Have a Coke and a Smile
Hey Kid, Catch!
I recently came across a discussion on Coca Cola and thought it would be a good topic, slightly different from what I usually discuss.
It is amazing how much marketing can sway public opinion. Coca Cola has probably the best marketing department in the world, yes, even better than most politicians.
I don’t have anything against marketing as long as it is honest.
Don’t ask me about politicians….
I do have something against Sugar Sweetened beverages, of which Coca Cola is the topic today. Drinking sugar sweetened beverages is like adding sugar directly into your veins. The body response to clear the excess sugar can cause metabolic havoc leading to inflammation in many other areas of your body as well.
Think of inflammation not as good or bad, but more of an imbalance, that if chronic can cause health issues, especially increasing the aging process.
A few of the Chronic Metabolic Inflammatory Imbalances include Overweight, Obesity, Hypertension, Diabetes, Heart Disease and Dementia. Do you know of anyone with any of those health issues??
Honestly I could probably tie metabolic imbalances to most disease processes but I am trying to keep this as simple as possible.
Mmm, Mmm, sugar……………..
Mmm, Mmm, caffeine…………..
Mmm, Mmm, phosphoric acid……
Mmm, Mmm, dopamine addictive behaviors..??..??..??
Yep, this is the stuff that most all of us have consumed at some point in our life, and some still even today. I guess they have not met me yet??
Besides the metabolic devastation that Coca Cola can cause, Coca Cola is probably not that bad, right?
Well…………………………….
What is BPA? Is is safe or harmful?
Here is the abstract from the link above. Bolded area are my emphasis.
Bisphenol A (BPA) belongs to chemicals that are produced in large quantities worldwide. It is commonly used as monomer in polycarbonate synthesis, plasticizer in the production of epoxy resins, as well as an additive for the elimination of surfeit of hydrochloric acid during the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production. BPA is not only used in the production of plastics intended to a direct contact with food, including plastic packaging and kitchenware, but also in inner coatings of cans and jar caps. There are various routes of human exposure to this substance such as oral, by inhalation and transdermal. The main sources of exposure to BPA include food packaging and dust, dental materials, healthcare equipment, thermal paper, toys and articles for children and infants. BPA is metabolized in the liver to form bisphenol A glucuronide and mostly in this form is excreted with urine. Due to its phenolic structure BPA has been shown to interact with estrogen receptors and to act as agonist or antagonist via estrogen receptor (ER) dependent signalling pathways. Therefore, BPA has been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of several endocrine disorders including female and male infertility, precocious puberty, hormone dependent tumours such as breast and prostate cancer and several metabolic disorders including polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Because of the constant, daily exposure and its tendency to bio-accumulation, BPA seems to require special attention such as biomonitoring. This observation should include clinical tests of BPA concentration in the urine, which is not only one of the best methods of evaluation of the exposure to this compound, but also the dependence of the daily intake of BPA and the risk of some endocrine disorders.
Let’s read this one part again, just for further emphasis.
BPA has been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of several endocrine disorders including female and male infertility, precocious puberty, hormone dependent tumours such as breast and prostate cancer and several metabolic disorders including polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
I guess profits for Coca Cola are more important than a safer product?? Perhaps it’s just ignorance and not greed? Perhaps it is both?
Another plug for the Common Sense Health and Wellness Chat Room.
Please click the link above, download the app if you do not yet have it, and sign up for the chat. Hopefully in the near future I will have a live scheduled chat on a topic yet to be decided. I will most likely announce the time of the chat here in a substack blog post so if you are not actually signed up for this substack, please do so.
So Coca Cola is not only metabolically harmful, we now know that it can also harm your endocrine or hormonal system.
“Ahhh, but it just tastes so good.
Don’t take away MY Coca Cola! ''“
So what if it hurts me. I’ll take that risk. It’s not hurting you if I drink it so leave me alone.
Well, not so fast…..
Hmmm….
Where is all that plastic going?
There is a growing body of research into microplastics getting into our food and agriculture systems. Somehow I don’t think eating or inhaling microplastics is a good thing to do.
Were else can microplastics go and is it an issue?
I’ll let you read that for yourself.
Sooooooooooooo, once again, I think we may need to look at Coca Cola as NOT just a metabolic nightmare, devastation, troublemaker, but it also appears to have long term consequences on our food supply, endocrine system and probably our environment as well.
Back to the marketing.
After reading this do ya still want to have a coke and smile?
Many of my readers and patients ask me what I eat.
Well a picture can better tell the story.
Do any of them look good enuf to eat?
What would be your favorite?
As always, comments and questions welcome and appreciated.
We can learn more from each others experiences, even more than just reading my substack blog. So let’s hear from y’all.
My husband was a dentist for over 40 years. At times he would ask a child to pour a glass of Coke and put their tooth that fell out in to the glass. The Coke eats the tooth. My son at the early age of about 7 or 8 knew when he drank a glass of Diet Coke he would get a headache. At that time no one knew about aspartame and the inherent ills. He’s 40 now and hasn’t had a Diet Coke since then, though he doesn’t drink any soda.
I see one of those chaffles in the photos, is that literally just cracking an egg and mixing in some cheese and pouring the mixture into the waffle maker, or does it call for additional ingredients to get it to the right consistency?