Abdominal pain from (too much) cola

Introduction

Abdominal pain or gastrointestinal complaints are often associated with diet. Different organs and structures of the digestive tract can be the cause of the pain. Since abdominal pain is very often non-specific, it can sometimes be difficult to quickly find a cause for the pain.

The cause of abdominal pain is not necessarily in the digestive tract. For example, kidney disease can also be a cause of diffuse abdominal pain. Therefore many possible causes should always be considered.

An important factor in the development of gastrointestinal complaints is nutrition. In the following we will now look at whether and to what extent cola and other soft drinks are associated with abdominal pain. There are many myths about the popular soft drink and most of them are not very true. Nevertheless, it is undisputed that cola, like many other sugary drinks, can have harmful consequences for health if consumed excessively and excessively.

Causes

Cola is available in a wide variety of variants, but in the common European variants the different products are similar in their composition. The main component of cola is water. In addition, it mainly contains phosphoric acid, carbon dioxide, sugar and caffeine.

The caffeine content varies sometimes considerably, but may not exceed the upper limit of 32mg/100 ml in Germany. There are many myths that say that cola is often harmful to health and sometimes even life-threatening. These are most likely based on the ingredients.

Basically, most myths can be dismissed as false and null and void. It is true, however, that cola in large quantities can have effects on health. High consumption of sugary soft drinks such as cola is usually associated with a generally unbalanced diet that is usually high in fat and carbohydrates.

This promotes overweight, which can lead to secondary diseases such as diabetes or reflux. A gastroesophageal reflux disease can be favoured by cola, as it contains caffeine. Caffeine is suspected to promote the secretion of gastrin in the stomach.

Gastrin then causes increased acid production. The consequences are a feeling of fullness after a meal as well as stomach ache and heartburn. Nausea and vomiting can also occur.

However, this is not certain. Furthermore, the consumption of large quantities of carbonated drinks, such as cola, can lead to flatulence and associated unpleasant stomach aches. The thesis that cola causes gastritis is not true, however.

It is rather a general lifestyle and nutritional style that can aggravate existing gastrointestinal diseases. A lack of exercise, unhealthy nutrition and a high consumption of sugary soft drinks such as cola thus favour overweight and secondary diseases. However, these are not causally attributable to the consumption of cola.

According to new research, however, cola is suspected of promoting kidney stones. However, the connection has not been sufficiently proven. Cola contains oxalic acid, which can promote the formation of oxalate stones.

Here too, however, it is a multifactorial process that leads to a manifest disease. Typical of kidney stones are severe, colicky pains in the upper abdomen radiating into the flanks. However, they can also be completely symptom-free for a long time.

In its composition, Cola Light differs from Cola by replacing sugar with sweeteners such as aspartame and acesulfame. Otherwise, the composition is largely the same. An excessive consumption of Cola Light can also promote a gastroesophageal reflux due to the caffeine it contains.

It also applies here that a high consumption of carbonated drinks can cause flatulence and a feeling of fullness. In general, however, there are no causal connections between the consumption of diet cola and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. However, sweeteners are suspected to also affect kidney function and thus promote the development of kidney stones.

However, it has not been proven from which dose this is the case. Here too, general eating habits and lifestyle with regard to health-promoting as well as health-damaging behaviour must be taken into account. A generally unhealthy diet, as well as a lack of exercise and harmful consumer goods such as alcohol or tobacco, in combination with each other, promote or aggravate many diseases.