Is My Friends Coke Habit Dangerous to his Health?

Question

HI,

My friend whom i work with drink six cans of diet coke a day every day. What is this doing to his health? Does anybody have any medical knowledge that i can show him to help him kick the habit please, as he wont listen to me when i tell him it's ruining his health.

Answer 1

Aspartame is the artifical sweetener used in Diet Coke. Drinking aspartame beverages and switching to regular Coke can screw you up. I think aspartame can also really hurt your kidneys and liver.

Answer 2

I would say yes ... 6 a day is too many... the occasional can would be fine I guess.. but he is taking on board a lot of chemicals ... a better option would be fizzy water and fruit juice...

BUT
got me thinking probably the original coke recipe had health benefits.. but not now..
there is a fizzy drink called Iron Brew..
the original recipe was made from carotene (carrots) hence the name... (carrots are a good source of iron and betacarotene is regarded as good for the body) so I guess it was a kind of fizzy carrot juice.. but sweet and fruity...

now its coloured by chemicals and is renamed Irn Bru... I think coca cola has evolved along the same lines.. both were probably health drinks of the past....

Answer 3

While some studies have shown that diet coke causes brain cancer nothing is really certain. The only thing that I could think of is that the diet coke is taking away his appetitie. Drinking 6 cans of soda everyday obviously is decreasing his appetitite causing him to eat less. Since it is diet it is not doing alot of damage to his teeth. Since he drinks 6 cans a day his teeth could start to become eroded from all of the acid.

Answer 4

We used to do meat digestion experiments with Coke and test how long it took for a small piece to dissolve in the phosphoric acid of Coca-Cola. Then we would derive reaction constants, pH, etc. This at least suggests that the Coke will digest his tissues, especially in conjunction with the stronger hydrochloric acid of the stomach. My own brother developed an ulcer from drinking Coke in quantities similar to what you describe. Acidic drinks shouldn't be drunk in large quantities for long periods.

Answer 5

I read that fizzy drinks, especially colas, are causing people's bones to lose their density and therefore leading to increased risk of osteoporosis in later life.

Perhaps you could demonstrate the corrosive qualities of Coke by putting some in a glass with a coin and see it take all the dirt off. That's what is happening inside him.

As with all things, it's OK in moderation.

Answer 6

I know that they defiantly have something addictive in them. My dad would complain of getting very sore heads if he doesn't have at least one drink of it a day. He feels quite ill after a day or two of not having any. I don't think there is any scientific proof of what harm it can do to you, but you would be ingesting a large amount of artificial sweeteners and colouring, some which can be harmful in large doses. The only other thing would be possible weight gain and wind !

Answer 7

It must be ripping his insides out, one now and again OK but six in a day he is asking for trouble, try and find some stuff on the net, there are some pretty odd things that Coke is used for.

Answer 8

Hmm...well, there are warnings on the cans that say that whatever the artificial sweetener is has been or could be linked to cancer if I remember correctly. Also, a girl I worked with years ago, her boyfriend had developed something similar to a beer gut by drinking so much pop.

Answer 9

Yes caffeine and artificial sweetners will cause all kinds of health problems. 6 cans a day of pure poison he takes in is going to cause problems in his liver and kidneys which have to filter that crap out of him.

His habit is leading him down the road to plenty of health problems he doesnt want. Check the source for more info.

Answer 10

Well, I don't see anything wrong with it, I mean too many fluids can affect the bladder, but depending on the labor, the body might use it all up anyway, ask him the color of his urine.. lol, if it's generally yellow that means the body is usuing all the nutrients and hydration naturally, if its clear as water, than its probably too much.