What Does Coca Cola Do to Your Body?

It probably won't come as a huge shock to most that Coca Cola is filled with sugar, and it isn't the healthiest beverage.

But exactly what does it do to your body?

The Renegade Pharmacist has the answer. Their graphic, created in May, describes how sugar, caffeine and other ingredients affect the body in five- to 15-minute increments throughout the first hour after drinking the refreshing beverage.

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 in

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. (There's plenty of that at this particular moment)

40 minutes in

Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.

45 minutes in

Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centres of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.

60 minutes in

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.

After 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, electrolyte and water.

As the rave inside of 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 having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.

Niraj Naik, the creator of the Renegade Pharmacist writes on his site: "I discovered that a trigger factor for many widespread diseases of the west such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes could be closely linked to the consumption of one particular substance found in many processed foods and drinks – fructose in the form of high fructose corn syrup."

"High fructose corn syrup is found in pretty much all processed foods such as ready meals, fast foods, sweets and fizzy drinks and most people are totally unaware of its danger," he continues.

Naik was inspired to teach people about dietary health after he was able to successfully treat his own chronic auto-immune condition.

What does Naik recommend?

"My first piece of advice to them would be to do a simple swap," he explains, "replacing fizzy drinks with water and fresh lemon or lime juice," he says.

Are you surprised about the effect that Coca Cola has on the body?