Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
| Messages 1 - 15 of total 15 in this topic |
Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 13, 2013 - 01:09pm PT
|
Coroner Links Mom's Death to Coke 'Addiction'
By Katie Moisse
A New Zealand coroner has linked the death of a 31-year-old woman to her Coca-Cola addiction.
Natasha Harris died Feb. 25, 2010 from a cardiac arrhythmia, according to a 19-page coroner's report obtained by ABCNews.com. And while Harris, a mother of eight from Invercargill, New Zealand, was known to smoke heavily and skip multiple meals, coroner David Crerar concluded that the sugar and caffeine she got by drinking more than 2.6 gallons of Coca-Cola Classic per day was "a substantial factor" in her death.
"When all of the available evidence is considered, were it not for the consumption of very large quantities of Coke by Natasha Harris, it is unlikely that she would have died when she died and how she died," Crerar wrote in his report.
Harris's partner, Christopher Hodgkinson, said Harris would get headaches and act moody without her Coke fix, according to the coroner's report. Close friends said she would "get the shakes" and other withdrawal symptoms. Her heart would race, her liver was swollen, and her rotting teeth had to be removed. But, said the report, "the family did not consider that Coke was harmful due to the fact of it having no warning signs."
"Natasha Harris knew, or ought to have known and recognized, the health hazard of her chosen diet and lifestyle," Crerar wrote in his report, adding that fact that Harris had her teeth extracted several years before her death "should have been treated by her, and by her family, as a warning."
Dr. Christopher Holstege, chief of medical toxicology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, said anything can be toxic in large enough quantities.
"In toxicology, everything comes down to dose. And it sounds as though she was certainly taking an excessive dose," he said, adding that drinking two gallons of soda per day with limited amounts of food can cause a dangerous imbalance in electrolytes. "You're also not getting essential nutrients when you're only drinking Coke. You're basically getting sugar, and you're going to be deficient in vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients."
Harris's reported Coke habit would have delivered more than 2.2 pounds of sugar daily, according to the coroner's report. She would have also ingested nearly a gram of caffeine, according to Coca-Cola's website.
"To me, it sounds like she was not a healthy woman in any way, shape or form," said Holstege.
Can too much caffeine kill you?
A spokesman for Coca-Cola expressed sympathy for Harris's family and disappointment that the coroner chose "to focus on the combination of Ms. Harris' excessive consumption of Coca-Cola, together with other health and lifestyle factors, as the probable cause of her death."
"Excessive consumption of one food or beverage - even water - to the exclusion of all others will not provide the essential nutrients an adult needs and is not recommended under New Zealand Food and Nutrition Guidelines," he said. "The safety of our products is paramount, and our promise is to deliver safe, quality beverages. All of our products have a place in an active, healthy lifestyle that includes a sensible, balanced diet and regular physical activity."
While Crerar noted that the ingredients of Coke are "entirely legal" and "enjoyed by millions," he said the risks of high doses were not adequately communicated to consumers.
"The hazards to the health of the consumers of excessive quantities of sugar and caffeine contained in carbonated beverages could be more clearly emphasized," he wrote.
Coke Addict Dies
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Eight kids will drive one to drink...
|
|
kennyt
climber
Woodfords,California
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2013 - 01:11pm PT
|
I'll stick with beer that soda is bad for yer teeth!
|
|
Norton
Social climber
the Wastelands
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2013 - 01:11pm PT
|
Eight kids will drive one to drink...
contraceptives: why bother?
|
|
kennyt
climber
Woodfords,California
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2013 - 01:14pm PT
|
Eight kids will drive one to drink...
So will two.
|
|
Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2013 - 01:14pm PT
|
Sh#t, I average about two cans of soda a year, and feel mildly guilty when I do it.
How do you drink 10 liters of anything a day?
|
|
Michelle
Social climber
Toshi's Station, picking up power converters.
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2013 - 01:22pm PT
|
Maybe she was Catholic..
|
|
Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2013 - 01:26pm PT
|
2.5 gallons a day.
It's hard to get my mind around that fact alone.
|
|
Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Feb 13, 2013 - 01:27pm PT
|
^^^^ Exactly, I am sure she would have succumbed to esophageal cancer before long.
|
|
climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2013 - 01:33pm PT
|
I'm no huge fan of Soda's but it's kinda hard to blame Coke for this.
|
|
Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2013 - 01:42pm PT
|
Bloomberg is gloating.
|
|
Greg Barnes
climber
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2013 - 02:05pm PT
|
Wow. 2.6 gallons? 10 liters?
I've done some 12hr+ mountain bike rides....Let's see, being very generous: maybe 0.75 liter water in morning, 3.75 liter then filter another 3 liter on ride (never filtered twice, but I doubt I've ever finished the second full camelbak). Then back at car, drive back, dinner - maybe another 2 liters total. Still not quite 10 liters....and I drink a lot of water.
How much liquid have you put down in a day, ever?
|
|
survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2013 - 02:09pm PT
|
2.6 gallons?
I heavily doubt that. Most people can't even get close to a gallon of water a day.
|
|
Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2013 - 02:28pm PT
|
Got a coworker who shows up each morning with a giant keg of soda. Like a Supersized version of a Big Gulp. I bet the thing is 96oz, easy.
Makes me sick just looking at it, but I'm like Brandon, a few sodas a year tops.
|
|
Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2013 - 02:31pm PT
|
I heavily doubt that. Most people can't even get close to a gallon of water a day.
Not so fast, I average a gallon of water a day in the summer, slightly more if its a strenuous day of work.
But 2.5 times that? Of sugar? That's not only difficult, it's wicked disgusting.
|
|
| Messages 1 - 15 of total 15 in this topic |
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!