Schweppes Tonic Water

Lately, I've been shining some light onto some bottled drinks' ingredients. Now, I'm doing Schweppes Tonic Water. The ingredients are as follows:

1. Carbonated Water
2. High Fructose Corn Syrup
3. Citric Acid
4. Natural Flavors
5. Sodium Benzoate (Preservative)
6. Quinine

Wow, that's worse for you then you would expect. Now here comes the fun part: were gonna go onto Wikipedia and actually find out what these are.

Citric Acid:

Citric acid is a weak organic acid, and it is a natural preservative and is also used to add an acidic, or sour, taste to foods and soft drinks. In biochemistry, it is important as an intermediate in the citric acid cycle and therefore occurs in the metabolism of virtually all living things. It can also be used as an environmentally benign cleaning agent.

Citric acid exists in greater than trace amounts in a variety of fruits and vegetables, most notably citrus fruits. Lemons and limes have particularly high concentrations of the acid; it can constitute as much as 8% of the dry weight of these fruits (1.44 and 1.38 grams per ounce of the juices, respectively^[3]). The concentrations of citric acid in citrus fruits range from .005 mol/L for oranges and grapefruits to .030 mol/L in lemons and limes. These values vary depending on the circumstances in which the fruit was grown.

Sodium Benzoate:

Sodium benzoate (E211) has the chemical formula NaC₆H₅CO₂. It is the sodium salt of benzoic acid and exists in this form when dissolved in water. It can be produced by reacting sodium hydroxide with benzoic acid.

Sodium benzoate is a preservative. It is bacteriostatic and fungistatic under acidic conditions. It is used most prevalently in acidic foods such as salad dressings (vinegar), carbonated drinks (carbonic acid), jams and fruit juices (citric acid), pickles (vinegar), and condiments. It is also found in alcohol-based mouthwash and silver polish^{[citation needed]}. It can also be found in cough syrups like Robitussin.^[1] Sodium benzoate is declared on a product label as 'sodium benzoate' or E211.

It is also used in fireworks as a fuel in whistle mix, a powder which emits a whistling noise when compressed into a tube and ignited^{[citation needed]}.

It is found naturally in cranberries, prunes, greengage plums, cinnamon, ripe cloves, and apples^{[citation needed]}. Concentration as a preservative is limited by the FDA in the U.S. to 0.1% by weight. The International Programme on Chemical Safety found no adverse effects in humans at doses of 647–825 mg/kg of body weight per day.^[2][3]

Cats have a significantly lower tolerance against benzoic acid and its salts than rats and mice.^[4] Sodium benzoate is, however, allowed as an animal food additive at up to 0.1%, according to AFCO's official publication.^[5]

Professor Piper of the University of Sheffield claims that sodium benzoate by itself can damage and inactivate vital parts of DNA in a cell's mitochondria. Mitochondria consume oxygen to generate ATP, the body's energy currency. If they are damaged due to disease, the cell malfunctions and may enter apoptosis. There are many illnesses now tied to DNA damage, including Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases, but above all, the aging process in general

Quinine:

Quinine (US: /ˈkwaɪnaɪn/, UK: /kwɪˈniːn, ˈkwɪniːn/) is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic (fever-reducing), antimalarial, analgesic (painkilling), and anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine.

Quinine was the first effective treatment for malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum, appearing in therapeutics in the 17th century. It remained the antimalarial drug of choice until the 1940s, when other drugs replaced it. Since then, many effective antimalarials have been introduced, although quinine is still used to treat the disease in certain critical situations. Quinine is available with a prescription in the United States and over-the-counter, in very small quantities, in tonic water. Quinine is also used to treat lupus, nocturnal leg cramps and arthritis, and there have been attempts (with limited success) to treat prion diseases.

Originally discovered by the Quechua Indians of Peru, the bark of the cinchona tree was first brought to Europe by the Jesuits.

