It is true that they removed cocaine from Coca-Cola decades ago, but it still does not really make Coke any less of a drug. Turns out that removing the cocaine from Coca-Cola was just an attempt at avoiding redundancy, as a Coke soft drink has a similar effect on your body as the powdery white stuff.
Sovator, during his weekend visit, brought it to my attention that I should be aware of the crazy ways in which Coke is ravaging my body within minutes of its ingestion, and I am seriously considering adding this delicious beverage to my “banned” list after learning what I now know.
- First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons (GASP) of sugar hit your system. That breaks down to be about roughtly 100% of your recommended daily intake. The only thing preventing you from immediately vomiting from the overwhelming sweetness is phosphoric acid cutting into the flavor, allowing you to keep it down.
- 20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes. Your liver responds to this insulin burst by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat.
- 40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and as a to this complete caffeine upload, your livers dumps even 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.
- >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; bathroom break anyone? 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 having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.
And from here for many people the vicious cycle continues… No one likes being a tired jerk, so what do you do, have another Coke! There really is nothing comparable to the instant gratification one gets from fighting their caffeine hangover with more caffeine (I wonder if this works with beer…). It seems that we get pleasure from making the same mistakes over and over again, and we happily gulp down the second glass of Coca Cola, well knowing that we will be faced with another caffeinated crash in the next few hours. Armed with the information outlined above, I think I am going to quit Coke, or at least add it to my recreational substances list along with coffee, Red Bull, alcohol and chocolate chocolate-chip muffins.
And…I’m back. Upon reading the “teaser” to this entry, I was of course uneasy about the impending information. I am aware of this information, and as a sufferer of chronic hypoglycemia/prediabetes, I can personally attest to the effects on blood sugar levels. Readers of this comment may be happy to note that I have basically given Coke up, though I have one here now (to remain unfinished, thanks to you), and have only had 2 in the past 2 weeks (down from 5 a day…though I’d never finish 12 ozs in a can). Also, to speak to the alcohol hangover (fueling fire with fire) yes, darling, alcohol can literally “cure” a hangover, but if that happens to you, it is a diagnosable symptom of addiction. With which, if any of you fall into this category, I would be happy to help, as I am now an addictions counselor. (see, Butterfinger, that whole Amish thing was at least worth something, hahaha)
OMG!!!
How can this perfectly legal product be sold to innocent children and unsuspecting adults?
Why isn’t Nancy Pelosi organizing the government to tax this stuff out of existance, instead of denying me the opportunity to buy american drilled oil?
Where is Wolf Blitzer when we need him to speak out about this stuff?
Why does it have to taste so good? especially with a little Captain Morgan and a slice of lime?
Great text – I wanna see a graph!
You should read “In Defense of Food”