Too Much Cola Can Cause Muscle Problems

>Too Much Cola Can Cause Muscle Problems

WEDNESDAY, May 27 (HealthDay News) -- Drinking too much cola can increase the risk of a muscle problem called hypokalemia, experts warn.

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In people with hypokalemia, a drop in blood potassium levels results in problems with vital muscle functions. Symptoms can range from mild weakness to serious paralysis, say Greek researchers who conducted a review of people who drank between two to nine liters of cola a day.

Two of the patients were pregnant women who were admitted to hospital with low potassium levels. One was a 21-year-old woman who drank up to three liters of cola a day and complained of fatigue, appetite loss and persistent vomiting. An electrocardiogram revealed she had a heart blockage, and blood tests showed she had low potassium levels, the researchers explained in a news release.

The second pregnant patient, who'd consumed up to seven liters of cola a day for 10 months, had low potassium levels and was suffering from increasing muscular weakness, the researchers noted.

Both patients made a rapid and full recovery after they stopped drinking cola and took oral or intravenous potassium. The case studies are described in the June issue of the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

"We are consuming more soft drinks than ever before, and a number of health issues have already been identified including tooth problems, bone demineralization and the development of metabolic syndrome and diabetes," and there's increasing evidence that excessive cola consumption leads to hypokalemia, Dr. Moses Elisaf, of the University of Ioannina, said in the news release.

Elisaf said the three most common ingredients in cola -- glucose, fructose and caffeine -- can contribute to hypokalemia.

"The individual role of each of these ingredients in the pathophysiology of cola-induced hypokalemia has not been determined and may vary in different patients," Elisaf said. "However, in most of the cases we looked at for our review, caffeine intoxication was thought to play the most important role. This has been borne out by case studies that focus on other products that contain high levels of caffeine but no glucose or fructose."

However, "caffeine-free cola products can also cause hypokalemia because the fructose they contain can cause diarrhea," Elisaf said.

The Truth About Diet Soda

The Truth About Diet Soda

The authors of Eat This Not That reveal some hard truths about low-calorie sodas.
By Dave Zinczenko and Matt Goulding, Men's Health
Soda in glass (c) Image Source / Super Stock

We talk a lot about “watching what we eat,” but if you never gave a thought to what you ate and instead watched only what you drank, you could probably cut 450 calories a day out of your life—that’s nearly a pound of fat trimmed away each week! That's what a study from the University of North Carolina found. Americans today drink about 192 gallons of liquid a year—or about 2 liters a day. To put it into perspective, this is nearly twice as many calories as we did 30 years ago.

When confronted with the growing tide of calories from sweetened beverages, the first response is, “Why not just drink diet soda?” Well, for a few reasons. Eat This, Not That! did some research and found out some hard truths behind the low-calorie (and nutrition-free) beverage. The story isn't as clear-cut as you suspect, and it might make you think twice the next time you're looking for a thirst-quencher.

Hard truth #1

Just because diet soda is low in calories doesn't mean it can't lead to weight gain.

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It may have only 5 or fewer calories per serving, but emerging research suggests that consuming sugary-tasting beverages—even if they're artificially sweetened—may lead to a high preference for sweetness overall. That means sweeter (and more caloric) cereal, bread, dessert—everything. Considering there are 15 calories in every teaspoon of sugar, that's not good news if you're watching your weight.

Hard truth #2

Guzzling these drinks all day long forces out the healthy beverages you need.

Diet soda is 100 percent nutrition-free—and it's important to remember that all that useless liquid is taking up space that could have gone to more healthy alternatives. On the positive side, it means you won’t be taking in equally non-nutritious, calorie- and sugar-packed options. But it's just as important to actively drink the good stuff as it is to avoid that bad stuff. So one diet soda a day is fine, but if you're downing five or six cans, that means you're limiting your intake of healthful beverages, particularly water and tea, which is high in antioxidants.

Plus, a recent study from Johns Hopkins found that restricting liquid caloric intake is a more effective way to lose weight than restricting calories from food. There’s no better place than by eliminating anything on our list of the 20 unhealthiest drinks in America.

