI is well on the way to merely overweight.
I have an alternate hypothesis about the diet soda statistic. Based on my own experience, if someone trying to lose weight isn't drinking only water, they might be doing it wrong. You have to get used to eating healthy and drinking healthy. For a while it seems like your are eating/living bland, but you get used to it and a healthy diet tastes normal while really rich foods taste really rich.
Maintaining weight is easy, and diet foods can be a help in that. But losing weight involves a lifestyle change that is torture at first but which gets easier with time. I used to drink a lot of sweetened stuff. Now it's mostly water, and I really enjoy drinking water all the time. Diet soda is like false hope. Anything in life worth having requires sacrifice, and giving someone soda that has no calories can be like telling them they don't have to sacrifice.
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I'd have to agree with this. I dropped my BMI from 24.6 to 19.8 in the last year, solely by:
- Replacing my (considerable) soda intake with diet soda; and
- A 30 minute run, 4 times a week.
Not a huge effort really and the weight fell off fairly quickly. It's plateaued now though ... despite still keeping up my regime, it's flatlined at around BMI 19.7 - 20.0 depending how much I've eaten in the last few days. Which is fine since that's somewhat on the lower side of ideal (18.5 - 24.9).
Now I am sure the runnin
Re:Cool story bro (Score:4, Insightful)
giving someone soda that has no calories can be like telling them they don't have to sacrifice.
This, to me, is the essential problem with consumer culture ; the advertisers insistence that "You can have it all! At negligible personal cost!", hence products like Olestra, that lets you eat fatty food with no fat calories (at the cost of greasy anal leakage, niiiiice).
For many of the things that are finest, the cost is part of what makes them worthwhile ; I love my prowess with code, partly because of how hard won it was (and partly because it's still gosh-darned cool to make a computer do exactly what you told it to). I love my home-baked bread, because I made it. And I love my daughter not just because she's my daughter, but for the person she is - and she wouldn't be that person without a lot of damn hard work by both her parents.
Drinks? I stick to plain tea and coffee for stimulants, and water or watered fruit juice to quench my thirst. If I'm feeling expansive I'll dilute the juice with soda water. And I probably spend what I saved on soda on a good beer a few times a week.
Re:Cool story bro (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
God damn, not this shit again. How do you tell people what they think tastes good and tastes bad? It's all up to the individual. I can't stand the taste of beer, any beer and I've tried my fair share, yet that's an absolutely huge industry so surely there are just a lot of people out there that just have bad taste right?
If you can taste the beer you're not drinking enough.
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Nutrasweet can actually be broken down by the body, and a teaspoon of it actually has one calorie more than a teaspoon of sugar.
Artificial sweeteners aren't used because they aren't absorbed, they're used because they're so much sweeter than regular sugar, that you can use far less of them, and thus end up with far less calories.
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Try knowing what you are talking about before you comment. First result for "taste in the gut" gives you this [aspetjournals.org]:
Taste receptors, the taste G-protein gustducin, and downstream signaling elements known to underlie the detection and transduction of bitter, sweet, and umami (monosodium glutamateâ"containing) compounds in taste buds of the tongue are present also in specific endocrine cells of the gut: the enteroendocrine K and L cells. Glucose in the gut activates sweet taste receptors and gustducin present in the intestineâ(TM)s enteroendocrine L cells, leading to secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) from these cells. GLP-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) are incretin hormones, which augment insulin release from the beta cells of the pancreas. GLP-1, GIP, and other gut hormones released from the K and L cells affect insulin secretion, glucose homeostasis, nutrient absorption and other gut functions. Glucose transport into enterocytes via Na+,glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT1) and GLUT2 appears to be regulated by the gustducin- and sweet receptor-expressing enteroendocrine cells. In response to sugar ingestion, knockout mice lacking gustducin show deficits in the release of GLP-1 and insulin, in glucose homeostasis, and in upregulation of SGLT1. Apparently, the gut "tastes" sugars and sweeteners in much the same way as does the tongue and by using many of the same signaling elements. Taste receptors and other taste signaling elements in gut may be contributors to obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and other diet-related disorders. Gut-expressed taste elements are attractive targets for therapeutic intervention.
The same sweetners that fool your sweet receptors on your tongue fool the sweet receptors in you gut messing with you insulin release amongst other things. We had a professor from OSU give a talk about it a few months ago.
Heres another link from the Royal Society of Chemistry [rsc.org]:
A sugar-sensing receptor in the intestine could explain why drinking diet cola may hinder obese people who hope to lose weight1,2 and lead to new ways of treating obesity and diabetes.
