It’s not so much of a secret anymore that sugar (and aspartame) laden Coca Cola is not so great for human health, but the branding is as powerful as it is ubiquitous; this explains why the damaging effects of this so-called beverage are overlooked or dismissed as no big deal. Sugar and aspartame are highly addictive and dangerous substances, but again – they’re in so many items that the assumption tends to be that they must be OK. They aren’t. In fact, there’s no nutrition in them whatsoever, but plenty of substances that challenge the body, leading to chronic health problems.

Drinking 330ml of Coke greatly increases a person’s blood sugar in a very short time. The same goes for Coca Cola’s other brands Fanta and Sprite; regular consumption of these products can lead to obesity, candidiasis, blood pressure issues and heart problems, cancer and more. In short, Coke (and Pepsi) is poison.

A Nigerian court has ruled Coca Cola products ‘unfit for human consumption

A Nigerian court has recently taken a stand against Coca Cola, ruling the company’s beverages as ‘unfit for human consumption. Coca Cola and Pepsi are surely under no illusions that their products contribute to poor health, which is why they funded almost 100 health groups in America in a bid to convince users that there is no correlation between their products and obesity – to anyone with even the most basic nutritional knowledge, this is an obvious lie. This happened in 2016 and naturally, they then denied having done this once the news went public.

Coca Cola also owns fizzy drink brands Fanta and Sprite, which have also been put in the same bracket by Nigeria. Given that there are over 170m people in Nigeria, this is a big issue for Coca Cola, who have spent mind-boggling amounts on their advertising campaigns. So far, they’ve relied on a lack of nutritional education, Government corruption and the power of their own marketing to keep their poisonous products on sale, but times are changing in Nigeria.

Nigerian Judge Justice Adedayo Oyebanji made the ruling because of the dangerous amounts of benzoic acid and sunset additives in both Sprite and Fanta. These substances are considered to cause health problems for anyone who consumes ascorbic acid, a popular (synthetic) form of vitamin C. Benzoic acid may from benzene (a known carcinogen) if combined with ascorbic acid.

It was also ruled that NBC, (Nigerian Bottling Company) must clearly display health warnings on Coca Cola’s products. NAFDAC was also ordered to pay costs of 2 million nairas for failing to uphold health standards in Nigeria. NAFDAC has also been accused of facilitating various health problems and even deaths, due to their willingness to let such corporations poison the general public. Nigeria’s citizens rallied for a boycott on all Coca Cola products in Nigeria, which was intended to put similar corporations of such underhand tactics.

We must educate ourselves on the dangers of Coca Cola products

This is happening in Nigeria, but as it hasn’t yet happened in the UK, it is necessary that we educate ourselves about the ingredients in some of the country’s most popular products. Just because they are prolific, it doesn’t mean they are harmless and while our Government is not concerned with issuing health warnings on such products, it is our duty to educate ourselves and our children on the dangers of such products.

It isn’t so hard to find out about what happens to your body when consuming these kinds of fizzy drinks. Even the Daily Mail has made it public information. Here is a quick breakdown of what your body goes through in one hour of consuming a can of Coke:

Fizzy drinks are addictive as well as toxic

Although we would argue that less is more when it comes to sugar, the NHS reduced the recommended maximum sugar intake from 10 teaspoons a day to 7.5 teaspoons. This is still a lot, but it’s easy to consume that just in cooking sauces, coffees etc. When you consider that a can of Coke is roughly your maximum sugar intake for that day. When you start to go over this amount, you may find yourself hurtling towards candida issues, which is no laughing matter and takes a serious protocol to overcome!

These high amounts of sugar trigger the pancreas to over-produce insulin, leading to diabetes obesity and heart disease. The caffeine in the Coke might make you feel alert for a while, but you’ll soon crash and crave more sugar. These substances both deplete your magnesium and calcium, which leads to bone density issues. Grabbing a fizzy drink to quench thirst will have exactly the opposite effect; they actually dehydrate you, which in turn makes you feel sleepy and encourages you to reach for another sugar or caffeine hit. This is how Coke and similar drinks are highly addictive.

Diet drinks are not the answer either

Don’t think that Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi are any better – the aspartame sweetener these contain is a dangerous and cumulative neurotoxin that actually worsens sugar cravings. Links have been made between non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and aspartame intake, and the same goes for brain tumours and leukaemia. As if that weren’t bad enough, like sugar, aspartame leads to obesity, diabetes, inflammation and metabolic dysfunction.

What we really need is water, plenty of it, and pure, clean water at that. Fruit juices cause us to be overly acidic, animal milk is extremely bad for the human body, and fizzy sodas are asking for trouble. It’s time we had a serious look about what we drink and why; these kinds of drinks have become more to do with addiction than they are hydration.