Hard truth #3

There remain some concerns over aspartame, the low-calorie chemical used to give diet sodas their flavor.

Aspartame is 180 times sweeter than sugar, and some animal research has linked consumption of high amounts of the sweetener to brain tumors and lymphoma in rodents. The FDA maintains that the sweetener is safe, but reported side effects include dizziness, headaches, diarrhea, memory loss, and mood changes. Check out our guide to the 11 most controversial food additives to see how aspartame stacks up.

The bottom line is this: Diet soda does you no good, and it might just be doing you harm. The best way to hydrate is by drinking low-calorie, high-nutrient fluids—and choosing healthy alternatives, like the ones you'll find in our list of the 16 best drink swaps.

Now that you have a hold on your liquid assets, upgrade the rest of your grocery list by avoiding the 13 Worst "Healthy" Foods in the Supermarket.

Caffeine

Caffeine
Caffeine is a naturally occurring stimulant found in the leaves, seeds, or fruit of over sixty plants around the world. Caffeine exists in the coffee bean in Arabia, the tea leaf in China, the kola nut in West Africa, and the cocoa bean in Mexico. Because of its use throughout all societies, caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive substance in the world. The most common caffeine sources in North America and Europe are coffee and tea. Since about 1980, extensive research has been conducted on how caffeine affects health. Most experts agree that moderate use of caffeine (300 milligrams, or about three cups of coffee, per day) is not likely to cause health problems.
How Caffeine Affects the Body

Caffeine is best known for its stimulant, or "wake-up," effect. Once a person consumes caffeine, it is readily absorbed by the body and carried around in the bloodstream, where its level peaks about one hour after consumption. Caffeine mildly stimulates the nervous and cardiovascular systems. It affects the brain and results in elevated mood, decreased fatigue, and increased attentiveness, so a person can think more clearly and work harder. It also increases the heart rate, blood flow, respiratory rate, and metabolic rate for several hours. When taken before bedtime, caffeine can interfere with getting to sleep or staying asleep.

Exactly how caffeine will affect an individual, and for how long, depends on many factors, including the amount of caffeine ingested, whether one is male or female, one's height and weight, one's age, and whether one is pregnant or smokes. Caffeine is converted by the liver into substances that are excreted in the urine.

Some people are more sensitive to the effects of caffeine than others. With frequent use, tolerance to many of the effects of caffeine will develop. At doses of 600 milligrams (about six cups of coffee) or more daily, caffeine can cause nervousness, sweating, tenseness, upset stomach, anxiety, and insomnia. It can also prevent clear thinking and increase the side effects of certain medications. This level of caffeine intake represents a significant health risk.

Caffeine can be mildly addictive. Even when moderate amounts of caffeine are withdrawn for 18 to 24 hours, one may feel symptoms such as headache, fatigue, irritability, depression, and poor concentration. The symptoms peak within 24 to 48 hours and progressively decrease over the course of a week. To minimize withdrawal symptoms, experts recommend reducing caffeine intake gradually.

CAFFEINE IN FOODS AND BEVERAGES.
CAFFEINE IN FOODS AND BEVERAGES.

Food/Beverage Caffeine (milligrams)
Coffee
Espresso coffee, brewed, 8 fluid ounces 502
Coffee, brewed, 8 fluid ounces 85
Coffee, instant, 8 fluid ounces 62
Coffee, brewed, decaffeinated, 8 fluid ounces 3
Coffee, instant, decaffeinated, 8 fluid ounces 2
Tea
Tea, brewed, 8 fluid ounces 47
Tea, herbal, brewed, 8 fluid ounces 0
Tea, instant, 8 fluid ounces 29
Tea, brewed, decaffeinated, 8 fluid ounces 3
Chocolate Beverages
Hot chocolate, 8 fluid ounces 5
Chocolate milk, 8 fluid ounces 5
Soft Drinks
Cola, 12 ounce can 37
Cola, with higher caffeine, 12 ounce can 100
Cola or pepper-type, diet, 12 ounce can 49
Cola or pepper-type, regular or diet, without caffeine, 12 ounce can 0
Lemon-lime soda, regular or diet, 12 ounce can 0
Lemon-lime soda, with caffeine, 12 ounce can 55
Ginger ale, regular or diet, 12 ounce can 0
Root beer, regular or diet, 12 ounce can 0
Chocolate
Milk chocolate bar, 1.55 ounces 9
M & M milk chocolate candies, 1.69 ounces 5
Dark chocolate, semisweet, 1 ounce 20
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 16 July 2003.
Caffeine in Food and Drugs

