Coke is still addicting 84 years after cocaine was removed from the mix.
ATLANTA (CBS Atlanta) – Medical examiners determined that a woman passed away due to complications caused by her extreme addiction to drinking Coca-Cola.
The woman, 30-year-old Natasha Harris of Invercargill in New Zealand, was said to have consumed an estimated 2.2 gallons of the soda per day, the Discovery Channel’s news website is reporting.The last year or so I've been working on making lasting lifestyle changes. One of the first things I decided to give up was my diet coke habit. I started drinking diet coke at 16 and drank large amounts of the beverage every day for over 20 years. I don't think I ever drank 2 gallons of the stuff in a day, but I'm sure I did drink more than a gallon a day on several occasions.
I've never been addicted to drugs (can't stand pharmaceuticals, can't imagine doing drugs recreationaly). Drinking to get drunk stopped being fun when I turned 21. I've not gotten drunk since I was 23. I never liked cigarettes. However I NEEDED my (at least twice a day and at least 32 oz a hit) diet coke fix. I'm not sure how a caffeine addiction stacks up to "real" addictions. It took me several months to finally quit.
I've managed to eliminate caffeine, except for tea, which I brew myself and drink unsweetened. I've cut out fast food and I'm working on improving the quality of what I eat and reducing the quantity. The plan this year is to increase my exercise and loose weight. I'd hate to end up like the poor slob who died because she couldn't give up an unhealthily lifestyle.
Not that I am defending it in any way, but to simply blame it on coke seems to be the popular narrative anymore, and these articles keep coming out. I am betting that many more extreme circumstances will be getting trotted out before us to get the populace behind soda taxes and bans.
ReplyDeleteAs for this story, the amount that she drank indicates that she had more than just a problem with soda. Anyone who drinks 2+ gallons of anything a day has some underlying health issues that should also be addressed. That much caffeine, the same as 16 cups of coffee a day is excessive, and with a slight kidney problem would hit LD50 pretty quickly.
I guess I don't really have a point. Just disgusted that we have a new health scare and that it will be used to limit freedom even more as well as drum up new taxation for the various governments
I have to agree with the point you are making. At what point does a “normal” person decide, “hey this seems a little excessive”? It seems like you would realize after the second or third 64oz jug of coke that you might be over doing it. That said, I don’t think any of this is any of the governments business. People are always going to have something that will serve as a crutch, be it food, alcohol, caffeine, harder drugs or sexual stimulation. Anything that stimulates the pleasure receptors in our brains is potentially something we can abuse.
ReplyDeleteMy brother started getting headaches on the weekends when he wasn't getting caffiene. So he quit.
ReplyDeleteMe, its the sugar. I am having a devil of a time quitting it. I've always hated diet soft drinks.
My four year old daughter say "I thought you were trying to quit drinking pop, Dad" while I was loading 4 12 packs into the cart.
ReplyDeleteThose darn kids. They know everything. Mine know that its OK to tell dad to buckle his seat belt.
ReplyDeleteI've cut my Mt. Dew habit from 6 or 7 a day, down to one.
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly I've had very little trouble doing it, and lost about 20 lbs.
But, now I've stopped loosing weight. Just staying steady.
I'd burn some calories with exercise, but I've been having a great deal of back pain lately, so anything, including walking and bending a very painful.
I did fine cutting down, till I tried to stop all of it. Getting rid of the last dose was hardest.
ReplyDeleteFarmer Tom,
ReplyDeleteIts quite obvious that you need to increase your Mt Dew regimen. You stopped drinking and started hurting. There is a correlation there that should not be ignored
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A couple of my uncles found their back problems decreased with exercise. One by walking on the treadmill, and the other has some exercises that were recommended to him either by his doctor or the factory he works for.
ReplyDelete