Drinking Too Much Cola Can Lead to Muscle Problems, Study Finds
Too much cola has now been medically and scientifically linked to muscle problems, as well as other health conditions. According to the International Journal of Clinical Practice, or IJCP as many in medicine call it, a warning has been given by doctors who are seeing more people than ever who have muscle problems due to drinking too many soft drinks. The report is n the June 2009 issue of the journal, and it outlines the problems that doctors are seeing more frequently. Muscle problems are not the only medical issues with consuming large amounts of colas and other soft drinks each day, but it is a new one seen in higher numbers. Dr. Moses Elisaf, who works in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Ioannina, Greece, blames hypokalaemia, which causes the level of potassium in the blood to fall. Without adequate blood potassium levels muscle functions are impaired, sometimes only slightly but sometimes more severely. Dr. Elisaf has seen a number of cases, some with only mild muscle weakness but some with paralysis. All the patients recovered after being diagnosed, but according to many medical experts there is the chance of this condition being fatal because of problems with the heart muscles working and beating properly.
Dr. Elisaf is not the only medical professional who has seen cases where colas and other soft drinks have caused muscle impairment, weakness, and other muscle problems. Dr. Clifford Packer from Ohio, who works at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, has also seen an increase in the number of patients who have muscle symptoms and problems from too much cola. One of his patients was experiencing moderate muscle weakness, but Dr. Packer could not find any reason for the problems. After seeing the patient with a two liter of cola the doctor realized what the problem was and treated it. Dr. Packer advised the patient to stop consuming soft drinks, and once the amount of these products were reduced significantly the patient started improving.
The cause of the hypokalaemia is a number of different components in the cola. Caffeine is one of these, and the sugars fructose and glucose are another two components included that cause the potassium levels of the blood to drop. As restaurants supersize it has become common to grossly overestimate a normal portion size, and people drink more cola and other soft drinks each day. This leads to an increase in many medical conditions and problems, and one of these is muscle weakness and problems with muscle function.
What is even more alarming to many medical professionals is the number of pregnant women who have been treated for this problem. At a time when the developing baby needs excellent nutrition some women are drinking four liters or more a day of soft drinks. Dr. Elisaf included two pregnant patients in the study who were treated for hypokalaemia, one who consumed three liters a day and one who consumed seven liters a day of cola products. Both women suffered from low blood potassium and muscle weakness, and recovered after eliminating soft drinks from their diet. In many cases the cause of the muscle problems cannot be diagnosed until the cola consumption is discovered, causing unnecessary testing and invasive procedures at times to diagnose muscle problems. Doctors recommend limiting the amount of cola and other soft drinks consumed to prevent many different health conditions that these drinks can cause in large amounts, including muscle weakness and even muscle paralysis. The more cola consumed each day the more serious the muscle problems can become.
—Shelly Wagar
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December 3rd, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Drinking 4 liters of cola when you are pregnant – that is sick. I dont need to be a scientist to tell that its gonna hurt not only that woman but the baby too…
December 3rd, 2009 at 12:58 pm
With all of the bad stuff that we hear about soda, i think congress should recover the 18th amendment and just ban soda together with the alcohol. Partying will be less fun, but who knows the price of being healthy?