Due to its stimulant properties, caffeine is used around the world in any of its many forms, such as coffee, tea, soft drinks, and chocolate. The accompanying table displays the amount of caffeine in foods. An eight-ounce cup of drip-brewed coffee has about 85 milligrams of caffeine, whereas the same amount of brewed tea contains about 47 milligrams. Twelve-ounce cans of soft drinks (soda) provide about 35 to 45 milligrams of caffeine.

The caffeine content of coffee and tea depends on the variety of the coffee bean or tea leaf, the particle size, the brewing method, and the length of brewing or steeping time. Brewed coffee has more caffeine than instant coffee, and espresso has more caffeine than brewed coffee. Espresso is made by forcing hot pressurized water through finely ground, dark-roast beans. Because it is brewed with less water, it contains more caffeine than regular coffee per fluid ounce.

In soft drinks, caffeine is both a natural and an added ingredient. About 5 percent of the caffeine in colas and pepper-flavored soft drinks is obtained naturally from cola nuts; the remaining 95 percent is added. Caffeine-free drinks contain virtually no caffeine and make up a small part of the soft-drink market.

Numerous prescription and nonprescription drugs also contain caffeine. Caffeine increases the ability of aspirin and other painkillers to do their job, and it is often used in headache and pain-relief remedies as well as in cold products and alertness or stay-awake tablets. When caffeine is an ingredient, it must be listed on the product label.

Though it has mildly addictive properties, caffeine taken in moderation is not considered to be a health risk, and may improve athletic performance. [AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission.]
Though it has mildly addictive properties, caffeine taken in moderation is not considered to be a health risk, and may improve athletic performance.
[AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission.]

Caffeine and Health

Current research on how caffeine affects a variety of health issues is summarized below. Keep in mind that most experts agree that moderate use of caffeine is not likely to cause any health problems.

* Studies have looked at the effects of caffeine on heart health. Moderate caffeine consumption does not appear to adversely affect cardiovascular health.
* Caffeine appears to increase the excretion of calcium, a mineral needed for healthy bones. Calcium is particularly important to prevent osteoporosis, a bone disease characterized by loss of bone strength and seen especially in older women (although men get it too). Moderate caffeine intake does not seem to cause a problem with calcium, as long as one is consuming the recommended amount (adult men and women should be taking between 1,000 and 1,200 milligrams of calcium, depending on age and gender).
* In the past there have been concerns that the caffeine in coffee may cause cancer. Research has shown that caffeine in coffee does not cause breast or intestinal cancer. However, not enough research has been done to determine if caffeine in coffee is involved in urinary bladder or pancreatic cancer. Taken in moderation, it is unlikely that caffeine will cause cancer.
* Evidence suggests that, at levels over 500 milligrams per day, caffeine may delay conception. Moderate caffeine consumption does not appear to be of concern to women trying to get pregnant. Moderate consumption is also important for a healthy pregnancy. Excessive caffeine intake has been associated with miscarriages and low birth weight babies.
* Because children have developing nervous systems, it is important to moderate their caffeine consumption. For children, major sources of caffeine include soft drinks and chocolate.
* Caffeine may be useful as part of a weight control program because it increases the rate at which the body burns calories for three or more hours after being consumed.
* Caffeine's ability to improve physical performance is well known among well-trained athletes. Through a mechanism that is not completely understood, caffeine seems to increase endurance and speed in some situations. Excessive use of caffeine is restricted in international competitions.