This explains why humans and animals fail to lose weight with low-calorie artificial sweeteners: they stimulate increased glucose absorption from carbohydrate breakdown in the gut,' said Soraya Shirazi-Beechey, who led the Liverpool team.
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Given the choice between regular cola and diet, I'll take option c: none of the above. Diet tastes like garbage and gives me an upset stomach.
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From the link "Fowler is quick to note that a study of this kind does not prove that diet soda causes obesity. More likely, she says, it shows that something linked to diet soda drinking is also linked to obesity." Correlation. Causation. Has Slashdot not gotten the hang of this yet?
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"...More likely, she says, it shows that something linked to diet soda drinking is also linked to obesity." Correlation. Causation. Has Slashdot not gotten the hang of this yet?
Correlation does not imply lack of causation either, particularly when there are very plausible explanations for possible causative effects, and when plenty of people have made that particular shift without any other major lifestyle changes and then experienced the theorised consequences.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Generalize much?
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Interesting)
Actually, it's right.
I'll preface this with... INAHN (I'm not a health nut), I'm just very aware of the bad things that I consume. I'm smoking a cigarette and drinking a tall glass of cold soda while I'm writing this. :)
"natural" products, that aren't manufactured, but just bottled, are ok, but rather rare in most stores.
"manufactured" products usually contain refined sugars, preservatives, artificial colors, etc, etc. The're all bad for you.
The human body isn't designed to handle refined sugars very well. It does ok with raw sugar, but only in reasonable quantities. If they used raw sugar in the quantity that shows up in most sodas, it's bad for you. There was a recent study (and review of historical data) that showed the instances of diabetes were virtually nil compared to now. The major contributor? refined sugars.
Caffeine free soda has more bad stuff in it, just not caffeine.
Diet or sugar free sodas have artificial sweeteners that are cancer causing (among other things). Myself, I can't drink any diet soda. Even just a sip, and I'll have a migraine for the next 8 hours. I've been very unhappy during road trips, if/when I stop at a drive through and they hand me a diet soda instead of the regular one I ordered. One sip, and now I have 8 hours of driving where it feels my brain is going to explode.
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Insightful)
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Arsenic is natural. Tobacco is natural. Multivitamins are artificial.
Yes, No, No.
Arsenic, yes, for sure, 100% natural.
Tobacco, no, it's been modified by humans through selective breeding, exactly the same as other crops.
Multivitamins are no different to having a diet that consists of fresh fruit, vegetables and meats. While not the best substitute for a decent diet, to say that vitamins aren't natural is just stupid.
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Re:Cool story bro (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re:Cool story bro (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Interesting)
Multivitamins are no different to having a diet that consists of fresh fruit, vegetables and meats. While not the best substitute for a decent diet, to say that vitamins aren't natural is just stupid.
No. No. Yes to the the stupid bit.
IAAAHN (i AM actually a health nut): There are a multitude of beneficial micro-nutrients, anti-oxidants and other compounds in fruits and vegetable, legumes and meats, that you simply don't these get through a popping a multi-vitamin, thus even a comprehensive vitamin and mineral supplement can never replace a good diet.
Plants contain beneficial phytochemicals, flavinoids, anti-inflamiatory compounds, fatty-acids, amino acids, etc, etc. even the soluble fibre and insoluble roughage are highly beneficial to the essential life-supporting colony of bacteria that you are a host to. It's important not to ignore them either, your are a walking colony of your single-celled ancestors descendants, and guess what, a lot of them are along for the ride in your guts - there are 10 times as many cells in your body that are not you as human cells are more than 100 times larger than the bacteria in your gut.
Put simply a full spectrum multi-vitamin would not replace vegetables without about 100-150 different compounds.
Not eating your greens and eating too much processed foods seriously fraks with your internal biota, there's plenty of thought that suggests this is the cause or at least implicated in many modern ills.
You won't develop deficiency and/or die if you don't have these compounds, you can live without them. However the human body has actually evolved ingesting all these fringe nutrients, it stands to reason this is why our health benefits from these compounds. Some would argue they might as well be considered essential based on the benefit to our longevity and physical function.
Their really aren't any shortcuts to good health. Its a no-brainer that the key to good health is following the lifestyle that our bodies and minds evolved in. Exercise and wholefoods and time outdoors, you can't escape, ditch the cola and go for a jog.
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Arsenic is natural. Tobacco is natural. Multivitamins are artificial.
Well then, why don't _you_ go on to only consume "natural" products, and be happy with your "natural" human lifespan of about 25 years, while the rest of us consume all these weird "manufactured" foods and enjoy our 80+ year lifespans...
