Coca-Cola On Woman's Death: You Could Die From Drinking Too Much Water, Too

There’s not a doctor out there (we hope) who would say drinking two gallons of Coca-Cola a day is good for your health, but did it contribute to a New Zealand woman’s death? Coca-Cola would like to note that even too much water can be deadly. So, there’s that.

MSNBC says the 30-year-old stay-at-home mom of eight died of a heart attack in February 2010, and it was reported that she was likely suffering from hypokalemia, or low potassium, at the time.

Some symptoms of hypokalemia can include abnormal heart rhythms, which could be tied to her heart attack. A pathologist thought the hypokalemia could’ve been caused by her ginormous appetite for Coke on a daily basis, and toxic levels of caffeine may also have contributed.

Her partner testified that she drank between 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,” he said in a deposition. “She was addicted to Coke.”

On top of all that soda, she smoked around 30 cigarettes every day and didn’t eat much.

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.”

Cola habit behind death of 30-year-old New Zealand woman? [MSNBC]

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