Well, since cheryl did a "report" on a drink, I shall do one on a drink too. This drink that I'm about to introduce [i cant really use this word here since everyone knows it already, but nevermind] is Cola, otherwise known as soda.
Cola is a sweet carbonated drink, usually with caramel colouring and containing caffeine. The name Cola comes from kola nuts which were originally used in early soft drinks as the source of caffeine. They later stopped using kola nuts as it was found to be carcinogenic, which basically means cancer-causing. Thank goodness they removed it. However, does that make Cola a healthy drink?
Obviously, the answer would be a no. An average can of cola has 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, artificial food colors and sulphites. That is crazy. 10 teaspoons of sugar in just one small can of cola!
This is how i picture of can of cola now:
oh my, this is going to put me off cola for a long while. hahah.
So what is it that Cola do that makes it so unhealthy?
Most nutritionists advise that Coca-Cola and other soft drinks can be harmful if consumed excessively, particularly to young children whose soft drink consumption competes with, rather than complements, a balanced diet. Studies have shown that regular soft drink users have a lower intake of calcium, magnesium, ascorbic acid, riboflavin and vitamin A.
The drink has also aroused criticism for its use of caffeine, due to the possibility of physical dependence. Giving caffeine products to small children is not recommended. When children drink pop or caffeine products they are consuming additional calories that do not contain important nutrients.
For example, if a small child drinks 2 cans of pop per day instead of milk, they are missing the opportunity to get almost 50% of the calcium (as mentioned earlier) that they need for proper bone growth during this important stage of their life. This may lead to a risk of developing osteoporoses later in life.
There is also some concern regarding the usage of high fructose corn syrup in the production of Coca-Cola. Since 1985 in the U.S., Coke has been made with high fructose corn syrup, instead of sugar glucose or fructose, to reduce costs. This has come under criticism because of concerns that the corn used to produce corn syrup may come from genetically altered plants. Some nutritionists also caution against consumption of high fructose corn syrup because of possible links to obesity and diabetes [which I have talked about the risk factors earlier].
Aren't all theses enough to show that Coke is extremely unhealthy? If you still aren't convinced, for any reasons, here's an article that will shock you for sure.
WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR BODY IF YOU DRINK A COKE RIGHT NOW?
In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.
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)
40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps 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, by the way.
>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. (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.
>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 even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.
If you still aren't convinced about the harmful effects of drinking Coke, I would have nothing to say.
So, conclusion of the day:
COKE IS EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY [i can't emphasize it enough] UNHEALTHY! AVOID DRINKING AS FAR AS POSSIBLE!
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