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The expansion in human lifespan is overwhelmingly due to a few things
* Improved nutrition
This is mostly because our enormously productive agriculture produces all the food we need, and a large variety of food. People do not routinely starve or have malnutrition in Western cultures.
* Improved sanitation
Washing with soap and good sewerage account for the most of this. People don't die in droves of cholera and a whole spectrum of other communicable diseases you get from bad water and dirty envi
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Insightful)
Diet or sugar free sodas have artificial sweeteners that are cancer causing (among other things).
That's a myth [snopes.com]. It's supported by the fact that most diet sodas used to contain saccharine, which is a sweetener that has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory rats if fed to them in sufficiently large quantities. As a result of these (possibly spurious) studies, most soft drink companies switched their artificial sweetener to aspartame ("Equal") many years ago (in the 1980s), which, as you can see by my link, has definitely not been shown by any studies to cause cancer (or lupus, or diabetes mellitus, or any other such nonsense). Virtually all of the evidence of aspartame causing ailments, including headaches, is entirely anecodotal and unsupported by scientific study.
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Informative)
Well, I know the migraines are easily reproducible for me. When I didn't know what the cause was, I was really confused. I'd drink whatever was put in front of me. Now, I don't drink diet sodas or tequila. Anything else is fair game. :)
I did sample testing, but I've also accidentally fallen into blind tests. I've gone to friends house, and they've poured me a drink. I didn't know until my head hurt, so I'd ask "was that a diet drink?" Nothing else that I've ever consumed has ever given me a headache quickly. Alcohol does it too, but that's usually from over consumption, and the headache comes later. :) That's easily mitigated by the consumption of large quantities of fluids before the headache comes on.
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Funny)
It's a strange world where people say this as a way of convincing you to listen to them on health topics :)
Re:Cool story bro (Score:4, Insightful)
You know, I've heard a lot of health nuts say a lot of things that they're spewing out of their cumulative asses. I frequently have the urge to light a cigarette, order a rare bloody steak, with a dark Irish beer, and a greasy side of something that'll disgust them.
The fun part is, I'm not overweight. Other than smoking, I appear healthy to any passers by. :)
I'm enjoying this ride right down to the end!
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Insightful)
Refined sugar is just as new to our bodies, on the evolutionary time scale, as high fructose corn syrup. Even the volumes associated with the modern concept of fruit juice are new: 12 oz. of orange juice is considered reasonable to drink, even though it's equivalent to eating six oranges in a few minutes. Lots more sugar, and much more frequently, than we had during what I'm sure was a pre-technological paradise. Oh yeah, even "natural" juices often have the vitamins stripped out and added back in after pasteurization. Little difference between orange juice and cola, really. If you like one over the other fine, but it's close to a wash nutritionally.
There's nothing wrong with living your life by various rules of thumb, because it's impossible to get into all of the details in one lifetime. But insisting on the dogmatic conclusions of your heuristics, is sheer insanity.
Re:Cool story bro (Score:4, Informative)
Little difference between orange juice and cola, really. If you like one over the other fine, but it's close to a wash nutritionally.
Not true; for instance, orange juice contains potassium:
see here [findarticles.com]
('...One eight-ounce glass of orange juice contains 450 milligrams of potassium, the same as an average banana....')
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Yeah, OK. Or I can take a nearly-free multi-vitamin which is like eating my fill of every fruit and vegetable on the face of the planet, instantly, and with a net zero calories which I can spend later on the tastier cola (or to be frugal, water).
Life is grand.
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, OK. Or I can take a nearly-free multi-vitamin which is like eating my fill of every fruit and vegetable on the face of the planet, instantly, and with a net zero calories which I can spend later on the tastier cola (or to be frugal, water).
A multi-vitamin and a sugary drink (or water) is not even close to the equivalent to eating your fill of fruits and veggies. Yes, you will meet or exceed your bodies vitamin and mineral requirements, but you'll be completely lacking in phytonutrients, fiber, fatty acids and anti-oxidants. The human body requires a lot more than just vitamins, minerals and simple carbohydrates!
Re:Cool story bro (Score:4, Informative)
>> Little difference between orange juice and cola, really. If you like one over the other fine, but it's close to a wash nutritionally
Not really. Cola is sugar water with nothing of nutritional value besides that. Orange juice (the real stuff) has a lot of vitamins and minerals in it that your body makes use of. Sugar content is also high, but that's not the only factor.
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Also, many orange juices have sugar added. And many of the "low sugar" ones just add sugar substitutes! As though it wasn't sweet enough.
