Did Two Gallon a Day Coca-Cola Habit Contribute to Woman's Death?

[DiamondSmiles]

My 18 year old niece has been drinking at least two 2L bottles of Mountain Dew for many years. The only thing she got was rotten teeth due to not brushing her teeth at night. She sleeps with a bottle next to her bed. The woman below had a bunch of bad habits.


New Zealand Herald via AP

Natasha Harris, stay-at-home mother of eight, died of a heart attack in February 2010. Experts say the New Zealand woman's two-gallon-a-day Coca-Cola habit probably contributed to her death, a conclusion that led the soft-drink giant to note that even water can be deadly in excessive amounts.

By The Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- Experts say a New Zealand woman's 2-gallon-a-day Coca-Cola habit probably contributed to her death, a conclusion that led the soft-drink giant to note that even water can be deadly in excessive amounts.

Natasha Harris, a 30-year-old, stay-at-home mother of eight from Invercargill, died of a heart attack in February 2010. Fairfax Media reported that a pathologist, Dr. Dan Mornin, testified at an inquest Thursday that she probably suffered from hypokalemia, or low potassium, which he thinks was caused by her excessive consumption of Coke and overall poor nutrition.

Symptoms of hypokalemia can include abnormal heart rhythms, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Mornin said that toxic levels of caffeine, a stimulant found in Coke, also may have contributed to her death, according to Fairfax.

Harris' partner, Chris Hodgkinson, testified that Harris drank between 8 and 10 liters, (2.1 and 2.6 gallons), of regular Coke every day.

"The first thing she would do in the morning was to have a drink of Coke beside her bed and the last thing she would do at night was have a drink of Coke," Hodgkinson said in a deposition. "She was addicted to Coke."

Hodgkinson also said Harris ate little and smoked about 30 cigarettes a day. In the months before her death, he said, Harris experienced blood pressure problems and lacked energy.

He said that on the morning of her death, Harris helped get her children ready for school before slumping against a wall. He called emergency services and tried mouth-to-mouth resuscitation but couldn't revive her.

Another pathologist, Dr. Martin Sage, said in a deposition that "it is certainly well demonstrated that excessive long or short term cola ingestion can be dramatically symptomatic, and there are strong hypothetical grounds for this becoming fatal in individual cases."

Inquests such as this are sometimes held for unusual or unexplained deaths in New Zealand, and can help shape future health policies. With the evidence in the case now complete, the coroner's office will compile and issue a final report into the death.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Lisa Te Morenga, a nutritionist at the University of Otago, said excessive consumption of any type of liquid in a cool climate would be likely to play havoc with the body's natural systems and balance.

Karen Thompson, a spokeswoman for Coca-Cola Oceania, said in a statement that its products are safe.

"We concur with the information shared by the coroner's office that the grossly excessive ingestion of any food product, including water, over a short period of time with the inadequate consumption of essential nutrients, and the failure to seek appropriate medical intervention when needed, can be dramatically symptomatic."

You may view photo of woman here:

http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/20...and-woman?lite

[chawk610]

I think it didn't help... Jesus... I feel bad for your niece. Rotten teeth at 18. I bet her kindneys and liver are about shot as well.

[Azimuth]

All those empty calories were replacing the nutrition she should have been getting from good food, and I'm sure the smoking didn't help either. So I guess the report was right.

I thought I drank a lot of Pepsi, and I can't even finish a 20oz bottle a day. 8 liters?

[Blewvane]

Shit, and i thought my 2 cans a day was bad.

[rob666]

Fucking pop is as bad as booze...... Sugar & water.
4 liters a day? Damm.........

[Nite]

that bitches family is running around the media down here trying to extort money from coca-cola

you would think that when your teeth fall out something is amiss

but this is life today
indulge to the point of excess its some companies fault isn't it?

fuck personal responsibility
stupid cunt she was,has done the gene pool a favour

[Bletch]

Diet Coke is not recommended in such doses, they say it could cause cancer.
Anyway, I feel sorry for your niece. I hope she will be able to stop drinking so much Coke and fix her teeth.

[xstunt1ngx]

Lol that's like asking if smoking 20 cigarettes a day contributed to getting lung cancer. Stupid family.

[mwt77932]

I used to drink about 5 or 6 cans of Coke a day. When I cut it out I had a headache for a week from the caffeine withdrawal.

[ices]

Does anyone else here get serious belching after having coke/diet coke? I dont drink the stuff as it doesn't appal to me but when I did I just couldn't stop burping.

Coca Cola is right to say water is dangerous ine xcessive amounts but then again, everything is.

The woman is just retarded to have that much.

Edit: Also, how much did those habits of hers cost per day? Gotta have a lot of cash for that shit.