Good Ol' Mountain Dew
At work, I get free sodas. I was partial to Mountain Dew, as I imagine many of you are, also. Since they're free, I lately find myself drinking 2 or more Mountain Dews per day. Now that Mountain Dew accounted for about half of the liquid entering my body, I decided to dew some Wikipediaing, just to see what I was dewing to myself.
Needless to say that the free Welch's Orchard fruit juice sitting across from the Mountain Dew is looking much more appealing now.
Ingredients
Carbonated Water
- About as neutral as regular water.
- There are a few additives that have little-to-no health side effects or benefits.
High Fructose Corn Syrup
- High fructose corn syrup is about half and half glucose and fructose.
- Used instead of real cane sugar because it's cheaper and has a longer shelf-life.
- Increases risk for cardiovascular disease.
- Causes obesity "in lab rats".
- High Fructose Corn Syrup is hotly debated. Here's the truth of the matter: it's not inherently a bad substance. It's simply so concentrated that it becomes easier to consume more diabetese inducing goodness per volume without feeling like you're getting full the way you would if you simply ate straight up sugar or fruits. And that's why it's dangerous when it's the basis sweetener for...everything.
Concentrated orange juice and other natural flavors and Citric acid
- Hooray for Vitamin C.
- Vitamin C forms Benzene (which can cause cancer) when combined with Sodium Benzoate. Let's just hope we don't accidentally eat or drink anything with Sodium Benzoate in it!
Sodium Benzoate
- Preserves Freshness by killing stuff.
- Works only in substances with a pH less than 3.6
- Hooray! Benzene!
Caffeine
- Is a drug
- Actually has benefits in moderation
- When overused, causes anxiety, insomnia, headaches, heart palpitations, ulcers, and acid reflux.
Sodium citrate
- Adds sourness
- Is a buffering agent (helps maintain pH)
- Is a laxative
Gum Arabic
- Not entirely sure why it's in my drink. For texture maybe?
Erythorbic acid
- Nothing interesting to note about this one. "Preserves Freshness". Okay.
Calcium Disodium EDTA
- This is an attempt to stop the sodium benzoate and citric acid reaction from forming benzene mentioned earlier. But seriously, there's something inherently troubling about drinking a concoction of poison and antidote in juuuuust the right proportion.
Brominated Vegetable Oil
- ...is vegetable oil with bromine bonded to it. Wouldn't have guessed.
- Bromine gives mountain dew its cloudy appearance.
- Brominated Vegetable Oil in large amounts causes hallucinations, seizures, depression, memory loss, and other great brain-related hilarities. If you drink 3 or 4 cans or 1 or 2 large bottles of Mountain Dew every day as part of your routine, you may start to have neurological symptoms after a few years.
Yellow 5
- Contrary to popular belief, Yellow 5 does not affect the size of genitalia.
- Yellow 5 is the least of your worries at this point.
Needless to say that the free Welch's Orchard fruit juice sitting across from the Mountain Dew is looking much more appealing now.
User Comments: 18
Post by Emairelhd on 10 Cado 7:3 - 10.3.68
Awesome article. A little frightening but its not like I drink Mt. Dew in large enough quantities for the humor to be lost in worry.
Post by sng123456311 on 11 Ineo 9:4 - 7.80.23
I haven't had a Mountain Dew in at least a year...
I should look up Dr Pepper it might be worse...
I should look up Dr Pepper it might be worse...
Post by pyromaniac77 on 11 Ineo 9:5 - 16.3.29
If you feel like editing it, erythorbic acid dramatically enhances nonheme-iron absorption.
Post by Never on 11 Ineo 10:0 - 4.46.88
Whenever I read this, it makes me want a Mountain Dew, badly.
Post by firaro on 11 Ineo 10:0 - 9.46.78
wow, i didn`t know it was that bad but something u left out: yellow die can make u sterile
Post by Never on 11 Ineo 10:1 - 5.50.53
No, it can't. There's no evidence to back that up, nor has there ever been.
Post by awesomeguy on 11 Ineo 10:1 - 6.4.77
^^[citation needed]
Post by pyromaniac77 on 11 Ineo 10:1 - 15.85.14
firaro said:
wow, i didn`t know it was that bad but something u left out: yellow die can make u sterile
Yup. He's right, everyone.
In other news, coca cola still contains cocaine, there are crocodiles in NYCs sewers, and pop rocks and coke make you explode.
Post by Never on 11 Ineo 10:3 - 5.21.41
Of course.
Post by Erik G. on 11 Ineo 10:5 - 8.79.19
i think its supposed to be mentos and coke
Post by ciacho0000 on 11 Ineo 10:5 - 12.74.93
no, pop rocks. Look it up.
Post by eofpi on 11 Ineo 11:0 - 0.84.56
It's Pop Rocks and any random cola, and Mentos and Diet Coke.
The MythBusters tested both of these.
The MythBusters tested both of these.
Post by hyperlight on 11 Ineo 11:1 - 7.23.63
Pop Rocks and coke would be the original candy/soda disaster.
Post by Hydrogen777 on 11 Cresco 1:5 - 12.59.79
Cool article. Apparently gum arabic is a "stabilizer".
Post by stubbythegreat on 11 Cresco 1:5 - 17.82.20
Which I read with Dew in hand...
Post by Pseudoboss on 11 Cresco 5:1 - 10.83.26
According to the wikipedia article, Gum Arabic reduces the surface tension of a liquid solvent, which makes it fizzier. I think that this is the reason for the stuff to be in many sodas.
Post by talonhand94 on 11 Cresco 5:5 - 15.27.4
Emairelhd said:
Awesome article. A little frightening but its not like I drink Mt. Dew in large enough quantities for the humor to be lost in worry.
I like to call Mt. Dew carbonated pee because of its yellow color and taste. That's right, Mt. Dew tastes like yellow.
Post by FallenAngel2000 on 12 Cresco 5:1 - 18.70.67
I looked up Brominated Vegetable Oil because I was drinking Mountain Dew (sad to say, I'm not as nerdy as I had hoped and didn't know that "Brominated" was a real word; or "Bromine," for that matter). Google led me to this site, and I casually drank my Dew while scrolling through the list of OH-MY-GOSH-s and EH-WHATEVER-s.
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