Re:Cool story bro (Score:5, Insightful)
Hint: if it's manufactured, it's bad for you.
Sigh. This attitude is silly and I get tired of hearing the "if it's natural it's good for you crowd". Some manufactured things are bad some are good. There are manufactured medicines that save lives every day. And their are all manner of natural things that (e.g. urainium, hemlock, poison frogs, leprosy, lightning) that are bad for you. We should try to learn about ourselves and understand what is good and what is bad and why rather than simply generalizing and passing on a deceptive concept to those we talk with.
Not gonna help you, bro (Score:2)
FTFA:
It appears that hypokalaemia can be caused by excessive consumption of three of the most common ingredients in cola drinks â" glucose, fructose and caffeine.
The dew is even worse for you, bro. The article makes no mention of diet colas, which do not contain fructose or glucose, so I doubt they are as bad as sugar sodas.
Re:Not gonna help you, bro (Score:4, Funny)
chemical-ultratoxin kills faster than bullet
That would explain the piles of dead bodies that I see stacked up next to every soda fountain and convenience store on a daily basis, what with it being faster than a bullet and all.
Okay, I just can't help it - I really hope you are a non-native English speaker. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'm going to have to rewrite your post:
What's the difference. Diet (sic!) drinks use aspartam (sic) as a substitute for sugar. Well, for anyone who has (sic) IQ higer (sic) than typical showel (sic) or (sic) brick, I must (sic) not to (sic) explain, (sic) that this chemical-ultratoxin kills faster than (sic) bullet.
If you are a native English speaker, you have the IQ of a showel.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I'll have to rewrite your post:
If you are a native English speaker, you have the IQ of a (sic) showel.
Re:Not gonna help you, bro (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, a very very slow bullet.
I'm not sure what a "showel" is, but: There is no convincing evidence that moderate consumption of aspartame causes harm. The evidence was all from "accelerated failure studies", where they gave mice extreme doses and extrapolated back to normal consumption. Well, that's not bad for a first approximation, and diet drinks had a cancer warning label for a while. However, the studies were refuted early on and now time has borne out that the studies were incorrect. There's apparently a threshold effect, and under a certain dosage (which is quite high), it's perfectly safe.
If you want to worry about something, worry about brominated vegetable oil [wikipedia.org], which is used in Mt. Dew and other citrus sodas to disperse the citrus oils uniformly in the drink. Or, if you really want to worry about something which actually has a non-negligible chance of killing/disabling you, look both ways before crossing the street and always wear your seatbelt; and (a distant second) don't smoke.
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Oh yeah, obviously the above doesn't apply to people with phenylketonuria.
Re:Not gonna help you, bro (Score:4, Interesting)
Yes, a very very slow bullet.
I'm not sure what a "showel" is, but: There is no convincing evidence that moderate consumption of aspartame causes harm. The evidence was all from "accelerated failure studies", where they gave mice extreme doses and extrapolated back to normal consumption. Well, that's not bad for a first approximation, and diet drinks had a cancer warning label for a while. However, the studies were refuted early on and now time has borne out that the studies were incorrect. There's apparently a threshold effect, and under a certain dosage (which is quite high), it's perfectly safe.
For very small values of "perfect."
Artificial sweeteners may not be the certain cancer death they were once thought to be. However, there's still a few issues with them:
* Asparatame breaks down into asparatase and methyl alcohol at higher temperatures, such as those used in baking, and during certain chemical processes, such as the digestive process. Methyl alcohol is toxic to humans.
* Sucralose interacts badly with certain medications, including those taken by cancer patients to prevent recurrences.
* ALL sweeteners, regardless of their source or chemical composition, trigger insulin production in the same way that sugar does. This is a reflexive response, where the body ramps up insulin production in response to the *taste* of sweet, not waiting until blood sugar actually goes up. This results in lower blood sugar levels in response to non-nutritive sweeteners, which induces hunger and sugar/carb cravings. This is why switching to diet soda from regular causes weight *gain* rather than loss in often-replicated studies.
Re:Not gonna help you, bro (Score:5, Interesting)
There is no convincing evidence that moderate consumption of aspartame causes harm.
September 30, 1980-- The Public Board of Inquiry concludes NutraSweet should not be approved pending further investigations of brain tumors in animals. The board states it "has not been presented with proof of reasonable certainty that aspartame is safe for use as a food additive."
January 1981-- Donald Rumsfeld, CEO of Searle, states in a sales meeting that he is going to make a big push to get aspartame approved within the year. Rumsfeld says he will use his political pull in Washington, rather than scientific means, to make sure it gets approved.
