Fingers in ears, going "I can't hear you"
Sunday May 27, 2007
An ingredient that's in lots of soft drinks -- LIKE DIET COKE, SOFT DRINK OF THE GODS -- could mess up your DNA. Oh great. Somebody please do the necessary googling to prove that it's all a big fat lie!...
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Rod Dreher is an editorial columnist for the Dallas Morning News, and author of "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum), a nonfiction book about conservatives, most of them religious, whose faith and political convictions sometimes put them at odds with mainstream conservatives. The views expressed in this blog are his own.
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I just saw this too. I have been an infamous diet coke addict for many years, and might as well resign myself to my fate now, if this is true. Of course, it is the Independent we are talking about - not the most reliable of newspapers.
It appears the FDA is aware of this possibility of sodium benzoate producing benzene, and tests soft drinks to ensure that benzene is less than 5 parts per billion (their maximum standard). Didn't see Diet Coke on the short list of soft drinks they asked the manufacturers to adjust. www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2006/506_benzene.html They didn't have anything to say about this effect of sodium benzoate, as it is apparently a new study. Though I think the effects of the mold the additive prevents are probably well known....
Wait. This may be used by Pro-Choice as reason to abort; "I drank diet Mountain Dew for years and cannot risk bringing a baby fathered by our mailroom intern after I had two martinis into this cruel world."
Dangit. Next thing you know, they'll be telling us tobacco causes cancer...
Aw, but think about it. Is Coke (or whatever brand you like) really your favorite drink in the world? Does it really taste the best? I bet most people drink it out of habit and there are other real drinks they like more. Personally I like tea, juice, and water with lemon better in most circumstances. Real food almost always tastes better than stuff from a factory.
Isn't this old news? I seem to remember benzene being in the news a couple of years back.
I cannot drink Diet Coke. I don't like the taste, and it gives me hellacious headaches. I go with water or Caffiene Free Diet Pepsi.
Sodium benzoate is reasonably safe when used in moderation. That's based on previous studies and its history of use. Sodium benzoate is used in foods to kill yeast, molds and bacteria. The study reported in The Independent is based on effects in yeast. This is very possibly the method [or one method] benzoic acid uses to kill these microbes. Humans use their livers to inactivate benzoic acid, and should have no real problem with it over most normal exposures as long as the liver is functioning well. According to Scorecard, http://www.scorecard.org/ , a database concerned with toxic chemicals and pollutants, benzoates are suspected of being a health hazard for several body systems, but definitive research is lacking, most likely due to funding and no apparent need to quickly test the chemicals. From Inchem's http://www.inchem.org/, executive summary on benzoates, the chemical is apparently pretty quickly metabolized, so the exposure from one can of soda won't be that extensive. Soda, however, is a very acidic drink. The body, in seeking to retain its normal pH [a measure of acid/alkali balance], will have to use another substance to neutralize that acid. The most abundant source of a chemical to use to neutralize that acid is the bone structure's calcium. You might consider that you may be dissolving your bones when you gulp that Diet Coke.
ZX, thanks for the informative post. It's helpful. Elisa, I think you are on the money. I'll have a soda (diet or otherwise) every now and then, but I gave up soda in high school for reasons of athletics and switched to iced tea. Probably health-wise the best thing I've ever done for myself.
Don't scares of this kind nearly always turn out to be false or exaggerated?
Upon further reflection, I think it is significant that sodium benzoate is added to help prevent mold, etc. from growing in the product. The research cited refers to its harm to yeast. I'm no biologist, but I'm not really surprised that an additive meant to inhibit mold would have a negative impact on yeast as well. If the researcher finds a negative effect on animal cells, then we should worry. IMO.
A bit of perspective: Cola pH ~ 3-4 (within the range of fruit juices) Stomach pH ~2-3 Calcium loss from the body due to soda drinking is not the result of pH neutralization. Your body neutralizes the 2-3 liters of gastric juice it creates daily just fine with bicarbonate from the pancreas. What about any association with calcium loss? Quite possibly it's related to substituting low-calcium beverages like sodas for milk and other drinks. Or caffeine could contribute. http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/959705343.html PS - If you're really worried about benzene, stop pumping your own gasoline (About 1-2% by volume in US fuel).
Thank you for your interesting post! I thought perhaps you may also find this related discussion interesting to you: Longevity Science: Soft Drinks Linked to Aging ? http://longevity-science.blogspot.com/2007/05/soft-drinks-linked-to-aging.html
DIET COKE, SOFT DRINK OF THE GOD I'm sorry, I can't accept "Diet" *anything* as the soft drink of the gods. At least no gods I would be willing to worship.
hey :)
its very reasonable article.
Good post.
realy gj
thank you ;)
hey :-)
its very reasonable point of view.
Good post.
realy good post
thank you ;)
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