Karen Eich Drummond

New teen grog alarm over food essences

New teen grog alarm over food essences
TEENS are raiding supermarket shelves to get drunk on food essences, sparking calls for tougher clamps on high-alcohol food products.

Concerned parents are calling for a ban on sales to minors in Victoria.

A ban was introduced in NSW from January 1.

The father of a teenager who died after drinking food essences has joined the call for bans to be looked at again.

He successfully campaigned for large essence bottles to be banned from sale in 2001.

Alcohol experts say teens could swallow deadly amounts of alcohol from food additives without realising the risks they were taking.

Some of the cooking materials have as much as 40 per cent alcohol content - about the same as most vodkas and whiskies - and cost as little as $3.

In 2001, sales of essence bottles in shops were restricted to 50ml or 100ml bottles.

But parents have told the Herald Sun their children have been mixing those bottles of food essence with cans of soft drink to get drunk.

David Carpenter, from Gordon, near Ballarat, said he and his wife had found several bottles of vanilla and lime essence under their 15-year-old son's pillow and were worried about the potentially harmful consequences.

"There could be brain damage," Mr Carpenter said.

"My concern is that there's a new wave out there of kids getting their hands on alcohol.

"Even with all the new taxes, the kids are finding ways of getting alcohol."

Mr Carpenter said a security guard from a shopping centre in Ballarat had rung his family because their son was found drunk in the area.

Bruce Clark, whose son Leigh died after consuming a large amount of food essence in 1999, said the issue needed to be looked at again by experts.

Bans on sales to minors should be considered, he said.

NSW liquor and gaming director Albert Gardner called for restrictions last year, prompting the ban on sales of food essences to minors.

But Liquor Licensing Victoria spokeswoman Mirjana Jovetic said no new complaints about essences had come through its office, and it was the responsibility of consumers to decide what they bought.

"Parents and sales staff should always be alert to the dangers of alcohol consumption by minors, and exercise common sense and caution," Ms Jovetic said.

Australian Drug Foundation chief executive John Rogerson said essences could be dangerous in the hands of young people and could be lethal if taken in large doses.

Source

12 Dangerous Food Additives: The Dirty Dozen Food Additives You Really Need to be Aware Of

12 Dangerous Food Additives: The Dirty Dozen Food Additives You Really Need to be Aware Of

In the United States, more than 3,000 substances can be added to foods for the purpose of preservation, coloring, texture, increasing flavor and more. While each of these substances is legal to use (at least here in the States), whether or not they are all something you want to be consuming is another story all together.

The food colorings that make candy pretty colors have been linked to cancer and tumors of the brain, thyroid, adrenal gland and kidney in animal studies.

With any processed food you run the risk of coming across additives, and reading through ingredient labels can be like trying to decode a puzzle.

Of course, eating largely fresh, whole foods is the best way to stay away from unsavory additives, but, assuming you do include some processed foods in your diet, the following additives are ones you surely want to stay away from. Look for them on ingredient labels and if one turns up, take a pass.

Propyl Gallate

This preservative, used to prevent fats and oils from spoiling, might cause cancer. It's used in vegetable oil, meat products, potato sticks, chicken soup base and chewing gum, and is often used with BHA and BHT (see below).

BHA and BHT

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are used similarly to propyl gallate -- to keep fats and oils from going rancid. Used commonly in cereals, chewing gum, vegetable oil and potato chips (and also in some food packaging to preserve freshness), these additives have been found by some studies to cause cancer in rats. If a brand you commonly buy uses these additives, look for a different variety, as not all manufacturers use these preservatives.

Food Additives and Your Brain:
Free e-Book

If you want to know more about the effects of food additives on your brain, check out this FREE 300+-page e-book "Neurotoxicity: Identifying and Controlling Poisons of the Nervous System."

