Fizz fizzles out

Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent Coca-Cola snub has reignited conversations about the health implications of consuming caffeinated, aerated beverages. A nutritionist explains

Four seconds. That’s all it took for ace footballer Cristiano Ronaldo to cause Coca Cola to lose $4 billion by moving aside two bottles of the beverage ahead of Portugal’s Euro 2020 group-stage clash against Hungary. Instead, he recommended agua (Spanish: water) to the cameras. Even as India’s soft drink market grows rapidly, with a 2018 report pegging per capita consumption to rise to 84 bottles this year, nutritionists have been warning against indiscriminate consumption of aerated beverages for a while now.  

Cola uncool? 

“A single can of cola contains 37 gm of added sugar, which is the equivalent of about 10 tsp. This exceeds the World Health Organisation recommendation of a maximum of six tsp of added sugar per day, for optimal health,” explains nutritionist Kajal Bhathena. Interestingly, an infographic published by British pharmacist Niraj Naik points out that the high sugar content of cola should render it unpalatable — however, to offset this sweetness, phosphoric acid is added to the beverage. Twenty minutes after consuming cola, your body experiences a surge of insulin that prompts your liver to quickly convert the sugar into fat. The caffeine content from the beverage is absorbed within 40 minutes, causing your blood pressure to rise and your body to feel more awake. Cola also increases the production of dopamine — a neurotransmitter that controls the reward centres in your brain — triggering an urge to drink another can. And if that wasn’t alarming enough, a 2018 study found that regular consumption of sugary, aerated beverages increases your risk for stroke and dementia. Bhathena points out that phosphoric acid weakens your bones and teeth, while drinking soda often can accelerate ageing. 

Kajal Bhathen

Healthier options 

You could, as Ronaldo suggested, swap your fizzy drinks with plain water. Bhathena also suggests drinking lime water, fruit-infused water, coconut water, iced herbal teas that don’t contain sugar, ginger ale and vegetable juices. She points out that if you are looking to replace sodas with healthier mixers, avoid using tonic water, which has added sugar to mask the bitter taste of quinine. 

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