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What Coke Contains (2013)

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Re: What Coke Contains (2013)

#81

Post by function_seven »

magicalist wrote: post #77
function_seven wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're referring to carbonic acid, it's too weak to cause tooth decay (at least, according to my reading of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_erosion ). But, in addition to phosphoric acid, Coke also has citric acid. I'm not sure you could remove both and get a drink that's still tasty enough... EDIT: See below. Carbonic acid may not be as meek as I thought.

Yeah, that's definitely wrong. It looks like it's been an unsourced fact in there since the beginning of 2008. Enamel erosion due to acid is tied to the acidity of the mouth, which, if the pH drops low enough, starts the demineralization of teeth (note, however, that this is a dynamic process, with systems in place to remineralize teeth, and that this dance happens every time we eat or drink something). Typically car…

You're right. Looks like Wikipedia disagrees with itself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonated_water#Chemistry_and_....

Re: What Coke Contains (2013)

#82

Post by NickNameNick »

magicalist wrote: post #77
function_seven wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're referring to carbonic acid, it's too weak to cause tooth decay (at least, according to my reading of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_erosion ). But, in addition to phosphoric acid, Coke also has citric acid. I'm not sure you could remove both and get a drink that's still tasty enough... EDIT: See below. Carbonic acid may not be as meek as I thought.

Yeah, that's definitely wrong. It looks like it's been an unsourced fact in there since the beginning of 2008. Enamel erosion due to acid is tied to the acidity of the mouth, which, if the pH drops low enough, starts the demineralization of teeth (note, however, that this is a dynamic process, with systems in place to remineralize teeth, and that this dance happens every time we eat or drink something). Typically car…

I don't think pH works the way you think it does.

Neutral pH is 7, things with a lower pH are more acidic Things with a higher pH are basic. So Carbonated water, with it pH of ~4 is a much stronger acid than something with a pH of 5

Re: What Coke Contains (2013)

#83

Post by GFischer »

srean wrote: post #27

The article waxes so eloquently about this beloved product that I would have mistaken it for a paid PR piece. The article is great read nonetheless. For those who are also interested in the other darker, grimier side of the same coin, might want to check out its use of mercenaries for union busting in South America(by murder of course. In the hands of the right spinners that would be 'terrorism'), similar stuff happe…

The union-busting incident, while dark, seems to be an isolated incident.

If you saw the kinds of gangsters that become union leaders in South America these days, you'd at least consider using mercenaries.

The local Coca Cola union head here in Uruguay is not a man to be trifled with (Richard Read), he has gotten them incredible benefits (it pays better than programming over here :P ).

And the guys in Argentina are legitimate thugs and crooks (well, so is the government :P )

See for example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Moyano

Edit: a side effect of such union power is that Uruguay has the most expensive Coca-Cola in the world, a 2 liter bottle costs 3.5 dollars after taxes (so almost twice what it costs in the U.S.)

Re: What Coke Contains (2013)

#84

Post by hencq »

TazeTSchnitzel wrote: post #79

> The number of individual nations that could produce a can of Coke is zero. While this is true in that no individual nation could produce Coke with the exact same formula, an individual nation could surely produce a soft drink.

But not too many of those countries also have bauxite mines, coca plants and kola nuts.

Re: What Coke Contains (2013)

#85

Post by [deleted] »

a8da6b0c91d wrote: post #58
dasil003 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously I think outright rejection of all sweetened drinks is probably the best ROI for a dietary change one can make. The whole truth about what soda pop and other heavily engineered processed foods do to one's metabolism and general health is going to be shocking to people when it is finally revealed, and I think tooth enamel is the least of your worries.

Sodas are sugar water. We already know what sugar does: provide clean, metabolically efficient, allergen free calories. If you're on the road or out and about and hungry, a coke is often the healthiest choice you can make. The quality of options such as fruits and meat and baked goods are typically atrocious at convenience stores and fast food restaurants. Just get a coke and some milk. Available at McDonald's and ga…

[deleted]

Re: What Coke Contains (2013)

#86

Post by TazeTSchnitzel »

hencq wrote: post #84
TazeTSchnitzel wrote: post #79

> The number of individual nations that could produce a can of Coke is zero. While this is true in that no individual nation could produce Coke with the exact same formula, an individual nation could surely produce a soft drink.

But not too many of those countries also have bauxite mines, coca plants and kola nuts.

I mean, the entire thing, including the aluminium from a bauxite mine.

Just perhaps not the coca plants and kola nuts, unless they want to make a greenhouse.

Re: What Coke Contains (2013)

#87

Post by refurb »

MAGZine wrote: post #76
lpgauth wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm no chemist, but couldn't you just add a base to neutralize the phosphoric acid (e.g. calcium carbonate)?

if you were interested in adding salt and water (the by products of a neutralization reaction) to the drink, then yes.

Salt? Sodium chloride? Or you mean the salt of phosphoric acid?

Re: What Coke Contains (2013)

#88

Post by doughj3 »

magicalist wrote: post #77
function_seven wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're referring to carbonic acid, it's too weak to cause tooth decay (at least, according to my reading of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_erosion ). But, in addition to phosphoric acid, Coke also has citric acid. I'm not sure you could remove both and get a drink that's still tasty enough... EDIT: See below. Carbonic acid may not be as meek as I thought.

Yeah, that's definitely wrong. It looks like it's been an unsourced fact in there since the beginning of 2008. Enamel erosion due to acid is tied to the acidity of the mouth, which, if the pH drops low enough, starts the demineralization of teeth (note, however, that this is a dynamic process, with systems in place to remineralize teeth, and that this dance happens every time we eat or drink something). Typically car…

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11556958

"Dissolution levels with all of the mineral waters were very low and for several still waters were undetectable. Sparkling mineral waters showed slightly greater dissolution than still waters, but levels remained low and were of the order of one hundred times less than the comparator soft drinks. De-gassing of a sparkling mineral water reduced its dissolution, but the total levels were still relatively low suggesting that carbonation of drinks may not be an important factor per se in respect of erosive potential."

Re: What Coke Contains (2013)

#89

Post by pm90 »

jeffbarr wrote: post #71

This is my favorite sentence of the article: > Modern tool chains are so long and complex that they bind us into one people and one planet. When we think about colonizing the Moon or Mars with small groups of people with the intention of making the colonies self-sustaining over time, deep, long-evolved tool chains like the one described in the article could be very difficult to scale down and to replicate in other en…

Not necessarily. The only reason why this toolchain is global is that the bauxite is cheapest in Australia. If you mined bauxite in US, you would have a very local operation. In the case of Moon or Mars, I'm sure they would find it much easier to mine on the planets surface (especially since it doesn't harm the earth's environment that way).

Re: What Coke Contains (2013)

#90

Post by orbifold »

Someone1234 wrote: post #29

I wish Coca Cola would make a acid free version of coke. The Phosphoric Acid adds a slight tang to the drink, but in exchange absolutely destroys your teeth over years of consumption. For regular drinkers like myself I'd happily pay a small premium to buy the "acid free" version of the drink. The sugar still does damage but with both the acid AND sugar it is like a double whammy of "badness" (acid which destroys your…

Of course you realize that if there wasn't any Phosphoric Acid in the drink, you would vomit due to the intolerably high concentration of sugar. The acid is fooling your body into drinking the stuff and besides damaging your teeth depletes calcium ions.
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