One Coca-Cola, One Hour: Harmful Effects on the Body

It may be cool to sip on a Coca-Cola that features your name right on the product, but a report that’s been making the rounds details the metabolic roller coaster ride that drinking even a single can unleashes on the body.

The former UK pharmacist behind The Renegade Pharmacist, Niraj Naik, created an infographic detailing the harmful effects a single can of Coca-Cola can have on the body — and soda drinkers are not going to be happy about this one.

The infographic is stirring up controversy from commenters even though previous studies have identified harmful effects of soda in general. Researchers have linked the bubbly beverage to an increase risk of diabetes, belly fat, and the early onset of menstrual cycles.

Naik outlined the one hour timelines as follows:

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 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 liver 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.
• 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.
• 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.