A question came up today at work and I was wondering if any 'dopers know the answer. Basically, if I drink a Coke immediately or if I drink that same Coke over the course of a day, the total calorie count should be equal. However, is the effect on the body the same? If you drink (or eat) something over the course of a day as opposed to eating or drinking it at one sitting rapidly, does the body process it differently? The person asking the question wanted to know if she would get more, well, fat if she drank a Coke down immediately than if she drank that single Coke over the time she was at work. My thought was it would be the same, but I’m not really sure to be honest. Anyone know?
Caloric wise - it is the same, but there are theories that would suggest that it would cause your blood sugar to rise - which in turn may cause you to be more hungry - things like that. Or that the sweetness of the drink in and of itself causes you to drink more of it.
But from a strictly energy standpoint - it is the same.
One thought…if you slam the whole thing…blood sugar rises and past a certain point starts getting stored as fat. If you nursed it all day, you will not spike your blood sugar levels and are more “burning it as you go”. Exact numbers…I cant do for you but there is a difference.
Your body has a finite amount of resources with which to respond to increases of glucose in the bloodstream. If you’re just drinking a Coke, your body can handle it, so over the course of the day, there’s no net difference in calories or blood sugars, aside from a temporary spike in blood sugar after you drink the whole thing. You’d get the same spike in blood sugars if you had a sandwich or a bunch of french fries.
However, if you have a sandwich AND a bunch of french fries AND a Coke, you get a HUGE spike in calories which can have other, long-term effects in your body’s ability to deal with various stuff.
I asked a similar question, but about fat: How much fat/calories can the body absorb at one go? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board Can you overwhelm your body’s digestive capability and have a “free pass” on how much calories you absorb?
On top of the sugar you’d be getting a lot of caffeine also. There’s probably not a linear relationship between caffeine blood level and metabolic rate, so you might burn more calories by having a high level of caffeine for a short time. However it could just be a gentle curve and make no perceptible difference. On top of that everything else you do during the day is affecting your metabolism.
It’s probably worse on your teeth the longer you take to drink it, since you’re keeping your mouth at a constantly lower pH.
Your body is extremely resilient. The way you drink a single coke isn’t going to make much of a difference at all.
The only difference I can image is more behavioral rather than biological; if you drink the same bottle over the course of a day, then you more likely to drink just one bottle. If you chug one bottle, you’re more likely to pick up another and get twice the calories that way. Drinking or eating slowly helps you feel satiated (full) after a small amount of food.