No, you didn’t read that headline wrong. Leave it to social media to highlight the most outrageous behaviors. This time it’s self-proclaimed soda addict Steve Kinyon, who stocks his garage with cases of soda to feed his addiction. (Here’s how to know if you’re drinking too much soda).
In one Instagram reel, he pulls out four cans of Diet Dr. Pepper before hitting the gym, then fills up a 100-ounce jug of soda on his way back. Later, he pours a few Frescas into a large thermos and adds some Torani flavoring. After having more soda while playing video games and going to the movies, he has drunk 614 ounces — almost 5 gallons — of soda in a day. Another reel shows him buying 30 12-packs of soda to “get through the weekend.”
Although Kinyon is seen drinking mostly sugar-free sodas, most of his soda choices (aside from the occasional Fresca) have caffeine. A Diet Dr. Pepper has 44 milligrams of caffeine, so even if some of those sodas are Frescas, Kinyon could be consuming more than 2,000 milligrams of caffeine a day. He also buys up Monster drinks while they’re on sale. According to the Food and Drug Administration, consuming 1,200 milligrams of caffeine in a short period can lead to seizures and even death. Not only that, but artificial sugars in all those sodas increase your risk of obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Additionally, consuming large amounts of fluid in a short amount of time can put you at risk for fluid intoxication.
The toxic effects of too much caffeine
The FDA says most healthy adults can consume up to 400 milligrams of caffeine a day without adverse effects. A cup of coffee has a little more than 100 milligrams, but energy drinks can fill your veins with almost 250 milligrams of caffeine. (Read about the long-term side effects of caffeine).
Consuming 1,000 milligrams — particularly in one sitting — can lead to toxic side effects, according to a 2018 article in Toxicology Reports. This toxicity can show up in your heart as an irregular heartbeat or a heart attack. You could experience vomiting, stomach pain, or diarrhea from too much caffeine. Caffeine toxicity can also lead to anxiety, hallucinations, or even coma. Metabolic changes such as low potassium levels or blood sugar spikes can result from too much caffeine. People trying to build more muscle might be negating their hard workouts because too much caffeine can lead to muscle breakdown.
According to a 2024 article in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 500 milligrams of caffeine circulating through your bloodstream at once can be potentially life-threatening. A 16-year-old healthy man died of a “caffeine-induced cardiac event causing a probable arrhythmia” after drinking a McDonald’s latte, a large Mountain Dew, and an energy drink within two hours (per Reuters).
Diet sodas put you at risk for obesity-related health conditions
Drinking mostly diet sodas every day might save you calories, but you aren’t doing your health any good. (Here’s what diet soda does to your teeth). According to the World Health Organization, non-sugar sweeteners not only won’t help you lose weight but they also increase your risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and early mortality.
The more diet sodas you drink, the higher the risk of poor health outcomes. A 2020 meta-analysis in the European Journal of Epidemiology pooled the results of 39 studies and found that each 250-milliliter soda (a little more than 8 ounces) you have every day increases your risk of health problems. Specifically, a small diet soda increases your risk of obesity by 21%, but drinking 16 ounces (a little more than a can) boosts that risk to 44%. Type 2 diabetes risk goes up by 15% and high blood pressure by 8% with each small diet soda.
If Kinyon drinks 614 ounces of diet soda (about 51 cans) a day like he claims to do, his risk for obesity is more than 15 times higher than someone who doesn’t drink soda. His risk for type 2 diabetes is 10 times higher, and he has five times the risk of high blood pressure. Drinking that much diet soda also increases his risk of death by four times.
Drinking too much fluid is toxic, too
Don’t think that Kinyon’s soda obsession can be healthy by cutting out the caffeine, artificial sweeteners, or sugar from soda. Drinking 5 gallons of water a day can also be harmful, and the fact that you’re drinking it in the form of soda can make it worse. The carbonation of soda eventually breaks down in your body adding to the total volume of water that you’re consuming, overwhelming your kidneys with excess fluid. This is known as water intoxication or hyponatremia. Your body can’t pee or sweat out the excess water quickly enough.
As a result, your cells become overhydrated without enough electrolytes to keep the fluid in balance. Pressure on your brain develops as the brain cells swell with fluid. This may make you feel dizzy, drowsy, or disoriented, but severe cases of water intoxication can lead to seizures, delirium, or death. For example, when a 5-year-old girl was forced to drink more than 2 liters of soda as punishment, she vomited and screamed in pain. After becoming paralyzed, she later died of acute fluid intoxication (via Time).