Avadian’s Musings – What Coke contains

Really … we drink this stuff?

Caregivers, take time to read Kevin Ashton’s article, What Coke contains, for an eye-popping journey through the production of aluminum cans, the coating of paint that goes on the outside and inside of each can, and the ingredients.

I grew up on Coke. During the summer months, if we helped around the house or were well-behaved (harder for me than my sister and brother), my parents rewarded us with an ice-cold 16-ounce bottle of Coke.

The refreshing taste, the tingly feeling down our throats was like none other. To this day, I need to have a Coke and popcorn while watching the 4th of July Fireworks. My mother started this tradition. She’d pop corn kernels in peanut oil on the stove. Our family would wash handfuls of popcorn with Coke while watching the fireworks in the park from our vantage point — the red brick steps in front of our colonial-style home across the street.

Forty-plus years later, and in my fifties, I come upon Ashton’s article. I’m no longer an invincible teenager. I need to take better care of myself. If you feel the same way, read Ashton’s article. Consider limiting how many mass-produced sodas you drink with unrecognizable ingredients.

Coca-Cola was invented at the Eagle Drug and Chemical Company, a Georgia drugstore, by John Pemberton in response to Prohibition in 1886, a glass of this “medicine” sold for 5 cents. A non-alcoholic version of his coca wine, the ingredients today represent more chemicals rather than nutrients. For more information, read: Wikipedia on Coke–19th Century Historical Origins.

We need to take care of our bodies if we want to feel better.

Although, I still drink an occasional bottle–maybe 5 12-ounce servings a year, I try instead to buy carbonated water. Sometimes, I flavor it with fresh-squeezed orange, lemon, or any other juice I have on hand.

It’s hard to break a habit from childhood.

Advertisements remind us daily of how good we’ll feel if we drink this stuff.

But the soda today seems different than yesterday. I know they guard their proprietary ingredients, but I’d guess the sodas today are almost twice as sweet as the Coke I grew up on. All that sweetener, or worse, chemical artificial sweeteners, cause havoc in our bodies. At mid-life and beyond, our bodies don’t recover as quickly as when we were in our teens or twenties.

Damage is cumulative. One day we’ll wake up and wonder what the heck happened?

Want to start feeling better each day? Read this. It’s time more of us became aware of what’s in the foods we eat and the beverages we drink. Then share this article with those you care about.

Coca-Cola image from Wikimedia Commons