eg the water thing. dehydration certainly has a very noticeable effect on concentration. maybe you can live without water if your diet includes large amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables. a diet of burgers and fries will not come close to providing enough water. underhydrating does have harmful effects, overhydrating requires very large quantities of water. if you drink 8 glasses of water a day, you will avoid dehydration but wont come close to consuming too much water. it is therefore a good rule of thumb. the figures provided can only apply to a sedentary lifestyle, if you do any kind of exercise at all 8 glasses seems reasonable. anyone who has done any kind of physical training will know that 8 glasses doesnt even come close.
as for the phosphoric acid, they imply that because the concentration is so low, it will have negligible effects. rubbish. coke is not only an excellent degreaser but will even eat through circuit board components and insulators quite happily. I have replaced numerous console boards and modules and the culprit has almost always been - cans of coke spilt on the desk. im not a medic so cant say how it effects the GU system though.
You didn't actually
read the articles, did you?
Quoting (bold mine):
"Additionally, the idea that one must specifically drink
water because the diuretic effects of caffeinated drinks such as coffee, tea and soda actually produce a net loss of fluid appears to be erroneous. The average person retains about half to two-thirds the amount of fluid taken in by consuming these types of beverages, and those who regularly consume caffeinated drinks retain even more."
<snip>
"'We found no significant differences at all,' says nutritionist Ann Grandjean, the study's lead author.
'The purpose of the study was to find out if caffeine is dehydrating in healthy people who are drinking normal amounts of it. It is not."
As for your acid theory:
Quoting (bold mine):
"Coca-Cola does contain small amounts of citric acid and phosphoric acid; however, all the insinuations about the dangers of these acids might pose to people who drink Coca-Cola ignore the simple concept familiar to any first-year chemistry student: concentration.
Coca-Cola contains less citric acid than does orange juice, and the concentration of phosphoric acid in Coke is far too small (a mere 11 to 13 grams per gallons of syrup, or about 0.20 to 0.30 percent of the total formula) to dissolve a steak, a tooth, or a nail overnight . . . Besides,
the gastric acid in your stomach is much stronger than any of the acids in Coca-Cola, so the Coca-Cola is harmless."
In other words - Soda is harmless, despite what the alarmists are trying to sell you.
Looking to cut calories so you do not become overweight? By all means, drink diet sodas. But don't believe the hype the scaremongers are pedaling.
