Water or cola? – A status between myth and truth

We can certainly agree that water is healthier than cola, no question about it.

Nevertheless, a message is going around again that originated as a chain email in the USA in 2001 and has now reappeared in a German version.

There it says:

“+++ PLEASE READ +++

Water or cola? – Can you believe that?? – And it’s not even about the sugar!

WATER

(1) 1.75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated (also half of the world's population).
(2) In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so disrupted that it is misinterpreted as hunger.
(3) Even mild dehydration slows metabolism by 3%.
(4) Just one glass of water was enough to make nighttime hunger disappear in almost 100% of the test subjects in a study at the University of Washington.
(5) Lack of water is the main trigger for daytime sleepiness.
(6) Preliminary studies showed that 8-10 glasses of water per day could significantly relieve back and joint pain in up to 80% of those affected.
(7) Just a 2% decrease in body fluid can lead to short-term memory disorders and various perception disorders. (8) 5 glasses of water per day reduce the risk of colon cancer by 45% and breast cancer by 79%. and bladder cancer by 50%.

Do you drink enough water every day?

COKE

(1) In many states in the USA, the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coca-Cola to clean blood stains from the road in the event of serious accidents.
(2) You can make a T-bone steak disappear in a bowl of cola in 2 days.
(3) To clean the toilet: Pour a can of Coke into the toilet and let the stuff sit for an hour.
Then rinse, the citric (now phosphoric) acid is excellent at removing all sorts of stains, etc. (4) To remove rust stains from a chrome bumper, rub the bumper with a crumpled piece of aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.
(5) To remove rust from the terminals of a car battery, simply pour a can of Coke over it and wait for the rust to come off, then wipe it off.
To loosen the screw, wrap a cloth soaked in cola around it and leave it on for a few minutes. (6) To remove grease from clothes, add a can of Coke to the detergent when washing and let the program run.
The cola helps to remove the grease from clothing. (7) Cola can also remove road residue (tar) from the windshield of the car, test for paint only in invisible areas, could destroy the paint.

FOR INFORMATION
(1) The active substance in Coca-Cola is phosphoric acid.
Phosphoric acid dissolves a nail within 4 days. Furthermore, phosphoric acid sucks the calcium out of the bones and this is one of the main reasons for osteoporosis. (2) In order to be able to transport the Coca-Cola syrup (i.e. the concentrate), the trucks must carry a dangerous goods warning for highly corrosive substances.
(3) The makers of Coca-Cola used their stuff to clean the engines of their trucks for around 20 years.

Share & Spread”

Let’s go over the so-called “facts” and start with the water.

Most of the points listed about the benefits of water come from the book "Your Body's Many Cries for Water" by Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj. The Iranian-born American doctor claims in the book that water is a panacea for various diseases, including osteoarthritis, angina, migraines and asthma.

Now it is quite unrealistic to claim that water helps against all of these problems. That doctor also doesn't claim that he came to these findings through scientific experiments, but rather through... Attention: "reading"! According to his own statements, he then self-published the book so that his groundbreaking findings could not be suppressed. Paranoia, I hear you traipsing.

But 8-10 glasses of water a day are still necessary, right?

This claim has no scientific basis. At best, this claim can be traced back to a statement from the “Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council” from 1945, which stated that an adult should consume 2.5 liters of liquid (approx. 8 glasses of water) daily. However, we already consume part of that amount of liquid through the water contained in our food, so no one has to number their water glasses.

The numbers mentioned are therefore not based on any scientific findings.
A recent statement by Jurgen Schnermann from the National Institute of Health even states that a healthy adult with functioning kidneys living in a temperate climate only needs about 1 liter of water per day. Of course, the amount of water required always depends very individually on your health, age, climate, clothing, physical condition, etc., which is why the best factor is natural thirst.
Water keeps the kidneys and liver clean and is good for the organs and general well-being. However, you should not believe the figures given.

Let's get to the evil Cola

According to this status, Cola must be extremely unhealthy simply because of the phosphoric acid it contains. We would like to take a closer look at the allegations contained in the status:

“In many states in the USA, the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coca-Cola to clean blood stains from the road in serious accidents.”

There is neither proof nor any indication that this statement is true. However, we would like to encourage our readers to ask a police officer about this the next time they visit the USA. And please take a photo of him while you ask this. We think the facial expression would be a highlight in any photo album.

„“You can make a T-bone steak disappear in a bowl of coke in two days.”

The acid concentration in Cola is far too low to accomplish this. Many YouTube videos have already tried to reproduce this, without success. The only thing you have after two days is a steak soaked in cola that no longer looks very appetizing.

(summarized) “Cola is suitable for removing rust stains, grease stains on clothing, tar on the car and for cleaning the toilet.”

Half-true.
Here too, the acid concentration is too weak to completely clean something, but it is possible to a certain extent. For example, if you soak a rusty nail in cola for a few days, most of the rust will be removed, but this requires a little patience. So, although Cola is of limited use as a cleaning agent, it takes more time and effort due to its lower acid concentration.

Under normal health conditions, the concentration of citrus and phosphoric acid is far too low to harm a person. Cola contains less citrus acid than an orange; the proportion of phosphoric acid, compared to syrup, is around 0.2% - 0.3%. It is undisputed that the citrus acid in cola is harmful to tooth enamel, but this effect is no greater than excessive consumption of orange juice.

It is also worth mentioning that our stomach acid is much stronger than the acids contained in cola. The majority of these acids are already neutralized in the mouth by saliva, the rest is killed by stomach acid.

“Furthermore, phosphoric acid sucks the calcium out of the bones and this is one of the main reasons for osteoporosis.”

Which would then refute that point. The acids do not come into contact with the bones in any way, so it is nonsense to claim that phosphoric acid “sucks the calcium out of the bones”.

Conclusion:

We can say that you certainly shouldn't drink Cola as a health drink and that water is certainly healthier.
However, this is for different reasons, because the points listed in the status are either wrong or simply made up. Water is not the panacea for everything and Cola is not the devil's drink.
There are certainly still many arguments for water and against cola, but that's not what this article is about, we want to show you that you shouldn't believe that status report.

So… and now a beer after work. There's water in it too. That counts, right?

Author: Ralf, mimikama.org

Sources:

HOAX: What word het voor u… cola of water?
Coke vs Water – Truth and Fiction
Snopes: Water works
Couriermail: Busting Health Myths
Urban Legends: Coke – A Household Cleaner?
etc