January 21, 1981-- Ronald Reagan is sworn in as President of the United States. Reagan's transition team, which includes Donald Rumsfeld, CEO of G. D. Searle, hand picks Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes Jr. to be the new FDA Commissioner.
March, 1981-- An FDA commissioner's panel is established to review issues raised by the Public Board of Inquiry.
May 19, 1981-- Three of six in-house FDA scientists who were responsible for reviewing the brain tumor issues, Dr. Robert Condon, Dr. Satya Dubey, and Dr. Douglas Park, advise against approval of NutraSweet, stating on the record that the Searle tests are unreliable and not adequate to determine the safety of aspartame [rense.com].
July 15, 1981-- In one of his first official acts, Dr. Arthur Hayes Jr., the new FDA commissioner, overrules the Public Board of Inquiry, ignores the recommendations of his own internal FDA team and approves NutraSweet for dry products.
Re:Not gonna help you, bro (Score:4, Insightful)
September 30, 1980-- The Public Board of Inquiry concludes NutraSweet should not be approved pending further investigations of brain tumors in animals. The board states it "has not been presented with proof of reasonable certainty that aspartame is safe for use as a food additive."
Do you have any idea how much aspartame they force-fed those animals to provoke a (possible) carcinogenic response?
Do you care?
Not THAT old canard again... (Score:3, Informative)
Shit (Score:5, Funny)
Define "excessive", please.
Re:Shit (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Shit (Score:5, Interesting)
According to the article, the people were drinking 3 to 7 LITERS a day. That is a lot.
If you drank 7 liters of pure water a day you would probably suffer from low potassium as a result of electrolytes being flushed our in your urine. The US-RDA for water is 2 liters of water (8 cups) per day.
Not to mention, eating 2-3 bananas over the course of the day would probably correct the problem.
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The interesting thing about the cola problem is that the hypokalemia is more severe than the hyponatremia, suggesting that there is an additional factor other than overhydration.
Best guess is caffeine, as per the article. It's already well documented that high doses of caffeine cause hypokalemia, even when the caffeine is administered in pill form without
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Could it just be that since cola typically contains some sodium, the hyponatremia doesn't occur, and all that's left is hypokalemia?
Re:Shit (Score:5, Informative)
The US-RDA for water is 2 liters of water (8 cups) per day.
[Citation needed]
There is explicitly no RDA for water. The DRI or AI for water [usda.gov] is between 2.7-3.7 liters per day, but "includes all water contained in food, beverages, and drinking water." Those references also note that "Thirst and consumption of beverages at meals are adequate to maintain hydration." -- I.e. no need to carry a bottle to constantly sip from as if you're trying to survive a desert hike, on top of every other beverage you're already drinking.
The 64 oz / day myth was created by people who can't read both consecutive sentences from the 1945 Food & Nutrition Board study: "An ordinary standard for diverse persons is 1 milliliter for each calorie of food. Most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods." Well established. [wikipedia.org] The most recent recommendation from the same board suggests approximately 3 liters of water, about-faces itself saying most (80%) is met through beverages, explicitly denotes caffeinated beverages as an acceptable source of hydration, and similarly reiterates that the "vast majority" of people meet their hydration need merely by responding to thirst - not by forcing themselves to drink water to hit a magic number.
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As long as your urine is clear or very pale, you're properly hydrated.
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From TFA: The case studies looked at patients whose consumption ranged from two to nine litres of cola a day.
I'm good. :-)
Crap (Score:5, Funny)
I fear for Abby (NCIS).
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Gibbs gives her one (large) cup every time he comes by, which is probably no more than once a day. Assuming a 32oz. cup, she's still under 2 liters.
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You Can Pry My Cola (Score:3, Funny)
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The case studies looked at patients whose consumption ranged from two to nine litres of cola a day.
OH NEVERMIND LOL JESUS WTF PEOPLE
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From the BBC article on the same study [bbc.co.uk]:
They tell of the curious case of an Australian ostrich farmer who needed emergency care for lung paralysis after drinking 4-10 litres of cola a day.
Another example included a pregnant woman who regularly consumed up to three litres a day for the last six years and complained of tiredness, appetite loss and persistent vomiting.
A heart trace revealed she had an irregular heartbeat, probably caused by her low blood potassium levels.
Once she stopped drinking so much cola, she made a full and uneventful recovery.
So, yeah, excessive, even by my standards.
This stuff is b-a-n-a-n-a-s (Score:5, Funny)
Bananas contain lots of potassium.
