Coca-Cola has long become a world-famous drink, a great addition to a hearty dinner or popcorn at the cinema. The so-called sweet water is not just popular - the numbers show that 94% of the world's population knows about it, which undoubtedly makes this brand one of the most recognizable in the world. Many are already so accustomed to this drink that they literally cannot imagine their life without it, while not even realizing what harm Coca-Cola can do to our body.
Drink history
It all started with the fact that the American pharmacist John Stitt Pemberton invented a certain caramel-colored syrup, which helped to cope with fatigue, stress and nervous disorders. In fact, he really helped, because he included cocaine in the extract of coca leaves.
With this recipe, Pemberton went to one of the central pharmacies, and soon small vessels with miraculous syrup appeared on the shelves. All this happened back at the end of the 19th century, nobody knew about the dangers of cocaine then, so it was allowed and available, often replacing the alcohol component in various drinks.
Over time, cocaine has been studied and banned; in Coca-Cola, it is now replaced by caffeine. Once, one of the sellers of "Cola" instead of water diluted it with soda, which helped the drink to find the taste that we now know so well. Of course, the recipe for the drink changed and improved over time, until it reached what we can now see on store shelves.
Advertising
What is behind the popularity of this brand? Of course, the composition of the drink, its taste and stimulating effect on the body play an important role. But advertising was an important factor in The Coca Cola Company’s success. It all started with the fact that lots of free drinks, so to say, “probes” were delivered to pharmacies. Easy to get on with them, visitors, having tasted the syrup, gladly took the supplement that they were willing to pay for.
An important role in the development of Coca-Cola advertising was played by the Prohibition, which was introduced in Atlanta at the time of its appearance. The drink, which had energetic and to some extent stupefying qualities, while still containing cocaine, became an excellent alternative to alcohol. Most of the advertising was aimed at just that.
Over time, “Cola” began to be produced in glass containers, the design of which also worked well: it could be recognized from afar, in the dark, even in a broken form. It is interesting that during one of the Coca-Cola advertising campaigns, the poster depicted Santa Claus, who we all know well.
The fact is that before in America there was no established image of Santa, he was portrayed in a variety of interpretations. It so happened that with the light hand of sweet syrup producers all over America, the very same Santa Claus appeared once and for all, which we can now watch on holidays. All this is only a small fraction of how this company worked in its promotion.
Plagiarism
Of course, the popularity of sweet water surprised many, and there were those who sought to repeat the success of the creators of the brand. During its existence, Coca-Cola has filed more than two hundred lawsuits, thus destroying many plagiarizing companies.
Among them were Candy Cola, Cold Cola, Koka Nola, Cay-Ola and others. But untouched remained Pepsi. In fact, both drinks appeared at about the same time in different cities of America. For a long time, their creators did not even know about each other's existence. Pepsi Cola always kept apart, adhered to a peaceful policy, without entering into an open confrontation with its competitor.
Only during the Great Depression did she dare to make a move - the drink began to be sold in bottles, the size of which was twice the size of Coca Cola bottles, while the price was the same. In this regard, the latter company tried to sue rivals for using the word Cola in the brand name. But later it was recognized as generalizing. Two well-known brands are still waging a cold war with each other, fighting for each customer.
Other popular sweet drinks
As you know, The Coca Cola Company is not limited to the production of its most popular drink. In addition to it, there are many other syrups, juice drinks and concentrates. The most recognizable are Coca Cola Zero, Fanta, Sprite, Schweppes, Bonaqua.
Juice-containing drinks “Good” and “My Family” are common in Russia. Most of the products are different in composition from the "Cola" itself, some are its new interpretation. In any case, they are also in demand, they can be found on the shelves of literally any store - from a stall to a hypermarket.
Composition
The recipe for a drink that has won the love and recognition of billions of people around the world is kept in the strictest confidence, access to it is limited. But in an age of rapidly developing technology and science, this secret could not be ignored. Some scientists studied the chemical composition of Coca-Cola, so now most of its components will not be difficult to find on the Internet.
So, what is included in its composition, and does Coca-Cola do harm? Among its main components are water, caffeine and sugar. The latter, as you know, is contained there in rather large quantities. A preservative in the preparation of cola is carbon dioxide. It is known that lemon essence, clove oil, methyl alcohol, vanillin, aspartame, caramel and dye are also added to the drink. Based on this, we will consider what are the harm and benefits of Coca-Cola.
Harm
This is a moot point. Since the authentic recipe is still unknown, it is impossible to say with certainty whether Coca-Cola is harmful. In any case, it cannot affect the human body positively. Based on the above data, it can be noted that this drink should not be abused.
One of the key aspects is the high sugar content of Coca-Cola. A glass of drink contains the norm of consumption per day by an adult, but few people are limited to one glass. Therefore, "Cola" can cause not only obesity and excess weight, but also the development of diabetes. Unfortunately, even the so-called “Cola” without sugar will not be able to protect customers from these problems, as it contains sweeteners that cause even more harm.
Scientists conducted animal studies. The harm of Coca-Cola to the body of our smaller brothers is obvious. Experiments suggest that frequent use of the drink leads to leaching of calcium from the body, which in turn causes various complications, ranging from problems with teeth and ending with osteoporosis.
There are suggestions about the dangers of Coca-Cola for the digestive, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular systems. There is an opinion that it contributes to the development of cancer. In fact, this is far from all the information that exists on this topic. But the harm or benefit of Coca-Cola has not yet been proven with scientific accuracy.
Benefit
The suggestion that Coca-Cola can be of any use sounds dubious, even though it was originally a drug. Still, we are much more accustomed to hearing about the dangers of Coca-Cola. It affects the body negatively.
Indeed, a drink does not bring any benefit to a person. But it is actively used in everyday life - from this point of view, syrup becomes very useful and literally necessary. There are many ways to use it in the household: cleaning and detergent for different surfaces, marinade for meat, fertilizer, means for rinsing hair and so on.
However, from a financial point of view, both the company and its project turned out to be in plus. One can argue about the dangers and benefits of Coca-Cola for a long time, but one thing is clear: that it is much more useful not to use it internally, but to use it on the farm.
Contraindications
Like almost any product, Cola has contraindications for use. And the thing is the harm of Coca-Cola. Firstly, it is worth protecting small children and elderly people from it. Secondly, the drink is contraindicated for hypertension, diabetes mellitus and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. People with poor blood coagulation should refrain from it.
Summing up, it is worth saying that a large role is played not so much by the composition of the drink as the quantity of its consumption. "Cola" is firmly entrenched in the lives of many people, and there is nothing wrong with sometimes drinking a glass and enjoying the familiar taste. The main thing is to know the measure in everything and not to abuse sweet water. Then it will be possible to get pleasure, and health not to spoil.