Cola (Regular)

Food · Drink · Food, Typed Supps

Liquid sugar with no fibre to slow it and no satiety to show for it.

Stage by stage

Acid exposure (Enamel): A pH near 2.5 erodes enamel directly, regardless of the sugar content.
No slowing (Rapid emptying): With no fibre or matrix, nothing modulates how fast the sugar arrives.
Glucose spike (Circulation): Around 12 g sugar per 100 g produces a fast glycaemic rise.
Fructose (Liver): The fructose half is handled hepatically, as from any free-sugar source.

Timing

With a meal the glycaemic rise is blunted somewhat. For teeth, sipping slowly is the worst pattern — it extends acid contact.

Time to effect

15–30 min: Glycaemic peak.
Years: Erosion and metabolic risk accrue with habitual intake.

Allergens

None of the fourteen major allergens. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP.

Cost band

Cheap — roughly £2 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 49
Carbohydrate: 12.3g
of which sugars: 12.3g
Fat: 0.2g
Sodium: 2mg

Food vs. supplement

The reason drinks track with weight gain more than sweets do is compensation: people reliably fail to eat less later to account for liquid calories, in a way they partly do for solid food.

Kitchen tip

If teeth are the concern, rinse with water afterwards and wait before brushing — enamel is transiently softened by the acid.

Common myth

“Switching to diet protects my teeth.” In reality: It removes the sugar that feeds cavity-forming bacteria, which is a real gain. But enamel erosion is caused by the phosphoric and carbonic acid — pH around 2.5 in both versions — so that half of the dental risk carries straight over to the diet can.

In the glossary

Absorption