Coca-Cola is one of the most famous and most popular fizzy drinks, but a leading pharmacist has revealed the grim reality of what the drink is doing to our bodies after each sip
There’s nothing quite like enjoying the first delicious sip of an ice-cold can of Coca-Cola, but there’s one alarming fact about the sugary drink you might not realise.
A pharmacist has revealed that the sweet fizzy drink can give you the same buzz as heroin thanks to the dopamine hit it brings, but that’s not the worst part. The effects of the drink can hit instantly, giving your brain a quick taste of sugary goodness.
But it turns out that the drink has so much sugar in it, that it should in theory make people instantly vomit. However, according to health expert Niraj Naik, the chemicals it contains helps us keep the liquid down. Here he outlines all of the things that happen to our bodies everytime we have a gulp…
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“The intense sweetness of Coca-Cola resulting from its high sugar content should make a person vomit as soon as it enters the body,” he told Medical News Today. “However, the phosphoric acid in the beverage dulls the sweetness, enabling people to keep the drink down.”
Within just ten minutes, tooth enamel is attacked. “The phosphoric acid attacks the enamel in your teeth, while the artificial sweeteners like aspartame hit your system. Aspartame may trigger taste receptors and trick your body into thinking it has just processed sugar.”
Because of the huge spike in blood sugar from the non-diet versions, after just 20 minutes, it also causes a spike in insulin and means the liver has to turn the “high amount of sugar into fat”. After 40 minutes, the body has absorbed all of the caffeine from the Coke, which causes pupils to dilate and an increase in blood pressure. The drink by now will have also “blocked the adenosine receptors” in the brain which will prevent drowsiness. Five minutes later, there is a production of dopamine.
“Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps control the pleasure and reward centres of the brain,” Medical News Today further explained, and added: “The way that Coca-Cola stimulates these centres is comparable to the effects of heroin. It triggers a person’s urge to drink another can.”
The dopamine hit is what causes the cravings, but after an hour, the sugar crash will hit, which can cause “irritability and drowsiness”, and the body will have “cleared the water from the cola, along with vital nutrients, in the urine.” Niraj stated: “Coke is not just high in high fructose corn syrup, but it is also packed with refined salts and caffeine.”
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Coca-Cola has addressed the high sugar content in its drink. They stated the drink contains sugar and caffeine, and is “fine in moderation” but claimed too much “isn’t good for anyone”. The statement read: “Like all food and beverages, soft drinks with sugar can be consumed as part of a balanced lifestyle as long as people don’t consume them to excess.”
They also highlighted they offer a “variety of great-tasting beverages with reduced, low or no sugar and calories,” and added: “That’s also why many of our beverages come in small pack sizes. We also provide information on how much sugar and how many calories are in our beverages, so people can choose what makes sense for them and their families.”
It comes as more than 10,000 cans of Coca-Cola have been recalled following concerns a “foreign object” could be found inside. Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, LLC, recalled more than 10,000 cans of 12 packs of 12oz Coca-Cola Original Taste on Match 6 following the discovery of plastic inside. It was classified as a Class II recall by the US Food and Drug Administration.
An earlier version of this article was published in January 2025.
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