It is usual for quinine in therapeutic doses to cause cinchonism; in rare cases, it may even cause death (usually by pulmonary edema). The development of mild cinchonism is not a reason for stopping or interrupting quinine therapy and the patient should be reassured. Blood glucose levels and electrolyte concentrations must be monitored when quinine is given by injection. The patient should ideally be in cardiac monitoring when the first quinine injection is given (these precautions are often unavailable in developing countries where malaria is endemic).

Cinchonism is much less common when quinine is given by mouth, but oral quinine is not well tolerated (quinine is exceedingly bitter and many patients will vomit after ingesting quinine tablets): Other drugs such as Fansidar (sulfadoxine (sulfonamide antibiotic) with pyrimethamine) or Malarone (proguanil with atovaquone) are often used when oral therapy is required. Blood glucose, electrolyte and cardiac monitoring are not necessary when quinine is given by mouth.

Quinine can cause paralysis if accidentally injected into a nerve. It is extremely toxic in overdose, and the advice of a poisons specialist should be sought immediately.

Quinine in some cases can lead to constipation^[13], erectile dysfunction, and a loose stool or in rare cases many loose stools.^{[citation needed]}

The New York Times Magazine described a case, presenting with fever, hypotension, and blood abnormalities mimicking septic shockFrom 1969 to 1992, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received 157 reports of health problems related to quinine use, including 23 which had resulted in death.^[18] In 1994, the FDA banned the use of over-the-counter (OTC) quinine as a treatment for nocturnal leg cramps. Pfizer Pharmaceuticals had been selling the brand name Legatrin for this purpose. Doctors may still prescribe quinine, but the FDA has ordered firms to stop marketing unapproved drug products containing quinine. As of 2008, pharmacists will not sell quinine even if the patient has used a prescription for it in the past.^{[citation needed]} The FDA is also cautioning consumers about off-label use of quinine to treat leg cramps. Quinine is approved for treatment of malaria, but is also commonly prescribed to treat leg cramps and similar conditions. Because malaria is life-threatening, the risks associated with quinine use are considered acceptable when used to treat that affliction

Quinine is a flavor component of tonic water and bitter lemon. According to tradition, the bitter taste of anti-malarial quinine tonic led British colonials in India to mix it with gin, thus creating the gin and tonic cocktail, which is still popular today in many parts of the world, especially the U.K., United States, southern Canada, parts of Australia and Lhasa, China.

Bark of Remijia contains 0.5 - 2 % of quinine. The bark is cheaper than bark of Cinchona and as it has an intense taste, it is used for making tonic water.^[20]

In some areas, non-medical use of quinine is regulated. For example, in the United States and in Germany, quinine is limited to between 83-85 parts per million.^[21]

In France, quinine is an ingredient of an apéritif known as Quinquina or "Cap Corse".

Because of its relatively constant and well-known fluorescence quantum yield, quinine is also used in photochemistry as a common fluorescence standard.

Quinine (and quinidine) are used as the chiral moiety for the ligands used in Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation.

Quinine is sometimes added to cocaine, heroin and others to "cut" the product and increase profits. Heroin dealers mostly those in Baltimore, Maryland have long known the benefit of mixing Quinine and heroin not only to increase profits but due to its synergistic effect's of intensifying the rush accompanied with injecting it. Heroin cut with quinine is referred to as Scramble; it has become attractive over the last decade or so among dealers and junkies alike as a cheaper alternative to raw heroin.^{[citation needed]}

In Canada, quinine is an ingredient in the carbonated chinotto beverage called Brio.

In the United Kingdom, Scottish company A.G. Barr's uses quinine as an ingredient in the carbonated and caffeinated beverage Irn-Bru.

In the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Egypt, quinine is an ingredient in Schweppes and other Indian tonic waters, at a concentration of 0.4 mg/l.^{[citation needed]}

In Uruguay and Argentina, quinine is an ingredient of a Pepsico Inc. Tonic water named Paso de los Toros.

In South Africa, quinine is an ingredient of a Clifton Instant Drink named Chikree produced by Tiger Food Brands.

As a treatment for Cryptocaryon irritans (commonly referred to as white spot, crypto or marine ich) infection of marine aquarium fish.

I'm freaked out!!!!

M