Harm to carbonated and energy drinks

2025: Regular consumption of sweet soda can negatively affect mental health

Regular consumption of sugary carbonated drinks can negatively affect mental health, in particular, increase the risk of developing conditions such as anxiety and depression in young people and middle-aged people. This is stated in a study by Chinese scientists from Wenzhou Medical University, the results of which were released in early April 2025.

As part of the work, the data of more than 180 thousand people who participated in the UK-Biobank project were analyzed - this is a biomedical base containing detailed genetic and medical records of over 500 thousand volunteers. The age of the participants ranged from 27 to 73 years, the average age was 56.19 years. The gender distribution turned out to be almost equal - 46.2% were men.

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Фото: Freepik

Each of the 180,000 participants completed at least one nutrition questionnaire and did not suffer from depression and anxiety at the start of the study. A follow-up survey of about 11 years later found that 5,884 people (3.12%) developed depression and 6,445 (3.42%) developed anxiety disorder.

Scientists have found that people under the age of 60 who drink more than one serving of sugar-sweetened drink per day are 14% more likely to develop depression than those who do not consume such soda. In the case of drinks with sugar substitutes, the risk was even higher - 23%. In older adults over the age of 60, there was no apparent association between consumption of beverages sweetened with sugar or artificial sugar substitutes and poorer mental health.

At the same time, adults under the age of 60 who drank more than one serving of pure fruit or vegetable juice per day are 19% less likely to suffer from depression. And those who regularly drink coffee show a 12% reduction in the likelihood of depression^[1]

2021: Chinese man drank one and a half liters of cola in 10 minutes and died

In 2021, a resident of China drank one and a half liters of Coke in ten minutes, after which he became ill. The man died the next day - the efforts of doctors to save life were unsuccessful. The incident became known in May 2024.

According to the Daily Mail, the incident occurred with a 22-year-old young man, whose name has not been disclosed. The man went to hospital six hours after drinking a fizzy drink complaining of severe pain and bloating. He told medics he quickly drank 1.5 litres of Coke to "cool down in the heat."

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Фото: Unsplash

Doctors examined the patient and revealed pneumatosis in him - this is a rather rare condition, which is characterized by the appearance of cysts filled with gas in the lower part of the intestine. In addition, the young man had a rapid heart rate. Doctors recorded low blood pressure. 12 hours later, blood tests showed the man had severe liver damage.

The rapid consumption of the carbonated drink led to the accumulation of gas in his intestines, which, due to pressure, then leaked into the portal vein, one of the main blood vessels of the liver, the publication says.

Doctors diagnosed a young man with liver ischemia. It says medical staff "immediately" set about trying to release gas from the man's digestive system. He was also given special drugs designed to stabilize the body's functions.

At the same time, biochemist Nathan Davis from University College London said that the likelihood of death due to drunk soda is negligible. The cause of death of a young man, according to the expert, could be a bacterial infection, which provokes the accumulation of gases inside the body. These bacteria can form gas pockets, causing problems similar to those seen in a man.^[2]

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