Solution is obvious: drink all the cola you want, just make sure to supplement with banana ice cream. Added advantage of calcium and magnesium in the ice cream (also necessary for proper muscle function).
This post brought to you by Dole-omite and Benn & Gerry's.
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Came here to say this.
The problem is lack of potassium, not excess of cola.
Solution: Go get some potassium.
Re:This stuff is b-a-n-a-n-a-s (Score:5, Insightful)
The problem is probably comprised of two main factors: caffeine intoxication and fructose-related diarrhea.
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2 liters of cola has about 220mg of caffeine. Twenty ounces of reasonably strong black coffee (e.g. starbucks) has a bit over 400mg, and many people drink a few cups a day.
If the problem with cola were due to the caffeine, we'd have found the problem already in coffee drinkers who have already been studied to hell and back by people who'd just love to ban yet another enjoyable chemical.
No, as mentioned above the "problem" is probably that the sheer volume of cola flushes out potassium, and maybe the sugar a
Re:This stuff is b-a-n-a-n-a-s (Score:5, Informative)
Please note the "excessive" volumes referred to in TFA are on the order of 4+ (or up to 10+) L per day. That's like 2+ to 5+ pots of strong coffee a day in terms of caffeine content.
This is probably exacerbated by the "flushing" of electrolytes via diarrhea caused by high-volume fructose consumption.
Please. Know what you're talking about, or at least RTFA, before you try to make a counter-argument.
Overhydration can cause hypokalemia via excess elimination as well, but that becomes a problem long after hyponatremia becomes a severe problem.
Re:This stuff is b-a-n-a-n-a-s (Score:4, Funny)
Too late. A certain extremely large software company has already patented the banana ice cream Coke float (as well as a number of variations involve diet and Pepsi applications) in order to provide its programmers a permanent competitive advantage.
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Bananas contain lots of potassium.
According to this [health.gov] you need 4,700mg/day of potassium even without the effects of too much soda. At 422mg per banana, that's 11.14 bananas per day.
Am I missing something? It seems you would have to eat a freaking huge amount of any of the listed foods to get your daily amount.
This study sponsored by 7-Up - The Uncola! (Score:2)
Re:This study sponsored by 7-Up - The Uncola! (Score:5, Funny)
But if you mix cola and uncola, they annihilate each other, producing huge amounts of pure energy. Be careful!
Cola specific? (Score:3, Insightful)
I know cola has a lot more bad stuff in it but does is it a major catalyst of hypoalkemia?
Looks like the reporter just wanted to make a sensational headline.
Re: (Score:2)
I know cola has a lot more bad stuff in it but does is it a major catalyst of hypoalkemia?
Looks like the reporter just wanted to make a sensational headline.
On the other hand, how common is it to drink multiple liters of water per day? (Unless you're hiking the Grand Canyon.) If people are more likely to suffer this condition due to drinking soda, it seems fair to include "soda" in the headline.
Re: (Score:2)
"Hold Your Wee for a Wii", they called it.
Morons.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Cola is significantly worse than water because:
1) Simple sugars (glucose, fructose) significantly enhance electrolyte absorption and reabsorption. The later is important, because in your kidneys, this means more electrolytes excreted.
2) Caffeine is a diuretic, and increases glomerular filtration rate, leading to more fluid and electrolyte excretion.
3) Cola is very acidic (eg 2.6 pH). This strips out cations (sodium, potassium, calcium) and increased levels of anions (citrate, chloride, carbonate).
The three
Very dramatic (Score:5, Interesting)
Hypokalemia is very dramatic. Not. According to Wikipedia:
Mild hypokalemia is often without symptoms, although it may cause a small elevation of blood pressure,[5] and can occasionally provoke cardiac arrhythmias. Moderate hypokalemia, with serum potassium concentrations of 2.5-3 mEq/L, may cause muscular weakness, myalgia, and muscle cramps (owing to disturbed function of the skeletal muscles), and constipation (from disturbed function of smooth muscles).
In other words you might have cramps and the likes, and be constipated. And what's the no less dramatic cure to this terrible ailment? Oral potassium chloride supplements (Klor-Con, Sando-K, Slow-K) or just eating leafy green vegetables, tomatoes, citrus fruits, oranges or bananas.
Really, thanks for that Slashdot. While we're at it, did you know that it is estimated that over 40% of the population has B12 deficiency [wikipedia.org], and that it can cause tiredness, decreased mental work capacity, decreased concentration and decreased memory, irritability and depression?