Some food additives are neurotoxic, which means they're capable of altering the normal activity of the nervous system -- and even killing neurons. Symptoms include:

* Limb weakness or numbness
* Loss of memory, vision, and intellect
* Headache
* Cognitive and behavioral problems
* Sexual dysfunction

See and Download "Neurotoxicity: Identifying and Controlling Poisons of the Nervous System." Now

Potassium Bromate

This additive is used in breads and rolls to increase the volume and produce a fine crumb structure. Although most bromate breaks down into bromide, which is harmless, the bromate that does remain causes cancer in animals. Bromate has been banned throughout the world, except for in the United States and Japan. In California, a cancer warning would likely be required if it were used, which is why it is rarely used in that state.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG)

MSG is used as a flavor enhancer in many packaged foods, including soups, salad dressings, sausages, hot dogs, canned tuna, potato chips and many more. According to Dr. Russell Blaylock, an author and neurosurgeon, there is a link between sudden cardiac death, particularly in athletes, and excitotoxic damage caused by food additives like MSG and artificial sweeteners. Excitotoxins are, according to Dr. Blaylock, "A group of excitatory amino acids that can cause sensitive neurons to die."

Many consumers have also personally experienced the ill effects of MSG, which leave them with a headache, nausea or vomiting after eating MSG-containing foods. To find out more about the side effects associated with MSG, as well as a complete list of which foods contain it, see our past article MSG: If it's Safe: Why do They Disguise it on the Labels?

Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet)

This artificial sweetener is found in Equal and NutraSweet, along with products that contain them (diet sodas and other low-cal and diet foods). This sweetener has been found to cause brain tumors in rats as far back as the 1970s, however a more recent study in 2005 found that even small doses increase the incidence of lymphomas and leukemia in rats, along with brain tumors.

People who are sensitive to aspartame may also suffer from headaches, dizziness and hallucinations after consuming it.

Acesulfame-K

Acesulfame-K is an artificial sweetener that's about 200 times sweeter than sugar. It's used in baked goods, chewing gum, gelatin desserts and soft drinks. Two rat studies have found that this substance may cause cancer, and other studies to reliably prove this additive's safety have not been conducted. Acesulfame-K also breaks down into acetoacetamide, which has been found to affect the thyroid in rats, rabbits and dogs.

Olestra

Olestra is a fat substitute used in crackers and potato chips, marketed under the brand name Olean. This synthetic fat is not absorbed by the body (instead it goes right through it), so it can cause diarrhea, loose stools, abdominal cramps and flatulence, along with other effects. Further, olestra reduces the body's ability to absorb beneficial fat-soluble nutrients, including lycopene, lutein and beta-carotene.

Sodium Nitrite (Sodium Nitrate)

Like diet soda? The aspartame that's used to sweeten it increases lymphomas, leukemia and brain tumors in rats -- even in small doses.

Sodium nitrite (or sodium nitrate) is used as a preservative, coloring and flavoring in bacon, ham, hot dogs, luncheon meats, corned beef, smoked fish and other processed meats. These additives can lead to the formation of cancer-causing chemicals called nitrosamines.

Some studies have found a link between consuming cured meats and nitrite and cancer in humans.

Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil

The process used to make hydrogenated vegetable oil (or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil) creates trans fats, which promote heart disease and diabetes. The Institute of Medicine has advised that consumers should eat as little trans fat as possible. You should avoid anything with these ingredients on the label, which includes some margarine, vegetable shortening, crackers, cookies, baked goods, salad dressings, bread and more. It's used because it reduces cost and increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods.

Blue 1 and Blue 2

Blue 1, used to color candy, beverages and baked goods, may cause cancer. Blue 2, found in pet food, candy and beverages, has caused brain tumors in mice.

Red 3

This food coloring is used in cherries (in fruit cocktails), baked goods and candy. It causes thyroid tumors in rats, and may cause them in humans as well.

Yellow 6

As the third most often used food coloring, yellow 6 is found in many products, including backed goods, candy, gelatin and sausages. It has been found to cause adrenal gland and kidney tumors, and contains small amounts of many carcinogens.