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I drink a can of coke a day. Does that pose a threat to my health? Is there a long term effect that I should be wary of?

This is a link to what happens to your body right away when you drink a coke.

http://www.healthbolt.net/2006/12/08/what-happens-to-your-body-if-you-drink-a-coke-right-now/

There is also the effects on your teeth, weight, etc. I was in the staff room at work and a girl was drinking one and I read the "Nutritional Facts" and it had 42g of sugar! wtf! And then there is the dependancy you get from being on all that sugar and caffeine.

Just have some water...your body needs it anyway

I am so addicted to Cokes, Guys I need your support and help please. My coach said if I was to quit them I would loose a good twenty pounds in a year or so. I think I would feel much better.

I can' tell you the last time I had a Coke, Pepsi or any other soft drink. My coworkers make fun of me because I carry around a bottle of water everywhere I go.

You have to make a conscious decision when you reach for that Coke to say "Naw, I'll have water with lemon instead." That's why I don't drink alcohol any more, because I would literally blow up.

You can do it. And your body really does need the water more so than the sugar and carbs in the Coke, Coke Zero is just that a 0. It has no benefits either.

The high fructose corn syrup in them is what is extremely bad for you. i use to drink lots of sodas and then stopped and you it awesome how great you feel. just drink water instead! to cut the cravings while i was weaning myself off of them, i would just take shots of coke. I work in the service industry so it was ever so tempting. after a while of not drinking one, it actually tastes really gross and nasty to have one.
Long term effects, Heck ya! Constantly putting nasty processed crap in your body is horrible for you!

Just like a smoker try to quit smoking. I been trying so hard to quit my diet coke/pepsi habit. I just need the caffein from this drink. I find out if I manage to stay away my blood pressure start to improve. But no matter how hard I try , I keep returning back to it.

"The high fructose corn syrup in them is what is extremely bad for you." No truer words have been spoken.

This is why, HFCS does not trigger insulin like any other sweetener so you won't feel full, so you keep eating. Plus it also shuts down other receptors that tell your body your full, so in other words your body turns itself into a fat machine, and you gain weight.

Once you give up the sodas you feel a lot better.
Great workouts
Joe

I stopped drinking soda almost 6 years ago. Its hard. It takes two weeks before you start not having the craving. After that you will be fine. In the meantime when you want a soda have some water as others have suggested or a cup of tea with some stevia for sweetness will usually satisfy you. Believe me after you haven't had one in a say six months or in many years like me that is the last thing in the world you will ever want to drink! Soda is the most disgusting thing you can possibly drink! Hang in there and good luck. You can do it.

The truth is, one 12 oz can of soda a day will not have any adverse effects on your health. If you are trying to cut carbs, you may want to cut it back some. That can has the equivalent sugar of three or four servings of fruit.

It's a different story, of course, for those who seem to be addicted to guzzling multiple sodas every day.

And BTW:

There is nothing harmful about eating small or moderate amounts of HFCS.

High fructose corn syrup and all other sugars are “generally recognized as safe” by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health, the National Academy of Sciences report Diet and Health, and Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services support this conclusion.

In a 2002 scientific statement on sugar and cardiovascular disease, the American Heart Association concluded that, for most individuals, consuming fructose either pure or in the form of sucrose has neither beneficial nor adverse effects.

I think I dropped sodas about a year ago and honestly I havn't looked back. It may have been hard a few months after the cut, but now my brain associates soda with poison -- maybe a bit overboard but it gets the job done. I've heard about all kinds of things with sodas, like how coke can dissolve a nail, how it can clean the anodes of a car battery, etc.

I do drink soda occasionally. It generally is bad and will get you addicted. I have a friend who cannot start the day without a can of soda. Bad, bad habit.

Every morning I hear my coworkers opening a can of coke or pepsi with their breakfast. I cant tell you the last time I had one. I just remember getting so bloated it felt awful.

For awhile I was addicted to diet cokes and diet pepsi. When I realized how many of those 2 liter bottles I had in my pantry - and how much of that stuff I was consuming. I just cut it off - I'm not buying it anymore. I switched to good water, and some grapefruit or lime juice added to aleviate the boring aspect of just plain water. I add ice, and use a tall glass - and I have the feeling of still having a "drink" so I'm not really missing my sodas.

JOCKBOD: I will share a Tab with you

I don't drink alot of soda now, but do you guys lump all soda together? Are some at least acceptable once in a while? Like non-colas, fresca, sprite or grape? A few sodas a month isn't terrible is it?

Thanks for the replies. You all are so wonderful! I hope I quit someday.

