Nursing Voices

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Get Your Hands Off My Coke

Ladies, did you know that you are at higher risk for developing stress fractures because you drink cola, and that you should give it up?

Notice how the nurses are laughing. What, give up cola? Yeah, right!

According to researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, women who are worried about osteoporosis should switch to another beverage or limit their consumption of cola to occasional use. The suggestion that nurses give up their cola comes under the heading of “when hell freezes over.”

Trust me, things can get ugly if nurses don’t get their hit of high-octane fizzy sugar water. Super nurses lose their ability to outrun speeding bullets and outwork locomotives if they don’t get their cola. And you can forget about asking a nurse to jump over a tall building at a single bound. No one jumps like that without caffeine.

If researchers think women shouldn't drink cola, maybe one of them can develop a diet supplement that tastes like Coke.



Coke--it's the real thing.

41 Comments:

Blogger Deacon Barry said...

Coke comes a poor second to Irn Bru. That's the amber nectar that's kept Coke off the top spot in Scotland for a hundred years. The slogans are: Your other national drink. Made in Scotland - from girders!

5:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've been off coke ever since it stopped tasting like coke ... some time in the early to mid 70's, I think.

For that matter ... same goes for ginger ale ... now it's hard to tell it apart from 7 Up.

*sigh*

I think I must be getting old ... 0.o

10:20 PM  
Blogger The Curmudgeon said...

Switch to coffee? I drink about a gallon a day.

11:06 PM  
Blogger Mother Jones RN said...

Coffee, hmmmm, no thanks. There's no fizz, and I love bubbles.

Deacon, what's girders?

Hi Moof:

Older? No, dear, we're getting better!

11:57 PM  
Blogger Pennsylvania Independent said...

I prefer Pepsi

12:23 AM  
Blogger Deacon Barry said...

Girders are the steel beams that buildings are constructed with. Also the Forth Railway Bridge. Because Irn Bru contains a trace amount of iron - hence the name, which is a variant spelling of Iron Brew, done in order to avoid copyright problems. The slogan is a bit of advertiser's hyperbole.
Until recently, Scotland was the only country in the entire world where Coke was not the best selling soft drink. It's got there now alas, but it doesn't dominate the market. Irn Bru still runs it a close second. The recipe, like Coke's, is a closely guarded secret.

5:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes ma'am, I'm with you .... "when hell freezes over"! I like my caffeine cold and with bubbles, too. I know I'm not alone - Coke and Diet Coke are scarce commodities where I work. The floor stock and machines are ALWAYS empty!

btw ... your blog rocks! I love being able to relate to other nurses from other places.

6:15 PM  
Blogger Sara's Varolo Village said...

Is it just Coke or all sodas? There ain't much that won't kill these days.

Off to put some sweet and low in my tea.

Sara :)

1:53 AM  
Blogger Mid-western 007 said...

I have nothing witty to say about Coke, just wanted to let you know your blog is great, and hilarious. My mom is a nurse, and I'm sure she could relate.

1:59 PM  
Blogger High Power Rocketry said...

Great film...

2:14 PM  
Blogger Deb said...

I was once a nurse.

I found your blog like just about everyone else today (blogs of note). My first career was in nursing. My parents, who grew up poor with few opportunities in Appalachia, encouraged me in this direction. Security was important, and in a way it still is.

I'm now a college professor (an immigration scholar). I will always believe that the reason why I went into the academic field that I'm in was because of my experiences as a nurse. I worked in several inner city hospitals in Washington, DC, with (obviously) lots of immigrants.

Anyway, to respond to your post: I drink gallons of coffee every day. I started during my time as a night shift nurse, and although I rarely have to stay up all night these days, I just can't shake that habit.

Although I'm happy with my current career, there are times when I think back about my hospital days and night shift. When I was a girl I was mesmerized by hospitals and the mysteries they contained. I guess that's why we have so many hospital dramas.

I sometimes miss being a nurse, and consider going back for a while, maybe in the summer. Then I wonder if I've still got the right stuff to do the job as I once did. I don't know if I have the guts to go in to work and face illness and suffering like I once did.

Thanks for the blog. You (and all nurses) have my undying respect.

2:47 PM  
Blogger Therapist Mumbles said...

You can swtich to Diet Coke. It's good for my business becasue it helps produce anxiety attacks.

I'm sticking to Mountain Dew.


Hope your mother is recovering.

3:11 PM  
Blogger The Curmudgeon said...

I just saw you'd made the "Blogs of Note." Congratulations!

3:21 PM  
Blogger The Ramblin Irishman said...

Happened to see your was the blog of note so decided to check it out and glad I did. I am a Pepsi man myself but whatever it takes to keep nurses happy then I am for it. I have had two major surgeries in the last year and a half and I truly appreciated my nurses and think I might have some new friends. I asked a few why they were putting is so many hours and they would just smile at me. Dr. Holier Than Thou. I think I met him a couple of times. Great blog.

4:11 PM  
Blogger Heidi on Vashon said...

You rock for saying what needs to be said! My mom has a bad CC habit(acutally DC)and honestly I have to wonder if it's the root of many of her health problems: Thyroid, Low Potassium, Fatique, you name it.

Every now and again, there's nothing like it, but when it runs your life to make sure you have a half rack stashed in the fridge 24/7, you KNOW there's a problem.

Cheers!

4:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Blogs Of Note brought me here. Couldn't believe the blog's name, too funny. Read the whole thing, good stuff all the way through. Keep up the great work.

4:48 PM  
Blogger Lola2020 said...

