A new study shows that a common ingredient in soda has the potential to mess up your mitochondria. No, it’s not the plot of Parasite Eve. From the Independent:

[An] expert in ageing at Sheffield University, who has been working on sodium benzoate since publishing a research paper in 1999, has decided to speak out about another danger. Professor Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology, tested the impact of sodium benzoate on living yeast cells in his laboratory. What he found alarmed him: the benzoate was damaging an important area of DNA in the “power station” of cells known as the mitochondria.

Ok, we know its hard to take news seriously when it comes from a guy named Peter Piper, but sodium benzoate is no joke. It’s in a lot of beverages. Coke, Pepsi, 7 Up, you name it. Constant readers will remember it as one half of the recent “sodium benzoate plus vitamin C = benzene = cancer” debacle. —MEGHANN MARCO

Caution: Some soft drinks may seriously harm your health [Independent] (Thanks, Tom!)
(Photo: decaf)

RELATED: Coca-Cola Settles Benzene Lawsuit

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