So ladies, got a bit of a soda addiction? I've heard friends claim they're addicted to their diet colas, but usually that means they have to have one can every morning. I had a friend in college who "needed" a giant refill mug full of soda every day. Some people are up to a full liter a day. That's a lot of pop!
But one woman took her cola addition to a fatal extreme. Natasha Harris was drinking two gallons of Coke a day — and she's dead now. What doctors found in her body will shock you.
Examiners found an enlarged liver with fatty deposits in Natasha's body from the two pounds of sugar she drank every day. Her blood was low in potassium, most likely a result from her soda consumption. And the caffeine she was taking in would have been harmful as well — around 970 milligrams a day. Doctors say even 500 milligrams of caffeine is dangerous. Several of Natasha's teeth had rotted out. Saddest of all, she was a 31-year-old mother of eight children. Those poor motherless kids.
So now you know what can happen if you drink that much soda. I suspect that much diet soda would be just as harmful — it would still rob your body of potassium, you'd still be getting too much caffeine, and you'd still be at risk for diabetes. Maybe even at greater risk.
I don't know how you drink two gallons of anything a day, actually. Right after I had my baby, the hospital pediatrician told me to drink a gallon of water a day if I wanted to nurse. It turns out this was way more than I really needed, but it sure kept me drinking water all day. (And I was NEVER constipated.)
But that's water — which is actually good for your body in moderate amounts. Two gallons a day of anything is likely to make you at least very ill. But how many other drinks are as addictive as cola? That's the thing. Natasha's family says she was addicted to the stuff. How do we feel about otherwise harmless drinks that could be addictive? That can of soda is looking a little chilly right now, and not just because it's cold.
Do you feel like you're addicted to soda?