You US nurses are too soft for words...whatever happened to fags and gin?....coke is what you sip in between.
Some weekends we would end at 9.30 saturday night, party all night, be back on the wards at 7.30 am Sunday and take it in turns to go into the sluice to vomit. Pro-plus, paracetamol and peppermint water kept us going until 3.30, when we left and prayed we wouldn't fall asleep on the tube and miss our stop.

4:55 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I tried to quit my Coke habit once and got terrible, terrible headaches. It was awhile before I was back to normal. Just love the stuff. I can always take a calcium supplement. Hang in there, nurses are to be revered. Great blog too. Saw it on blogs of note.

5:09 PM  
Blogger Jorge Gajardo Rojas said...

Very interesting your blog.Congratulations from Chile

5:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It could be worse...it could still have cocaine in it.

5:26 PM  
Blogger Kentucky Rain said...

I just posted two of the five songs I want played at my funeral. After reading this post I think I might like [hearing] "It's the Real Thing...."

P.S. Congrats on making Blogs of Note!

5:31 PM  
Blogger Capo said...

Nice topic, see my blog too
Capo

5:33 PM  
Blogger Cake Lady said...

I heard this morning that coke is introducing a cola that promotes weight loss. No Kidding! It has tons of caffiene and green tea and lord knows what else. It will be in 3 test markets tomorrow and starting the 1st of the year it will be available everywhere.

6:31 PM  
Blogger Mrs. Hairy Woman said...

I thought they actually put coke in the coke.But I maybe wrong. I seldom drink it.. it rots your teeth and your stomach lining.. Of course those who wish for that,they may continue to drink it. Hey I know what about some more aspartame while we are at it.. that is linked to downs syndrome in pregnant women. It's the "real thing".

6:44 PM  
Blogger nadie said...

hi, i`m a student nurse from mexico and your blog is very nice..

7:29 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

You said it about when hell freezes over! My elixir of choice is Pepsi. I'm totally addicted.. I'll just keep taking my MVI..

7:41 PM  
Blogger Oberon said...

........the art of peace is medicine for a sick world......morihei ueshiba.

8:05 PM  
Blogger The Flip Flop Girl said...

I don't drink much soda. When I do, it's a treat and I get gourmet soda with cane sugar. I would think nurses would be guzzling coffee. We keep hearing good and bad things about coffee. You never hear good things about Coke except in their commercials but they can't claim it's good for you.

Nurse Ratched, where do you stand on the issue of flip flops. Maybe we should work together to reach some agreement on this one. I've heard they are bad for your arches but they've been around forever and span so many cultures. I say everything in some moderation and, if not, screw it. It's not like you're going to die from wearing flip flops.

8:26 PM  
Blogger Sasha said...

Love your blog! Sending a shout out from the nurses on the left coast!

On the Coke, I used to live on the stuff, now I go for the hardcore energy drinks, more bang for your buck!

10:24 PM  
Blogger scalpel said...

Woo-hoo! Congrats on the blog of note.

I'm proud to say I knew ya before you made it big!

(I saw 29 comments and knew something was up lol)

10:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

love your blog. i'm passing the URL on to all the RN friends!

10:49 PM  
Blogger The Sanity Inspector said...

During a protracted stay in the hospital, I noticed that the nurses station kept getting deliveries of flowers from grateful families. I also noticed that what they *really* relished was gifts of cookies, brownies, cheese straws, and other such scooby snacks!

Congratulations on getting Blogger's spotlight on their front page, btw.

12:00 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I like your blog already :-))
eBook Compiler

1:54 AM  
Blogger Dr Bhatia said...

turn to yoga
no need for artificial stimulants then coz your brain produces enough of them itself :-)

2:26 AM  
Blogger Sister Mary Martha said...

Whatever keeps nurses going and makes them happy, God love them, pour it down their throats with a calcium supplement chaser.

2:57 AM  
Blogger Gill said...

Great Blog. And I don't recommend Irn Bru, it tastes distinctly bizarre in a way that can't be copmpared to anything else, like sucking a girder?? Amphetamines usually hit the spot- or so I am led to believe by a friend who was once a medical student.

7:52 AM  
Blogger NeoNurseChic said...

Well...I was a diet coke or Cherry coke addict - but I recently converted to Red Bull...it hasn't given me wings, but it has aborted a cluster headache attack or two! ;)

Congrats on being picked up by Blogs of Note. Never seen this list, but since you are being congratulated, I'll add mine! ;)

I got my osteopenia from things like prednisone. I think that's had more of an effect than the coke. hehe ;)

Hugz,
Carrie :)

2:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Whew! It's a good thing I drink Diet Pepsi! LOL! Can't be letting that COKE do me in! : D

1:14 AM  
Blogger Lea said...

Wow! 40 comments...you are a celebrity now. Congrats on the exposure of your blog.

10:05 AM  
Blogger Penny said...

I work midnights 7 on 7 off in a hospital lab and we have a little coffee cart at the entrance from the parking that I pass when I come in. Lately my favorite is the keith richards, its a mocha with 4 shots. It keeps me up and now that I have bozo the traveling tech (yes we have travellers also) pretending to help me (and doing a horrid job at it) lately that has been my "lunch" and "dinner". Luckily I only have 8 more nights with mr I wont draw blood, I wont learn how to do that because I'm only temporary, I wont look at or approve QC because I'm not a hospital employee and Mr this isn't in the computer (gee could it be because that is a downtime slip. dahhh) Yes my friend is caffeine, Ibuprofin and acetaminophen (because he gives me a headache)

10:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

coke is bad for you. i thought nurses would be more aware of that since this concerns a persons health. im studying to be a nurse and all researched about soda is amazing. i never drank soda much but after all the information i've found i'll never drink it again for usre.

2:02 PM  

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