Is it true that Ivan tea is more useful than Coca-Cola?

On June 20, as part of the plenary session of the Forum “Strong Ideas for the New Age”, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ivan tea “probably more useful than some kind of Coca-Cola. There is one chemistry. " The entrepreneur who initiated the discussion also noted that the drink “increases health”. We decided to verify whether international scientific data are consistent with the position of the head of state and a statement by the chairman of the Union of Manufacturers Ivan-Ti.

According to numerous articles about the advantages of Ivana, a plant healthy For a person, literally from the moment of birth - his decoction facilitates the birth fights of the mother, and with leaves you can process the umbilical wound of the child. During puberty, Ivan Ch. Helps Cure acne and Eliminates Pain during menstruation. Drink attributed The ability to "accelerate fat metabolism in the body, reduce cholesterol and reduce appetite." The plant is useful literally for all body systems: Cardiovascular ("Restores the cells of coronary vessels and expands them"), digestive (“Heals colitis, intestinal inflammation and diarrhea due to the tannins and mucus that tighten and nourish inflamed dry tissues”), urogenital (“Recommended for diseases of the prostate and ureters, and is also used as a supporting agent during the rehabilitation period after surgery on the prostate gland,” as well as “plant Applied with gonorrhea, syphilis "), respiratory (at asthma And bronchitis), nervous (“It is recommended to use water infusion or tea at night to combat insomnia, headache, neurosis, psycho -emotional stress, including supplied depression for three weeks”). Plant attributed anti -cancer, choleretic, antihistamine, anti -reinforced concrete action. Reportedthat the substances included in its composition remove toxins and toxins (more about the fact that there are no slags, we already They wrote). His Recommend Drink pregnant and lactating women, as well as children during active growth.

To begin with, we note the fact that, although we are talking about two drinks, they are not quite correct to compare them. Original Coca-Cola recipe Represents a commercial secret. According to the latest open data, the drink includes coca extract, citric acid, caffeine, sugar, lime juice, vanilla, caramel, alcohol, orange, lemon, nutmeg, norly oil, coriander, cinnamon. There is no single recipe for Ivan-one-to obtain a decoction, it is necessary to at least use water and Ivan tea. However, speech Walked About the industrial production of the drink, which means that various sweeteners, preservatives and stabilizers will most likely be added to its composition. But we will not take them into account in this material, and for a uniformity we will consider a drink from Ivan-tea exclusively as a water infusion of the corresponding plant.

On PubMed (the largest search engine in biomedical research) placed A total of 13 works that mention the clicks of narrow-leaved (Chamiennerion Angustifolium), known as the people like Ivan tea. Coca-Cola It appears In 874 research. Kokrainovskaya library (key source of information in the field of evidence -based medicine) does not contain not a single article about Ivan Chai, Coca-Cole Dedicated 74 material. Of the 13 scientific papers about Ivan-Chai, the plant is examined from a botanical point of view (the distribution area, preferred soil composition, etc.) in only five, the rest are studied by the properties of the plant itself. Only one thing study It applies to practical use-the drug from Ivanai to some extent protected mice from radiation irradiation. There are no data on the use of plants for medicinal purposes for people. At the same time, there is an article that studies a drink prepared from the fermented leaves of the plant. Scientists recognize Its safe.

Russian media also Reportedthat in the 70s of the XX century, a Hanerol substance received from Ivan-Ti, which was supposed to have an anti-cancer effect. However, during the experiments this property was not proven, in the modern reference of drugs of such a substance No. Thus, Ivan tea is a popular drug in herbal medicine, which does not have any proven medicinal effect and, accordingly, does not improve health.

Interestingly, Coca-Cola has a medical effect. A drink with an efficiency of more than 90% dissolves Phytobesoars (foreign bodies in the stomach made of partially digested and undigested plant fibers) and allows the patient to avoid surgical intervention. Successful Coca-Cola-therapy Dedicated 115 scientific works.

At the same time, Coca-Cola, like other drinks with sweeteners, is extremely caloric and Contains A large amount of sugar. The use of sweet drinks leads to increase weights, Raises The risk of diabetes of the second type and Cardiovascular diseases. More than 30 years of cohort study It also showed that regular consumption of sweet drinks is associated with an increased risk of premature death. Although by quantity Caloria and sugar in the composition of Coca-Cola are not as harmful as natural orange juice, it is much less useful for the body than tea brewed at home. However, cold bottled tea (for example, Lipton or Nestea) contains artificial sweeteners and is almost as harmful in terms of sugar and calories as Coca-Cola. 

Moreover, the assertion is that there is one chemistry in Coca-Cola, is an example of the so-called Hemophobia, irrational fear of chemical compounds. Usually it is expressed in prejudice against industrialized products and the preference of the entire “natural” and “organic”. In fact, everything in the world consists of chemical elements, so being afraid of them is absolutely unjustified.

We will deal with the chemical compositions of drinks. Ivan-tea Contains phosphorus, potassium, manganese, calcium, titanium, zinc, sodium, copper, magnesium, selenium, iron, molybdenum, boron, vitamins of group B, vitamin A, C and PP, as well as organic acids. Coca-Cola also Contains Chemical elements and compounds: calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper, selenium and organic acids, including the composition of essential oils in syrup. That is, both Ivan-tea and Coca-Cola consist of “one chemistry”, while in the world there is no “non-chemical” substances in principle.

Thus, the chairman of the Union of manufacturers, Ivan-one, absolutely unreasonably attributes healing properties to the drink. Although the plant was found in herbal medicine, not a single proven drug effect was found. It can be said that Vladimir Putin is relative to the right, because herbal tea is generally more useful than sweet carbonated drinks, but only until it comes to industrial production of bottled teas. They usually contain only a little less sugar than in Coca-Cola.

Image on the cover: Messir, CC by-SA 4.0Via Wikimedia Commons

Half truth

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