Caution: Some soft drinks may seriously harm your health

[snopes]

A new health scare has erupted over soft drinks amid evidence they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university suggests a common preservative found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA.

http://news.independent.co.uk/health/article2586652.ece

[Pseudo_Croat]

If this stuff really does what researchers say it does, then shouldn't more people in modern societies be keeling over from problems related to shutting down DNA?

Something tells me we're looking at an in vitro effect that doesn't translate well to in vivo reality.

- Pseudo_Croat

[Spookshow Baby]

I'm sorry, I cant come into work today. The DNA that makes up my legs was destroyed by soft drink.

I agree with Pseudo.

Spookshow"dissolving my DNA"Baby

[Faith]

Originally Posted by Pseudo_Croat

If this stuff really does what researchers say it does, then shouldn't more people in modern societies be keeling over from problems related to shutting down DNA?

- Pseudo_Croat

Yes, thank God that Alzheimers and Parkinsons are such rare conditions, P_C.

Franky, as mitcochondria are the 'batteries' that power us all, I am concerned enough to wish for further research into this issue.

[Joostik]

Originally Posted by Pseudo_Croat

If this stuff really does what researchers say it does, then shouldn't more people in modern societies be keeling over from problems related to shutting down DNA?

Something tells me we're looking at an in vitro effect that doesn't translate well to in vivo reality.

- Pseudo_Croat

Something tells me that perhaps you did not read the article.

For your benefit:

These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether.

The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it - as happens in a number if diseased states - then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously. And there is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to damage to this DNA - Parkinson's and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing.

[Pseudo_Croat]

I did read the article. And my father tells me that if you did destroy/shut down the DNA in the mitochondria like that, you would quickly die because your cells aren't getting enough energy. Is he right or....?

Also, doesn't the human body have enzymes and other chemical interactions that deal with such things that yeast cells don't? Not all cell systems are created equal, you know. What may work for some cells/cell cultures in vitro (and yes, I consider yeast cells to be of this kind) doesn't necessarily translate into in vivo effects in a multicellular organism. Just ask anyone who's done research on anticancer drugs.

My argument still stands. If these substances had such an effect on mtDNA as this study suggests, shouldn't we be seeing a lot of people in their teens, 20s, and 30s showing signs of premature aging (and possibly dying, as I mentioned above) than we currently do. For the record, we don't.

- Pseudo_Croat

[DaGuyWitBluGlasses]

If it didn't kill yeast, it wouldn't be a good preservative now would it?

Many serious poisons do exactly that, damage the mitochondria, this isn't anything new.

Sodium Benzoate is only an effective preservative in fairly acidic solutions, so i'ts to be assumed that it doesn't bother the mitochondia once its in the body (outside of the stomach).

Also it is naturally found in several fruits and spices.

[jimmy101_again]

There is really not enough info in the OC to judge if this is BS or not.

There also isn't a link to a scientific publication in the OC.

I suspect that the concentrations used in the study were totally obsurd compared to what you get in a person drinking a couple cans of soda.

Sodium benzoate will clear very quickly from the body since it is water soluble. It is unlikely that there would be significant benzoate in your body from a soda you drank yesterday. So it isn't going to build up in your body over time.

I would guess that this is a case of "enough of anything is toxic".

[annabohly]

And y'all thought smoking was bad for ya!