If death is "dramatic", then yes, it could be (Score:3, Insightful)
Respect for the danger would be a good idea. Hypokalemia can cause arrhythmia. And hyperkalemia can also cause ... you guessed it, arrhythmia. And arrhythmia can cause death, with little warning. In fact, if your potassium level gets low enough or high enough, it is guaranteed that you will die from it, promptly. A single hypodermic syringe of non-diluted potassium chloride is practically guaranteed to send you to meet your maker within a couple of minutes.
Lots of things can cause the level to get too
What part of cola? (Score:3, Informative)
So what ingredient of cola does this? Last I read most popular cola drinks like Coke and Pepsi are nothing more than sugar, water, cinnamon, vanilla and phosphoric acid. Most cola drinks do not even have kola nut ingredients in them.
On thing is sure I stopped drinking the stuff regularly when I went to the dentist and had eleven cavities. Yes I brush twice a day and use the water pick. The trick is to rinse your mouth out after drinking very acidic and sugary drinks. As soon as you drink the acid begins to attack your enamel so after your done with a soda rinse your mouth out thoroughly with water. The few hours between drinking an acidic drink and brushing is more than enough time for acids to attack your teeth. This is what my dentist told me as he was drilling, not fun.
Bananas (Score:3, Insightful)
Might explain why I had a major hankering for bananas :P Eating as many as two or more per day. Bananas freakin' rock, the perfect fruit! Comes in it's own 'packaging', the flavor varies by ripeness (I like 'em a bit green), easily blended, no seeds to pick or spit out, and cheap and easily available.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Check it out [usda.gov] and notice how far down on the list Bananas are for potassium content.
One cup of tomato paste (granted, it's concentrated) has roughly 5 times the potassium content that a cup of banana does. A baked potato has just about double a banana, and a 1/2 filet of halibut has not quite double. More reasonable tomato sauces also double the potassium content of bananas. A nice meal of filet of halibut and baked potato is worth 4-6 bananas, depending on if you go for the full or just half filet.
So, if
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Ha, and bananas have a reputation for high potassium content. So much for that idea.
Reminds me of the mistake that was made about spinach. They thought spinach had just ungodly amounts of iron, etc., turns out the original research on the issue had misplaced a decimal, giving spinach 10 times more iron content than it actually had. By then, Popeye was already a popular character and I doubt the meme has lost steam to this day.
Luckily, I love spinach :P In fact, I love almost all vegetables. The only vegetab
Terrific news!!! (Score:2)
Pretty soon, the prices on cola will drop to the floor with this news. Then I can stock up!!
Good thing I drink Mountain Dew... (Score:5, Funny)
http://www.snopes.com/medical/potables/mountaindew.asp [snopes.com]
News flash - this stuff will kill you (Score:2, Flamebait)
The amount that people drink in this study is just astounding. And really, how much common sense do these people have?
I'll give you hint sweetie. If you have persistent vomiting and you're drinking 3 liters a day of anything, stop drinking it and I b
What's Next? (Score:2, Funny)
Next they'll tell us that pizza, lack of sun, and too much pr0n leads to painful death.
I was going to type an awesome comment here.. (Score:3, Funny)
Cola != Soft Drinks (Score:3, Insightful)
OK, the person that wrote the article really needs to stop using the term "cola" in place of "soft drink".
Soft drinks come in many flavors including cola flavor.
From my reading of the article, the soft drink can be any flavor and still be a problem if they contain any of the three ingredients listed (none of which include cola or cola flavor).
Get it right!
oh noes (Score:5, Informative)
Gee, this is hardly surprising. Who'd have thought that over-indulgence of soft drinks (or 'adult' drinks like beer and liquor) would result in physical problems?
With soda/cola/pop/whatever, you are consuming a supersaturate. There is a shitload of sugar in there, and its consumption will dehydrate you. And it's not all that good for the ol' pancreas, either.
Diet sodas are also a problem, as they have aspartame in them. Aspartame is a mild neurotoxin. No, you won't get dehydrated and get muscle fatigue that way, but you sure as hell will cause problems down the line. Some people who are highly environmentally sensitive will have an allergic/asthmatic reaction to the stuff.
Potassium and Hypocalcemia (Score:4, Interesting)
American geek, eat less by skipping meals (Score:3, Interesting)
Who says we should eat 3 meals a day every day? How about: put more effort into selecting and preparing our meals, eat fewer meals! I find I'm way less hungry if I go longer without eating - as I'm not constantly 3 or 4 hours after the last big meal. The hunger sensation goes away if you get past it (a good analogy is the vibrations of breaking the "sound barrier" in a jet airplane, you throttle past it). In the USA, family and friends are so programmed to do the "3 meals a day" thing that practically nobody questions it.
