Pepsi or Coke? Safe to drink on a Dive??

[NightRaven77]

I was reading my dive books on the way back from a trip when this thought crossed my mind.......


The boat we were on served carbonated drinks like Pepsi and Coke on it.......Ive heard of Lung expansion injurys before and wondered if I drank these soft drinks would they put me in any danger asceding to the service seeing that air expands when we acend???

Kinda dum but it demands a scientific explaination to it??

anyone got any ideas??
:boom:

 

[Dee]

I can't give you a scientific reason for it but carbonated drinks do not keep you hydrated. The best thing to drink is plain old water...lots of it. You lose moisture with every breath of dry compressed air. And if the weather is hot, that is compounded by sweating. And dehydration is a leading cause of DCS...or so it's been reported.

Some say sports drinks will replace minerals and electrolites but they are also full of sugar that only makes me thirsty...thirstier than normal.

No thanks....give me plain old water.

 

[Drew Sailbum]

Coming out of :hiding: hiding and admitting to my former life as a lab jockey here. Biochem, genetics and all that jazz, but no Med school, and no M.D. for me.

Uh, I'm thinking that the carbonation isn't as great of a concern as the caffeine in the drinks.

I assume that the carbon dioxide would dissolve into the the fluids in the stomach, and could ultimately be absorbed into the bloodstream. The chemistry would suggest that the CO2 would react with H2O and would be carried into the bloodstream as a HCO3- bicarbonate ion, but some would remain as CO2. Most CO2 produced by metabolism is carried this way to the lung. There, the equilibrium is upset as the CO2 dissolves across the cell membranes and into the lung airway. This drives the reaction of
HCO3- + H+ --> CO2 + H2O and the CO2 continues to be eliminated.

On the other hand, the caffeine in Coke or Pepsi can act as a diuretic which causes your body to eliminate fluid, with resultant dehydration as a possibility. Dehydration is an often cited risk factor for decompression sickness.

I can't think of a mechanism by which drinking a coke before a dive would contribute to a lung overpressurization injury. I'm not :dunce: the smartest guy here, so perhaps someone could think of a mechanism of action. I can't.

As for me, I'll have water.

 

[large_diver]

We were laughing during my AOW class back in 2000 -- we watched a video which showed divers during a SIT drinking coke on the dive boat as the narrator discussed the need to stay hydrated........

 

[Liquid]

The only problem is the cafeine. I know quite some people that drink almost only coke, and, somehow- survived without dehytrating. Why should drinking coke dehydrate?!
Drinking flavored drinks usualy makes the drinker more thirsty, and thus he drinks more. A person with 1.2 cans of coke will be more hydrated that one with 1 can of water.

As for the bubbles-Now that's another story. If you drink coke right before you dive (or in fact, if you do it during the dive) be ready for gass bursts out of your two outlets during ascend.

 

[VTWarrenG]

Liquid,

Caffiene is a diuretic, which makes you pee more than normal. Sodas DO dehydrate you -- or, shall we say, they hydrate you less than plain water.

Personally, I just love Gatorade. It's got some energy and minerals in it, it tastes EXCELLENT after a saltwater dive, it doesn't have carbonation or caffiene, and tastes just as good warm as cold.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure it hydrates pretty well, though some claim the sugar or salt causes them to be more thirsty. This is probably true, but it's not because the drink dehydrates you. Instead, the sugar or salt causes your body to retain more fluid -- making you, well, even more hydrated.

- Warren

 

[luvdiving]

Warren

I'm not much of a Gatorade drinker myself.

The US Army considers Gatorade a diuretic also. When Gatorade is issued to soldiers for re-hydration, it is diluted with 50% water. The soldiers drink the Gatorade for the taste and are re-hydrated by the water.:boom:

 

[VTWarrenG]

luvdiving,

Hmmm... I'll have to reconsider Gatorade then... thanks for the tips. I usually drink the "Frost" variety of gatorade, which seems to be rather diluted anyway, at least compared to the stronger Kool-Aid-like varieties. I need to read the label.

- Warren

 

[rcohn]

,

Sodas DO dehydrate you -- or, shall we say, they hydrate you less than plain water.

I just want to point out that there is a HUGE difference between something that dehydrates you (acts to remove water from the body) and something that is less (probably slightly less) efficient at hydrating you. With all the wild claims that are thrown about in different scuba discussions -- fruit juice dehydrates you, coffee dehydrates you, soda dehydrates you, it's hard to take the advice seriously.

Ralph

 

[Lost Yooper]

It is well known that caffiene directly causes dehydration and that dehydration can be a root factor in DCS. If you want to get hydrated effectively, drink water.

Mike