Coca-Cola can burn off the corrosion on the terminals on your car's battery.....why would you want to continue to put more acid in your body which is about 75% water and needs to be alkaline ?

as an sports and injury recovery LMT for 16 years, an athlete for 29 years 17 as a triathlete.....Gatorade, Propel , etc are ALL CRAP... extremely low in ph meaning acidic so you are adding more toxins to the body besides all the chemicals in order to balance electrolytes...? and especially after you've spilled more lactic acid ? not good chemistry......drink ALKALINE WATER like Kangen Water....not Dasani or Aquafina either ..... they are reverse osmosis and highly acidic, too

take a recovery week of easy cardio cross-training @ 50% , strecth, yoga, get regular massage, supplemement with MAGNESIUM for cramping NOT potassium which is more for heart funcion and fluid balance...or eat foods high in magnesium....which is why woman go to chocolate for their monthly time.....many toxins in most chocolate though

much luck

I recommend reading Michael Pollan, especially "The Omnivore's Dilemma", to learn how and why soft drinks are not good for your body.

I'm no scientist, and I don't believe what's right for me is right for everybody, nor will I force my beliefs on you. So, with that, I'm not sure putting too many artificial produced, and doses of addictive chemicals in your body is the healthiest thing for you. Now, I'm not trying to make you feel bad for doing; though it may sound that way. But actually, for a lot of my early childhood I was addicted to loads of candy and soda. I used to eat bowls of candy every other day, and once even downed a full 24 case of various sodas in an hour long period. Why I never got fat or developed diabetes is a miracle. Than again, I did make a sudden change in my diet in my earliest teen years and jumped on the veggie wagon... anyways.

You say you drink one can a day. That can't be too bad, but on the same not it can't be too good for either. Maybe a coke a week, or every two to three weeks[, maybe you can drink two?]

But I'm no scientist or professional health guru. But maybe you should try tea. I have a cup a day, but never sweet tea, unless it's a summer party or I haven't had some in 365 days.

You what might help is drinking lots of water before or after you cup of water. It'll help dilute it and the caffiend, and you'll get it out of your system faster. That's what I do when I've got too much caffeine in my system, but make sure to drink Lots of water after the soda.

Colas have phosphates in them which can rob your body of calcium. Not only is this not good for bones but also can throw off calcium electrolytes.
Diet colas have about 5 calories per serving. If they didn't have phosphates I don't see why they'd be such an issue.
I, myself, used to drink a lot of Crystal Lite. It's basically calorie free and has no sugars. I am weening myself off of this because I am getting concerned with long term effects from synthetic sweeteners.
For those that have to satiate their sweet tooth, I recommend trying a stevia supplement. It's natural and comes from a root and although not recognized as a sweetener by the FDA, it tastes like Nutrasweet. It was first used in South America as a natural remedy for light headaches. You can find it at most health food stores. I think the best most mixable version is the liquid version. The packets clump up and become useless.
To satisfy my sweet tooth I squeeze fresh lemons into water and add stevia afterward. It's like drinking lemonade. Just add stevia to taste. No calories, no sugar, tastes great and it's all natural.
Sometimes I steep herbal teas, add stevia and refrigerate to have other flavors as a cold beverage.

drakutis saidYou have to make a conscious decision when you reach for that Coke to say "Naw, I'll have water with lemon instead." That's why I don't drink alcohol any more, because I would literally blow up.

Yes. That's the ticket.

Also, if you really have a craving for a bit of sweetness, try this. Get club soda (or plain Calistoga water). Stick some crushed ice in a tall glass.

Then, you can get these incredible Italian fruit syrups, made from real fruit. I have orange, strawberry, and raspberry. You can put a very small amount in the glass (yes, there are some calories there, but they return a lot of flavor/bang for the buck), and then fill with club soda.

It's incredibly refreshing.

Incidentally, I run 50-55 miles per week and weight train about 4 hours per week. But, cutting out alcohol to a large extent (not totally, but to a large extent), sugared sodas (not totally, but to a large extent) and cheese on sandwiches (totally)...I've lost 8 pounds since November. And that is fat. Since I have gained muscle during that time, I figure I've lost more than 8 pounds of fat, given the weight/density of muscle tissue.

The only bad habit I have...

What can I say... you know how it it.. sometimes you just hunger for it.... or in this case "thirst"...

I only drink soda when I'm sick with cold or flu and cannot tolerate the 'taste' of water. I'll buy Diet Rite Zero in the white grape flavor. Lord knows what it does to my insides!

Don't be so hard on yourself. With all the guys downing beer and hard booze or crystal meth, drinking a diet soda now and then is not a bad thing.