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My local bicycle shop was unable to remove my seat post so they used a can of Coke poured down the bottom bracket to unseize the seat post.

The worrying thing is that we are consuming this beverage which has high acidity properties, enough that it will dissolve years of road grime and sweat. The real question is what are the effects on our body of consuming this product on a long term basis?

Over the years I have heard anecdotally that pouring coke down your drain unblocks it or using Coke to loosen wheel nuts on your car or remove the corrosion from battery terminals. While I dismissed this as an urban myth or one of those story we have against large multi national conglomerates, I was truly surprised there was some truth behind it.

A client of mine who worked for a big beverage company mentioned that the handling of one of the key ingredients of their soft drink, E211 or sodium benzoate used protective clothing when handling the drums that contained this chemical. It was treated as a hazardous material and required the necessary OH&S procedures in place to remove the risk of contamination and harm.

The ingredient in Coke is Phosphoric acid which is widely used in the food industry. Unlike fruit as oranges that are naturally acidic, the production of Phosphoric acid is a highly involved process that starts with mining the raw ingredient phosphate from phosphatic ores mined around the world.

A good friend of mind who survived cancer attributes one factor to reducing the amount of acidic food that he consumed. While there is much conjecture about whether a diet low in acidic foods stops or reduces the growth of cancer cells, it’s one treatment that is worth investigating further. Even now there are companies that are selling water that is high in alkaline that has the opposite effects of acid within the body, once again this is an area that requires further research and testing.

It’s been interesting 2 weeks with two major junk food brands going into receivership.

Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Baskin-Robbins ice cream both went into receivership. While the poor performance can be attributed to high occupancy and distribution costs, there has to be some correlation to doughnuts, ice cream and unhealthy food generally becoming unpopular.

Krispy Kreme commenced operations in Australia seven years ago to great fanfare with massive free doughnut promotions while Baskin-Robbins has been in Australia since 1991.

It’s interesting that other junk food franchises around the world have been introducing healthier menu items in response to the unpopularity of energy dense, fatty and sugary food.
McDonald’s for example have introduced salads and apples in an attempt to maintain sales levels in a world where obesity is a new threat to the human lifespan.

Like many processed food brands on the market, are using chemicals and cheap fillers is always an easier option to maximize the taste, great bulk in the product and to give an appealing appearance while having a reasonable shelf life.

I first remember seeing a Krispy Kreme franchise at the Singapore international Airport, I asked for the ingredients listings and was handed a cardboard box as there wasn’t any printed information available. I was absolutely amazed with the lack of the normal stuff you’d Aspect in a doughnut, eggs, flour, yeast, not 50 odd chemicals.

So with an ingredient listing as long as your arm including: Calcium Sulfate, Ammonium Sulfate, Calcium Dioxide, Monocalcium and Dicalcium Phosphate, Diammonium Phosphate, Sodium Stearoyl-2-Lactylate then maybe having these no longer available isn’t such a bad thing:))
P.S Don’t forget the trans fats contained within these products, something not necessarily volunteered on the nutritional panel.

Chemical free garlic verses imported garlic, well after going to the local farmers market last Saturday, I decided to do a test to determine whether the local chemical free garlic is better.

Well this image was taken today, exactly 1 week after purchasing the chemical free garlic and an imported variety from my local supermarket.

A big test of freshness and the state of the fruit and vegetables is how quickly it rots and deteriorates. Try this out with your onions as well as it starts to sprout some stalks if it is still living and hasn’t been killed by chemicals and pesticides.

Most imported Garlic contains Methyl Bromide, a very nasty chemical.

So while the chemical free garlic may not more expensive than the imported garlic, what price can you place on your health.

A new health scare erupted over soft drinks amid evidence they may cause serious cell damage.

Concerns centre on the safety of E211, known as sodium benzoate, a preservative used for decades by the global carbonated drinks industry. Sodium benzoate derives from benzoic acid. It occurs naturally in berries, but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks such as Pepsi Max, Fanta, Sprite and childrens cordials. It is also added to pickles and sauces.

Research from a British university suggests that sodium benzoate has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA.
The problem – more usually associated with ageing and alcohol abuse – can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.

The findings could have serious consequences for the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who consume fizzy drinks. They will also intensify the controversy about food additives, which have been linked to hyperactivity in children.

Sodium benzoate has already been the subject of concern about cancer because when mixed with the additive vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes benzene, a carcinogenic substance.

According to Foods Standards Australia’s website “In relation to other potential health consequences, there is currently no clinical evidence to suggest that high dietary intake of sulphites and benzoates can cause adverse effects in people.”