Coca-Cola is under the microscope as experts sound the alarm over the drink’s health risks.
What’s happening?
While the sugar content in soda is no surprise, researchers are now pinpointing exactly what happens to your body when you drink a can of regular Coca-Cola.
New studies are scrutinizing Coca-Cola, as researchers are linking the drink to fatty liver disease, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, The Telegraph reported.
A study published in Nature Medicine, for example, linked millions of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease cases to sugar-based beverages. Likewise, a study conducted by a group of Swedish researchers has gone so far as to directly condemn the sugar drink industry for cases of cardiovascular disease.
When you drink a can of regular Coca-Cola, your body experiences a sugar rush within the first hour of consumption. Since Coca-Cola contains caffeine as well as sugar, drinking soda consistently can also cause you to develop a “degree of dependence,” per the Telegraph. This dependency can then cause some consistent cola drinkers to “wean themselves off it gradually to lessen the effects of the caffeine and sugar withdrawal.”
Why is the new set of research important?
The new research reinforces the health risks of regularly drinking Coca-Cola. What’s worse, in the United Kingdom, experts are also calling out the country’s food labeling system, which gives Coca-Cola three green traffic lights, a label that is misleading for consumers.
“Coke is just through the roof [for sugar],” specialist registered dietitian Nichola Ludlam-Raine told the Telegraph. “In my opinion, it shouldn’t be allowed to be sold.”
From an environmental perspective, Coca-Cola is the world’s leading producer of branded plastic waste, and while the company has taken some steps to mitigate its plastic waste, it still has a significant way to go.
What’s being done about the health risks of Coca-Cola?
Researchers are continuing to study the long-term impacts of drinking soda, adding to the growing pile of evidence underscoring the health risks.
To protect yourself from these risks, you can reduce your soda intake. Health experts also suggest swapping out that can of Coca-Cola for a healthier alternative, such as fizzy water.
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