Here’s a curious article called What Happens To Your Body If You Drink A Coke Right Now? The descriptions of metabolic processes lack context, so it’s unclear how normal or abnormal the body’s reaction to Coke is. Since I lack expertise in this area, I can’t offer an informed opinion on the effects of Coke vs. a Krispy Kreme donut or a spoonful of peanut butter. However, I don’t believe that effects of any Coke-like beverage are any too good.
I pretty much stopped drinking the stuff a few years ago. When asked why, I usually respond that what amounts to sugar water no longer appeals to me. (It still tastes good to me, but it doesn’t help me to eat healthily.) And as the article says, buried down in the footnote:
Coke itself is not the enemy, here. It’s the dynamic combo of massive sugar doses combined with caffeine and phosphoric acid — things found in almost all soda.
I admit, though, that it’s hard to escape soft drinks in one’s diet. They’re bundled with meals, mixed with alcohol, and closely associated with a variety of activities and behaviors. For instance, I can hardly bring myself to see a movie in a theater without also getting a popcorn/soft drink combo. Those combos usually come with 32-oz. drinks and free refills. No wonder why everyone queues outside the restrooms after the movie lets out.
The Spiral Staircase 
Some of us feel uncomfortable with 32 oz in our body and rarely make it through the end of a movie. If it’s a three-hour “Schindler’s List” or “X” (Not positive Spike Lee dropped the name Malcolm for the film, but I did see tie-in merchandise presented that way), great bio-pix either way–I forgo the soda, and discover it’s no big sacrifice. If the movie bores me, though, I do like refreshment through-out.
brutus,
this is not an article. it is a blog entry. you can see from the responses that there are many questionable claims in the blog entry. some of the responses addressed my questions about the ingredients in diet drinks, which don’t contain natural sugar and are supposed to contain fewer calories, in fact, 0 calories, but at what price at the hands of artificial sweeteners and so forth? do these chemicals preserve the body longer after it expires?
i love the taste of coke, root beer, sunkist. but i try not to drink them every day. i get tired of drinking sweet juices, which have almost as much sugar. water is always the best source, but sometimes unsweetened ice tea is nice, too.