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Will Organic Coca-Cola Be the Next Step?

  • March 10, 2009
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WARNING!

This is an older article that may not reflect Dr. Mercola’s current view on this topic. Use our search engine to find Dr. Mercola’s latest position on any health topic.

organic coke, sodaThe intriguing article linked below looks at Coca-Cola’s attempt to reposition itself into the health food market with the introduction of Diet Coke Plus, which is fortified with B vitamins, zinc, and magnesium.

The article predicts that more fast food will remarket itself as “health” food, including the giant soft drink industry.

Interestingly, the article points out that in the late 19th century when Coca-Cola was invented by John Pemberton, it was originally intended as a patent medicine, similar to cough syrup. Early marketing slogans included, “For headache and exhaustion, drink Coca-Cola” (1900) and “Coca-Cola is a delightful, palatable, healthful beverage" (1904).

The author posits that Diet Coke Plus, which claims to be a healthier form of Coke, is actually closer to the original Coke than any other version … and perhaps it’s only a matter of time before an even better version of Coke hits the market … one that’s organic.

 
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Organic soda is already widely available and has been since the 1990s, albeit from brands not nearly as widely known as Coca-Cola.

It is important to understand that soda doesn’t exactly fit the bill for people who are looking to improve their health. Combine this with Coca-Cola’s  realization that many people are superficially interested in a healthier option and you have a formula to create another junk food disguised as a health food.

Coke’s other "healthier" solution so far has been Diet Coke Plus, which is fortified with vitamins and minerals. The company had been marketing Diet Coke Plus as “a good source of vitamins B3, B6, and B12, and the minerals zinc and magnesium” -- until the FDA forced them to take the misleading information off of their labels at the end of last year.

Coca-Cola has also tried to grab a piece of the health-conscious consumer market by buying Glaceau, the makers of Vitaminwater, in 2007. Again, the maker’s attempt to pass the drinks off as healthy, and claim they can reduce your risk of chronic disease and eye disease, promote healthy joints and support immune function.

Well, a class-action lawsuit is currently underway claiming that Coca-Cola is again illegally marketing its product.

Coca-Cola even came out with a Diet Coke sweetened with Splenda instead of aspartame, after the health risks of the latter sweetener have been increasingly publicized (of course, Splenda is no healthy choice either, but fewer people know that yet).

The thread that ties all of this together is that Coca-Cola is looking to clean up their image. They know many people are becoming more health conscious and demanding healthier foods and drinks for themselves and their families, and they know that sodas and Coke don’t  measure up.

What Happens When You Drink a Coke?

Downing a can of Coke may not seem like a big deal … until you really examine what it does to your body. Within the first 10 minutes, 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system.

Then:

• Within 20 minutes, your blood sugar spikes, and your liver responds to the resulting insulin burst by turning massive amounts of sugar into fat.

• Within 40 minutes, caffeine absorption is complete; your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream.

• Around 45 minutes, your body increases dopamine production, which stimulates the pleasure centers of your brain -- a physically identical response to that of heroin, by the way.

• After 60 minutes, you’ll start to have a sugar crash, and perhaps reach for another Coke to start the process all over again.

Drinking Coke Now Could Have a Heavy Price Later

The average American drinks more than 60 gallons of soft drinks each year, and amazingly they make up the number one source of calories in the United States!

If you drink the regular variety, you can count on about 10 teaspoons of sugar in each can, largely in the form of dangerous high-fructose corn syrup. If you drink the diet variety, you’re likely being exposed to aspartame, and did you know there are over 92 different side effects associated with aspartame consumption including brain tumors, birth defects, diabetes, emotional disorders and epilispsy/seizures?

Regularly drinking soda is actually one of the FIRST things that I would advise patients to address, because it is capable of causing or worsening so many health issues.

For instance:

• Just one extra can of soda per day can add as much as 15 pounds to your weight over the course of a single year!
• One soda per day increases your risk of diabetes by 85 percent.
• Soda drinkers have higher cancer risk. While the federal limit for cancer-causing benzene in drinking water is 5 parts per billion (ppb), researchers have found benzene levels as high as 79 ppb in some soft drinks, and of 100 brands tested, most had at least some detectable level of benzene present.
• Soda has been shown to cause DNA damage -- courtesy of sodium benzoate, a common preservative found in many soft drinks, which has the ability to switch off vital parts of your DNA. This could eventually lead to diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver and Parkinson's.  

Knowing what is at stake here, it is mind-boggling to me that so many people drink so much soda … in my opinion there is NO reason to ever drink it.

And if there ever were an organic Coke … the same feeling would apply.

If you struggle with an addiction to soda, I strongly recommend you consider Turbo Tapping as a simple yet highly effective tool to help you stop this health-harming habit. Turbo Tapping is a simple and clever use of the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), designed to resolve many aspects of an issue in a concentrated period of time.

Be a Smart Shopper … Know How to Spot Junk Food Masked as Health Food

It is crucial to avoid being misled by this type of deception. Organic sugar will have virtually identical effects to your insulin levels as non-organic high-fructose corn syrup. If I had to choose one of course I would choose organic sugar, as it doesn’t have mercury and other toxins, but nearly all of the negative physiological impacts will be the same.

Bottom line avoid soda plain and simple, no matter what disguise it comes in.

Remember, food and beverage companies are eager to tap into the growing trend of healthier eating in America, and will do so even if it means exaggerating the healthfulness of their junk food products.

This practice is actually called “greenwashing,” and it’s a common technique used by processed food manufacturers, which really amounts to nothing more than marketing tricks used to make their foods seem healthier.

A company may, for instance, slap a big photo of a barn or farm on their label, or include oversized vegetables or fruits. Words like “all-natural” and “healthy” may also be used, all to evoke a good-for-you image.

Of course, just because someone slaps an organic or “green” label on a food product, that label does not somehow magically transform a junk food into a health food.

You simply need to pay attention to what you eat, regardless of what the label says, even if it’s organic. Strive to get the bulk of your food from NON-processed sources and ultimately your health will thank you.

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