Too much cola can cause hypokalemia

July 3, 2009

Jack Rutherford The Richmond Register Fri Jul 03, 2009, 04:57 PM EDT

Heavy cola drinkers beware. A new study in the International Journal of Clinical Practice has found that hypokalemia, an abnormally low potassium level, can occur in people who consume excessive amounts of cola during the day. Hypokalemia results in muscle weakness or spasms, fatigue, constipation and abnormal heart rhythms (in people with heart disease). In extreme instances, paralysis may occur.

The researchers conducted a review of people who drank more than two liters of cola a day. Two of the patients were pregnant women who had been admitted to the hospital with low potassium levels. One was a 21-year old woman who drank between two and three liters of cola a day and complained of fatigue, loss of appetite and vomiting. A subsequent electrocardiogram showed that she had a heart blockage.

The second case involved a pregnant woman who had been consuming up to seven liters of cola a day for approximately 10 months. The patient had low potassium and was suffering from muscular weakness. Both patients made a rapid and full recovery after they stopped drinking cola and took a potassium supplement.

“We are consuming more soft drinks than ever before, and a number of health issues have already been identified including tooth problems, bone demineralization and the development of metabolic syndrome and diabetes,” said Dr. Moses Elisaf of the University of Ioannina in Greece and lead author of the study.

Now there’s increasing evidence that hypokalemia can be added to the list.

Elisaf said the three most common ingredients in cola — glucose, fructose, and caffeine — can lead to hypokalemia.

“The individual role of each of these ingredients in the pathophysiology of cola-induced hypokalemia has not been determined and may vary in different patients,” Elisaf stated in a news release. “However, in most of the cases we looked at for our review, caffeine intoxication was thought to play the most important role. This has been borne out by case studies that focus on other products that contain high levels of caffeine but no glucose or fructose.”

“Caffeine-free cola products can also cause hypokalemia because the fructose they contain can cause diarrhea,” Elisaf cautioned.

For more information on hypokalemia, refer to the Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia.

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