Sun, heat, dry throat. Your hand tightens around the icy can, speckled with tiny water droplets. You twist the lid… ”   Pssst!   ” Relief. The fizzy liquid slides down your throat. Carbon dioxide rises to your nose, your eyes water, but it feels so good! And yet…

About ten minutes later

Empty can, you just swallowed the equivalent   of seven sugar cubes!   [1] Actually, you should feel sick. [2] However, the phosphoric acid in soda masks the sugar with a tart taste, giving the illusion of quenching your thirst. [3]

After about twenty minutes

Blood sugar levels rise dramatically, testing the body for the first time. The pancreas goes into overdrive, secreting massive amounts of insulin. This insulin is essential; it’s the only way to convert the massive excess sugar in the blood into fat, which the body can better handle. The pancreas can store fat, albeit in the form of unsightly bulges, but these are temporarily harmless, whereas glucose is deadly when present in high concentrations in the blood. Only the liver can store glucose, but its capacity is very limited.

After about forty minutes

The high caffeine content in Coca-Cola is completely absorbed by the body. It dilates the pupils and raises blood pressure. At the same time, the sugar stores in the liver become overloaded, causing   sugar to be released into the bloodstream

After 45 minutes

Your body begins producing more   dopamine  . This is a hormone that stimulates the brain’s “reward center.” Notice that the same reaction would occur after taking heroin. And that’s not the only similarity between sugar and drugs. Sugar can also be addictive. So much so, that one study found that sugar is more addictive than cocaine. [4] It’s no coincidence, then, that a “drug addict” about to drink a Coke has the same fever as a drug addict in withdrawal.

Blood sugar levels plummet (hypoglycemia), and energy levels, both physical and mental, plummet. To avoid this avalanche of problems, the only real solution is to drink water.

“I am not a potted plant!”

It’s hard to go back to drinking water when you’ve spent years accustomed to sweet or at least flavored drinks (coffee, tea, wine, beer, etc.). You think you can’t settle for the bland taste of water anymore. “I’m not a houseplant!” “Water is for footbaths!” you might say at the table, grabbing a bottle of red wine. In reality, the problem often lies deeper than taste. People who don’t drink water often don’t feel thirsty. And if they don’t, it’s usually due to lack of exercise. When you’ve worked up a good sweat, at work or while playing sports, drinking a few glasses of water isn’t just necessary—it’s an extraordinary pleasure. My caring mother enrolled my older brother and me in a judo club. There were forty of us, kids crammed into a 30-square-meter municipal hall, lit by fluorescent lights and lined with tatami mats, ventilated only by a narrow skylight. After an intense warm-up, during which we had to jump, run, and then do a series of push-ups and sit-ups, the instructor had us practice grappling, standing, and ground fighting, and finally (this was the best part!) we played a huge game of “Ludo,” where we sat on a teammate’s back and had to knock the others to the ground. At the end of the session, red-faced, panting, and sweaty, we ran to the locker room, where, above the large sinks next to the urinals, were push-button taps that flowed hot water—and in that moment, it was so delicious! The awful smell of the latrines didn’t stop any of us from filling our stomachs with delight. Those in a hurry put their mouths directly to the tap, while others, more civilized, cupped their hands and lapped up the precious liquid without pausing for breath. It gives me chills to think of the amount of mucus and germs exchanged during this time. Anyway, I don’t remember ever drinking anything better than the water from the toilet in our judo club.

Why stop drinking Coca-Cola?

Think about it. After exercise, you might crave a Coca-Cola or a cold beer, but you’ll realize it doesn’t provide the same intense pleasure as water. Water is the most pleasurable when you’re truly thirsty, just as it is when you’re hungry—for example, during a long mountain hike—there’s nothing better than a sausage you won’t touch after returning home and going about your daily routine. But it’s not just about pleasure. Drinking water will reduce your intake of all the harmful substances found in carbonated beverages, starting with:

• phosphoric acid, which disrupts calcium metabolism and causes osteoporosis and softening of teeth and bones;
• sugar – a factor causing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic inflammation, osteoarthritis, cancer;
• Aspartame: There are over 92 side effects associated with aspartame consumption, including brain tumors, epilepsy, emotional fragility, diabetes;
• Caffeine, which causes tremors, insomnia, headaches, hypertension, demineralization and vitamin loss.

Not to mention, Coca-Cola’s acidity is devastating for your teeth. Have you ever noticed how rough your teeth feel after drinking Coca-Cola? It’s more acidic than lemon juice and can be used to clean metal coins (just leave a dirty 50-cent coin in a glass of Coca-Cola for half an hour). Your enamel becomes porous, yellowish, and grayish when you drink Coca-Cola frequently, and this is a consequence. Finally, it goes without saying that it contributes to obesity: especially in children, soda consumption increases the risk by 60%. There’s no reason to give children soda unless you want to…

• increase the risk of developing diabetes;
• increase the risk of cancer;
• to make them addicted to sugar.

Here’s a great way to save money in these challenging times: stop reaching for sugary drinks. And learn to drink water again: start your day with a large glass of water, even before breakfast. You’ll be doing your kidneys a huge favor, as they work hard cleansing your blood all day long. They’ll be healthier, cleaner, and you’ll feel better.

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