Deconstructing Colas
Is there anything soft about these drinks?

Lisa Goldman

You know it’s not the healthiest thirst quencher, but sometimes you crave the sweet, biting taste of a bubbly, ice-cold cola (admit it). But before you crack open your next can, sip on this: sugared colas are full of dubious ingredients such as caffeine, phosphoric acid and sugar. While a cola once in a while won’t hurt you, it’s best to cut it out of your normal diet, advises Louise Lambert-Lagacé, a Montreal-based registered dietitian. “There are zero nutritional reasons for drinking cola,” she says.

That may be, but consumption of the tar-coloured fizzy stuff has skyrocketed in the past 60 years, mainly because of marketing and advertising. Global sales of Coca-Cola surpass US $15 billion. “You can get a cola anywhere. People are surrounded by it,” says Lambert-Lagacé. But heavy cola consumption has been linked to serious problems.

Empty calories 

You wouldn’t let your eight-year-old put 10 teaspoons of sugar on her cereal, would you? Well, a 12-ounce (355-millilitre) cola has about that much and contains 150 calories. That could promote weight gain if not balanced with exercise and moderate consumption, says University of Guelph food scientist Dr. Massimo Marcone. Immoderate intake of soft drinks can raise the risk of type 2 diabetes—and, worse, especially for children, displace more nourishing drinks such as milk, soy beverages, and pure juices.

One Harvard School of Public Health study compared cola consumption with weight and type 2 diabetes and found that weight gain over an eight-year period was higher among women who increased their consumption of sugared colas to one or more per day. The same women also had a higher risk of type 2 diabetes than those who drank less than one cola each month.

Hypertension in women 

A study at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found that women who consumed four colas daily had a 28% to 44% greater risk of high blood pressure—a trigger of stroke and heart disease—than women who drank less than one can a day. Just one can per day increased the risk of high blood pressure by as much as 13%—just how remains unclear. Although a 12-oz cola contains only about 40 milligrams of sodium (a safe daily intake is 2,300 milligrams), high consumption might be harmful for people restricting salt to control high blood pressure.

Bone loss

Colas’ phosphoric acid content—a can has 27 to 62 milligrams depending on the brand—can interfere with the absorption of calcium from the intestines, thereby accelerating bone loss and raising osteoporosis risk. In a study at Boston’s Tufts University, women who drank more than three colas each day had as much as a 5% lower bone-mineral density than those who consumed less than one can. In another Harvard School of Public Health investigation, girls who drank pop were five times more likely to have suffered bone fractures than girls who avoided it.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease 

The hallmarks of this condition, affectionately known as GERD, are a burning sensation in the chest and the feeling of stomach acid backing up toward your mouth. The main contributing factor is the relaxation of the muscular ring called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), which closes the opening between the stomach and the gullet, thereby preventing reflux. Bloating carbonated beverages distend the stomach and put pressure on the LES, allowing stomach acid to push up into the esophagus. Their high acidity doesn’t help matters, either.

So instead of popping open a can of cola, advises Lambert-Lagacé, opt for plain or sparkling water, pure, no-sugar-added fruit juice, low-fat milk or soy beverages.

One 12-oz. (355-ml) can contains:

• Calories

About 150 = 3 chocolate-chip cookies

• Phosphoric Acid

pH 2.8 = almost as low as lemon juice

All that sugar is obviously a risk factor for cavities. But even sugar-free colas are problematic. The high acid content of sodas—they have low pH levels right down there with vinegar, lemon juice and car battery acid—can weaken tooth enamel and make teeth more vulnerable to decay.

• Sugar

About 40 grams = roughly 10 teaspoons

• Caffeine

37 to 46 milligrams = about 1/2 cup  instant coffee

We know adults get hooked on coffee, and the caffeine your 10-year-old drinks in just two cans of cola each day is equivalent to that in full cup of the instant type. Children who suddenly cut their intake after consuming several cans of cola a day have reportedly suffered withdrawal symptoms such as lethargy, fatigue and headaches.