Is it true that fireweed is healthier than Coca-Cola?

On June 20, during the plenary session of the forum “Strong Ideas for New Times,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said that fireweed is “certainly healthier than some Coca-Cola. There’s just chemistry there.” The entrepreneur who initiated the discussion also noted that the drink “increases health.” We decided to check whether international scientific data is consistent with the position of the head of state and the statement of the chairman of the Union of Ivan Tea Producers.

According to numerous articles about the benefits of fireweed, the plant healthy for a person literally from the moment of birth - its decoction eases the mother’s labor pains, and the leaves can be used to treat the child’s umbilical wound. During puberty, fireweed helps cure acne and eliminates pain during menstruation. Drink attributed to the ability to “accelerate fat metabolism in the body, reduce cholesterol levels and reduce appetite.” The plant is useful for literally all body systems: cardiovascular (“restores the cells of the coronary vessels and expands them”), digestive (“treats colitis, intestinal inflammation and diarrhea thanks to tannins and mucus, which tighten and nourish inflamed dry tissues”), urogenital (“recommended for diseases of the prostate and ureters, and is also used as a supportive agent during the rehabilitation period after prostate surgery,” as well as “plant applies for gonorrhea, syphilis"), respiratory (for asthma And bronchitis), nervous (“it is recommended to drink a water infusion or tea at night to combat insomnia, headaches, neuroses, psycho-emotional stress, including post-alcohol depression for three weeks”). To the plant attributed to anti-cancer, choleretic, antihistamine, decongestant action. Reportedthat the substances included in its composition remove waste and toxins (we have already read more about the fact that waste does not exist wrote). His recommend drink for pregnant and lactating women, as well as children during the period of active growth.

To begin with, let us note the fact that, although we are talking about two drinks, it is not entirely correct to compare them. Original Coca-Cola recipe represents constitutes a trade secret. According to the latest open data, the drink contains coca extract, citric acid, caffeine, sugar, lime juice, vanilla, caramel, alcohol, orange, lemon, nutmeg, neroli oil, coriander, cinnamon. There is no single recipe for fireweed - to obtain a decoction you must at least use water and fireweed itself. However, speech was walking 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 the sake of uniformity we will consider the drink from fireweed tea exclusively as an aqueous infusion of the corresponding plant.

On PubMed (the largest search engine for biomedical research) posted only 13 works mentioning fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium), popularly known as fireweed. Coca-Cola appears in 874 studies. Cochrane Library (a key source of information in the field of evidence-based medicine) does not contain not a single article about Ivan tea, Coca-Cola dedicated 74 materials. Of the 13 scientific works about fireweed, the plant is studied from a botanical point of view (distribution area, preferred soil composition, etc.) only in five, the rest study the properties of the plant itself. Only one thing study Regarding practical use, the preparation from fireweed tea protected mice to some extent from radiation exposure. There is no data on the use of the plant for medicinal purposes in humans. That being said, there is an article studying a drink made from fermented leaves of the plant. Scientists admit its safe.

Russian media also reportedthat in the 70s of the 20th century, the substance hanerol was obtained from fireweed, which was supposed to have an anti-cancer effect. However, this property was not proven during experiments; in the modern reference book of medicines for such a substance No. Thus, fireweed is a popular drug in herbal medicine, but it does not have any proven medicinal effect and, accordingly, does not improve health.

Interestingly, Coca-Cola has a documented therapeutic effect. A drink with more than 90% efficiency dissolves phytobezoars (foreign bodies in the stomach from partially digested and undigested plant fibers) and allows the patient to avoid surgical intervention. Successful Coca-Cola therapy dedicated 115 scientific papers.

At the same time, Coca-Cola, like other drinks with sweeteners, is extremely high in calories and contains large amounts of sugar. Drinking sugary drinks leads to increase weight, increases risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. More than 30-year cohort study also showed that regular consumption of sugary drinks is associated with an increased risk of premature death. Although quantity calories and sugar in Coca-Cola are not as harmful as natural orange juice; it is much less beneficial for the body than tea brewed at home. However, bottled iced tea (such as Lipton or Nestea) contains artificial sweeteners and is almost as unhealthy as Coca-Cola in terms of sugar and calories. 

At the same time, the statement that Coca-Cola contains only one chemistry is an example of the so-called chemophobia, irrational fear of chemical compounds. Usually it is expressed in a prejudice against industrially produced products and a preference for everything “natural” and “organic”. In fact, everything in the world consists of chemical elements, so it is absolutely unjustified to be afraid of them.

Let's look at the chemical composition of drinks. Ivan-tea contains phosphorus, potassium, manganese, calcium, titanium, zinc, sodium, copper, magnesium, selenium, iron, molybdenum, boron, B vitamins, 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 those included in the composition of essential oils in syrup. That is, both fireweed and Coca-Cola consist of “the same chemistry,” while in principle there are no “non-chemical” substances in the world.

Thus, the chairman of the Union of Ivan Tea Producers completely unreasonably attributes healing properties to the drink. Although the plant is popular in herbal medicine, no proven medicinal effect has been found. At the same time, we can say that Vladimir Putin is relatively right, because herbal tea is generally healthier than sweet carbonated drinks, but only until we are talking about the industrial production of bottled teas. They usually contain only slightly less sugar than Coca-Cola.

Cover image: Messir, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Half-truth

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