When the drink was first produced in 1888, Coca-Cola had two key ingredients: cocaine & caffeine. The cocaine was derived from the coca leaf while the caffeine from a kola nut. This lead to the name Coca-Cola. A future multi-million dollar company was born.
The original Coca-Cola forumlar once contained an estimated nine milligrams of cocaine per glass. At first Coca Cola used five ounces of coca leaf per gallon of syrup – a significant dose. In 1891, the formula (altered extensively from the original) contained only a tenth of this amount. It was removed completely in the year 1903. Nowadays, Coca-Cola uses a cocaine-free coca leaf extract.
The current Coca Cola formula doesn’t have a need for cocaine as a core ingredient to have an effect on us. Here is what happens to your body when you drink a glass of Coca Cola!
In the first 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavour, allowing you to keep it down.
20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (And there’s plenty of that at this particular moment.)
40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate; your blood pressure rises; as a response, your liver dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked, preventing drowsiness.
45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production, stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works – by the way.
> 60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium, and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.
> 60 minutes: The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you’ll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium, and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolytes, and water.
> 60 minutes: As the rave inside you dies down, you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like hydrating your system, or building strong bones and teeth.
Coke itself isn’t the enemy here. It’s the dynamic combo of massive sugar doses combined with caffeine and phosphoric acid, which are found in almost all sodas. Moderation, people!
[Sources: Wikipedia; SuperStacks & Blisstree]