Discovery of this study changed my life. Now, some days I just eat one big meal, I focus more on enjoying that meal. If you have only one meal in a day: 2 hours to enjoy the meal, read while I'm eating or socialize with friends. I focus more on the quality of food, not quantity. Eating less frequently is a lifestyle change, not a diet!
From: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16529878 [nih.gov]
=======================
"The effect on health of alternate day calorie restriction: eating less and more than needed on alternate days prolongs life."
Restricting caloric intake to 60-70% of normal adult weight maintenance requirement prolongs lifespan 30-50% and confers near perfect health across a broad range of species. Every other day feeding produces similar effects in rodents, and profound beneficial physiologic changes have been demonstrated in the absence of weight loss in ob/ob mice. Since May 2003 we have experimented with alternate day calorie restriction, one day consuming 20-50% of estimated daily caloric requirement and the next day ad lib eating, and have observed health benefits starting in as little as two weeks, in insulin resistance, asthma, seasonal allergies, infectious diseases of viral, bacterial and fungal origin (viral URI, recurrent bacterial tonsillitis, chronic sinusitis, periodontal disease), autoimmune disorder (rheumatoid arthritis), osteoarthritis, symptoms due to CNS inflammatory lesions (Tourette's, Meniere's) cardiac arrhythmias (PVCs, atrial fibrillation), menopause related hot flashes. We hypothesize that other many conditions would be delayed, prevented or improved, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, brain injury due to thrombotic stroke atherosclerosis, NIDDM, congestive heart failure. Our hypothesis is supported by an article from 1957 in the Spanish medical literature which due to a translation error has been construed by several authors to be the only existing example of calorie restriction with good nutrition. We contend for reasons cited that there was no reduction in calories overall, but that the subjects were eating, on alternate days, either 900 calories or 2300 calories, averaging 1600, and that body weight was maintained. Thus they consumed either 56% or 144% of daily caloric requirement. The subjects were in a residence for old people, and all were in perfect health and over 65. Over three years, there were 6 deaths among 60 study subjects and 13 deaths among 60 ad lib-fed controls, non-significant difference. Study subjects were in hospital 123 days, controls 219, highly significant difference. We believe widespread use of this pattern of eating could impact influenza epidemics and other communicable diseases by improving resistance to infection. In addition to the health effects, this pattern of eating has proven to be a good method of weight control, and we are continuing to study the process in conjunction with the NIH.
Gah! (Score:3, Insightful)
Considering this comes from the International Journal of Clinical Practice it sounds awfully unscientific. Of course this could just be bad editing and a poor choice of headline.
What is Coke? It is causing it? What in Coke is causing it is a better question, and likely the answer is sugar. 9 x 40g = 360g a DAY in ONLY cola. That's a third of a kilo, not including sugar you get from other sources. Go look at what 1kg of sugar looks like in the supermarket, and try and eat it in 3 days! In which case, Cola isn't the problem, it is sugary drinks in which there are plenty.
For the Record:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlation_does_not_imply_causation [wikipedia.org]
And my fav:
http://xkcd.com/552/ [xkcd.com]
I find usually very smart people do not understand this very simple logical fact and make grandiose statements. They very well may be right, however their argument is wrong. Climate Change is one of my favorite examples of this. Flame on! (Sorry I couldn't resist!)
Also think about Freakanomics.
Perhaps there is also a statistical correlation between the people that would freaking drink 9 cans of coke in a day and those that smoke 20+ cigerates a day, or the fact that those people are more predetermined to be obese which may be causing it, or be more likely to eat other unhealthy foods, of which anyone factor may be the cause of.
There are many possibilities and factors and we are talking about samples and statistics here in a study where these are not controlled environments.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Go figure (Score:4, Insightful)
I figured out that cola was bad for you when I heard of the school science experiment where you put old teeth (baby teeth or animal teeth) in cola for a couple of days and let them disintegrate!
I figured out fresh fruit was bad for you when I heard of the school science experiment where you put some fruit on a dish, and a couple days later its covered in toxic molds.
Unless you wander around with a mouthful of cola in your mouth for days at a time, your conclusion is about as absurd as mine is.
Now I'm not arguing cola is good for you, but the experiment you are referring to is irrelevant. After all, the body normally contains far stronger acids than mere cola.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Of course, plain old tap water can be substituted for soda in most of these old wives tales, and the result is the same.
Yes, what's all this about "Cola"? (Score:3, Informative)
If it doesn't have Kola Nut [wikipedia.org], it's not a Kola, or a Cola. Do they mean to say "carbonated beverages"?