# Oh, Goody, It Looks Like Soft Drinks Can Cause Parkinson's **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 3, 2007, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622 "2007-06-03T23:44:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2007, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/1 "2007-06-03T23:44:49Z")
[Parkinson’s isn’t the only thing, however.](http://www.foodqualitynews.com/news/ng.asp?n=76895-sodium-benzoate-soft-drinks-health) > [@](#): > > Common preservative sodium benzoate, widely used in soft drinks and other foods, is again at the centre of health concerns after research emerged linking it to cell damage. > > News of the research, conducted by professor Peter Piper at the University of Sheffield, prompted prominent UK politician Norman Baker to call for an immediate inquiry into the safety of sodium benzoate in foods. > > Professor Piper’s research, which suggests that benzoate contributes to faster ageing and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, increases the pressure on soft drinks makers to find alternative ways to preserve their products. > [@](#): > > Last year, an investigation by [BeverageDaily.com](http://BeverageDaily.com) revealed soft drinks industry leaders had known the preservative may break down to form benzene, a potentially cancerous chemical, in drinks also containing ascorbic acid (vitamin C) or citric acid. Wonder if Dr Pepper will change their slogan to, “I’m a Pepper, he’s a Pepper, she’s a Pepper, too. Be a Pepper, drink Dr Pepper. Get lot’s of cancer.” ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2007, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/2 "2007-06-03T23:54:31Z")
Professor **Peter Piper**? :dubious: Must be time for another “What were their parents thinking?” thread. Nothing like being condemned to being asked whether he has picked his peck of pickled peppers. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/3 "2007-06-04T05:23:15Z")
You couldn’t tell from the article–I wonder if this is another case of, “Well, you would have to drink 5,000 cans of Diet Dr. Pepper every day for 20 years to ingest the levels of sodium benzoate we gave to the lab rats, but hey, \*\*they \*\* got cancer!” ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/4 "2007-06-04T05:30:20Z")
The research is faked. This is just Peter Piper’s revenge on society for the stupid jokes he’s had to endure all his life. Conveniently, both his parents love soft drinks too. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/5 "2007-06-04T05:38:03Z")
Can sodium benzoate breakdown to form benzene? yes. Is it a problem in the concentrations that it does? No. You encounter more risk from burning your food and people have been eating burnt food for centuries (PAH’s). ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/6 "2007-06-04T08:33:54Z")
[QUOTE=Christopher] Can sodium benzoate breakdown to form benzene? yes. Is it a problem in the concentrations that it does? No. You encounter more risk from burning your food and people have been eating burnt food for centuries (PAH’s). [/QUOTE] So basically, what you are saying is that Diet Dr. Pepper doesn’t have enough of the stuff in it to constitute a significant health hazard, and we can guzzle it to our hearts’ content, right? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/7 "2007-06-04T08:57:03Z")
[QUOTE=Christopher] Can sodium benzoate breakdown to form benzene? yes. Is it a problem in the concentrations that it does? No. You encounter more risk from burning your food and people have been eating burnt food for centuries (PAH’s). [/QUOTE] I think Piper’s theory is that sodium benzoate itself is hazardous, even before it has broken down to benzene. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/8 "2007-06-04T09:05:35Z")
In other news, the cure for sodium benzoate saturation - smoking. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/9 "2007-06-04T12:31:37Z")
[QUOTE=Sophistry and Illusion] You couldn’t tell from the article–I wonder if this is another case of, “Well, you would have to drink 5,000 cans of Diet Dr. Pepper every day for 20 years to ingest the levels of sodium benzoate we gave to the lab rats, but hey, \*\*they \*\* got cancer!” [/QUOTE] Or it could be one of those things that rats are particularly sensative to, but doesn’t bother us one bit. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/10 "2007-06-04T12:47:17Z")
I love the ironic possibility that preservatives cause aging. It would only be better if they also caused pregnancy. [obligatory Simpson’s reference\*] The toppings contain Sodium Benzoate. [/obligatory Simpson’s reference] \*In the episode, it was probably Potassium Benzoate… close enough ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/11 "2007-06-04T12:49:25Z")
I read this story on Digg, and I looked at my can of Coke, and couldn’t find sodium benzoate. All I could find was E338 which is phosphoric acid. This is Denmark, so if it’s really that bad then they could change it to what we have here, I’m sure. Here’s what I have got Water, Sugar, Carbon Dioxide, Coloring (E150d) Adic (E338) Aromas, Caffeine. So am I missing something or does Danish coke not have it? ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/12 "2007-06-04T13:04:29Z")
[QUOTE=Merkwurdigliebe] So am I missing something or does Danish coke not have it? [/QUOTE] Don’t know, but I just checked (American) cans of Fresca, Diet Coke, Diet Black Cherry Vanilla Coke, Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi and Diet Mountain Dew and they all have Potassium Benzoate. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/13 "2007-06-04T13:08:10Z")
[QUOTE=Garfield226] Don’t know, but I just checked (American) cans of Fresca, Diet Coke, Diet Black Cherry Vanilla Coke, Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi and Diet Mountain Dew and they all have Potassium Benzoate. [/QUOTE] I just checked a bottle of Cherry Coke and the ingredients are: Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Natural Flavors, Caffeine. No benzoates. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/14 "2007-06-04T13:16:00Z")
some have it and some don’t? I say conspiracy! That’s all this story needs. But wouldn’t it be awful to get to your deathbed and say “it was the pop that did me in”? Liquor looks better all the time! ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/15 "2007-06-04T13:47:10Z")
Sodium benzoate is in _diet_ sodas, you won’t find it in the sugary ones. It has some effect on the artificial sweetener, but I cannot recall what that effect is. People who expand this claim to “all” sodas are either so used to drinking diet only that they’ve blurred the distinction, or sloppy thinkers. And if you will please permit me: **Peter Piper predicted Parkinson’s in preserved Pepsi.** Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/16 "2007-06-04T13:59:03Z")
News Flash: Everything You Enjoy WILL KILL YOU DEAD. QUICK! RUN BACK INTO THE BUBBLE BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE! Or not. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/17 "2007-06-04T14:16:33Z")
Why must professor Peter Piper pick on Dr. Pepper? ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/18 "2007-06-04T14:27:14Z")
Christ almight, another reason not to drink diet soda. Causes cancer and parkinsons and…well what’s next? I’m glad I’ve never weaned myself from the real stuff. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/19 "2007-06-04T15:01:24Z")
> [@](#): > > So basically, what you are saying is that Diet Dr. Pepper doesn’t have enough of the stuff in it to constitute a significant health hazard, and we can guzzle it to our hearts’ content, right? As far as the benzene thing goes. If potassium benzoate is harmful itself, I am not an MD and can’t say. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622/20 "2007-06-08T18:37:35Z")
[QUOTE=Sailboat] Sodium benzoate is in _diet_ sodas, you won’t find it in the sugary ones. [/QUOTE] I stand corrected. Looked at a can of regular (non-diet) Dr. Pepper the other day and it has a benzoate (I forget whether it was sodium or potassium, however). Sailboat [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-goody-it-looks-like-soft-drinks-can-cause-parkinsons/406622.md?page=2)