One of MSN's top stories this week was this article about a cola habit behind the death of a 30 year old New Zealand woman. The woman drank 2 gallons of Coca Cola per day. (HOLY CRAP, WHAT?!) And experts say that this habit probably contributed to her death. This led the soft drink company to note that even water can be deadly in excessive amounts.
The woman's name was Natasha Harris. She was 30 years old, a stay at home mother of eight, and died of a heart attack in February 2010. The pathologist over this woman's death reported that she probably suffered from hypokalemia (low potassium) which the pathologist, Dr. Dan Mornin, thinks was caused by her excessive consumption of Coke and overall poor nutrition. Hypokalemia symptoms can include abnormal heart rhythms according to the US National Institiutes of Health.
Dr. Dan Morning said that the toxic leves of caffeine may have also contributed to the woman's death. And with the amount of soda Harris was drinking, her partner said she drank between 8 and 10 liters of Coke everyday, I would definitely say that she probably did have toxic levels of caffeine. This lady was addicted to Coca Cola. Harris was also addicted to cigareetes, smoking about 30 of them per day.
Lisa Te Morenga, a nutritionist at the University of Otago, said that excessive consumption of any type of liquid in a cool climate would be likely to play havoc with the body's natural systems and balance.
Karen Thompson, a spokeswoman for Coca Cola Oceania, said that its products are safe.
This lady drank herself to death, and not by the usual route, by Coca Cola.
That is crazy! I am an all or nothing person. When I decide to give up pop I give it up with no problem for several weeks at a time. But when I am drinking pop, I drink way too much a day. Nowhere near 2 gallons, but more than enough. This makes me want to quit immediately. What an interesting story!
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