Bodybuilders Beware: Cola Can Cause Chronic Muscle Death
Are you working towards a well built muscle tone? Do you train hard just to get those six-pack abs and lean muscle area? Do you want to achieve the more strength and muscle power? One good advice you should take: don’t drink cola.
According to a new study done by Greek doctors, drinking liters of soft drinks per day can lead to a fast, chronic death of potassium in the body, which eventually leads to weakening of the muscles and even as much as paralysis.
“Indeed drinking soft drinks is common in almost every modern society these days, but excessive consumption of the said beverage can lead to a public health issue, which most of use would think is a rare thing to happen,” says the author of the study in an editorial published on the International Journal of Clinical Practice. “But given the fact that a lot of people, regardless of age, sex and social status consume soft drinks, then we have every reason to think that it is not rare.”
Back in 1994, Dr. Moses Elisaf and his associates at the University of Ioannina, Greece, found six reports of potassium deficiency which were induced by cola consumption. The amount of cola consumed by the subjects ranged between 2 and 9 liters per day.
Among the complaints revealed by the subjects were mild feelings of weakness, numbness and chronic paralysis. The patients also had extremely low potassium levels.
“Fortunately,” says Elisaf, “all the patients had a rapid and complete recovery after the discontinuation of cola consumption and the oral or intravenous supplementation of potassium.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Clifford D. Packer of the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio responded to the editorial with: “there is very little doubt that tens of millions of people in industrialized countries drink at least 2-3 liters of cola per day.”
Potassium is one of the minerals bodybuilders need to exert energy and produce strength, thus the lack of the said nutrient can be very detrimental to their overall health, not just their bodybuilding career. So, as a bodybuilder, or as someone working out to gain more strength and build more muscle mass, what should you do?
The number one solution is to refrain from consuming too much cola or soft drink, for as said in the study, excessive cola consumption can lead to a great decrease in potassium, leaving you weak, powerless and even anemic, as the blood also needs potassium in order to circulate.
Aside from avoiding carbonated beverages, it is also recommended not to drink alcohol, and adopt a healthier lifestyle which promotes better bone health and development, incorporated with exercise that provides better metabolism and protection against muscle death.
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