"A common preservative found in many soft drinks can cause serious cell damage and fatal illness, according to a UK study revealed last night.
Research indicates that sodium benzoate, an ingredient in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max, has the ability to deactivate parts of DNA and eventually cause diseases such as Parkinson's and cirrhosis of the liver.
Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology who has been studying sodium benzoate for eight years at Sheffield University, found that the preservative seriously damages living cells.
"These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether," Prof Piper told The Independent on Sunday.
The findings came from laboratory tests conducted with sodium benzoate on living yeast cells. Prof Piper was alarmed by the chemical's destructive impact on the "power station" of the cells known as the mitochondria.
"The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it — as happens in a number if diseased states — then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously," Prof Piper continued.
"There is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to damage to this DNA — Parkinson's and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing."
Sodium benzoate occurs in small amounts naturally in berries, but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks.
Sometimes listed as E211 in ingredients lists, the preservative is also found in Sprite, Sunkist, and Coke Zero among other drinks."
I don't necessarily believe that stuff but it's out there. FYI.
