Disturbing things that happen to your body when you drink Coca-Cola

A new infographic that’s trending in social media today claims to explain exactly why you feel a drug-like rush when Coca-Cola enters your system.

Your body in the hour after drinking a can of Coca-Cola. [click to view full size]

With step-by-step descriptions, the infographic reveals what happens to your body in the hour after drinking one can of Coke, though the information applies to any caffeinated soft drink.

The content is based on research conducted by health writer Wade Meredith who wanted to know how the body reacts to a massive dose of caffeine and sugar:

• One serving of Coke contains 10 teaspoons of sugar, and in the first 10 minutes, Meredith explains, “You don’t immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.”
• In the following 20 minutes, your liver responds to the sugar spike “by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat.”
• By 40 minutes, Meredith explains, “caffeine absorption is complete,” causing pupils to dilate, blood pressure to rise, and the liver to dump more sugar into your bloodstream.
• By 45 minutes, you’re feeling pretty high as your body kicks up dopamine production, stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. “This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way,” Meredith shares.
• Finally, a sugar crash hits at about the 60-minute mark, and “the rave inside of you dies down.”

Some 1.6 billion servings of Coke are sold worldwide each day. Many people drink regular and diet caffeinated soft drinks daily. Meredith’s infographic might make some of these people realize that Coke can bring you a smile but it also wreaks havoc on your body.