Coke is high in sugar, caffine, phosphoric acid which is believed to cause bone disease, colon cancer etc. I heard a year ago that if a woman drinks a soft drink everyday for 2 years she can't become pregnant!! Whether it's true or not, there's something alarming. Why take a risk? It's okay to have it every now and then but if u drink everyday then it's very addicting and is a big health hazard!! Here is an excerpts I found: "What are the effects of drinking sugar-laden drinks on health? Researchers from the Childrenýs Hospital, Boston and the Harvard School of Public Health (The Lancet; Feb 2001) found that the chances of a child becoming obese increased by 1.6% for each additional can of or glass of sugar-sweetened soft drink they consumed above the daily average. Those children who drank soft drinks consumed almost 200 calories more per day than their counterparts who didnýt. According to one source, teenagers consume between 500 and 1000 calories per day from sugar-sweetened drinks. These are empty calories with no nutritional value at all. Even more disturbing is the fact that the body needs nutrients like vitamins and minerals to metabolise these drinks, and will use of the bodyýs store of these nutrients to do so. This means that excessive intake of these drinks not only contributes to obesity, but also depletes the body of vital nutrients. One major hazard of consuming pop rather than other soft drinks is that phosphorous is used to make pop fizzy. The body needs and can deal with normal amounts of phosphorous in the diet, but in excess, the phosphorous competes for the same receptor sites as calcium, a mineral that is essential for healthy bones, teeth and heart. This has major implications for growing children and teenagers, who just as they need calcium for the growth and development of bones are consuming excessive amounts of pop that will deplete their bodies of the very mineral their body needs. A survey by Grace Wyshak, professor at the Harvard School of Public Health found that teenage girls who drank pop were three times more likely to break bones than those who drank other drinks were. Adolescent girls who fail to get enough calcium will not build enough bone mass; as they age their bones will become thin and fragile, and so they are at high risk for osteoporosis and broken bones. Although I didnýt see any articles on the risks of drinking pop for older women, one can assume that women who drink pop may be more at risk for developing osteoporosis. So far osteoporosis has not been identified as a major health hazard for men. However, as increasing numbers of young men who are heavy consumers of pop reach adulthood, it will be interesting to see if more men develop osteoporosis. Low calorie drinks flavored with artificial sweeteners are, in some way even more of a health hazard than regular soft drinks. The body reacts to these sweeteners as if they were sugar triggering a cascade of hormonal responses, particularly insulin. Excess amounts of insulin are associated with the development of a variety of diseases, including adult onset diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, certain cancers and heart disease among others. Eliminating soft drinks of all kind is one step in the prevention of these illnesses. However, we also need to eat healthy foods that will maintain health and prevent illness."