Too much coca-cola led to Natasha Harris’s death, authorities say
Photo/Mk2010 via wikicommons
Experts say a New Zealand woman’s “2-gallon-a-day” Coca-Cola habit probably contributed to her death. The report prompted the soft drink giant to note that even water can be deadly in excessive amounts.
Natasha Harris, 30, died of a heart attack in February of 2010. Now Fairfax Media reports that pathologist Dr. Dan Mornin testified at an inquiry Thursday that she probably suffered from hypokalemia, or low potassium, which he thinks was caused by her excessive consumption of Coke and overall poor nutrition.
New Zealand coroner David Crerar said that Ms Harris would not have died if it wasn’t for her dependence on Coke.
‘I found that, when all of the available evidence is considered, were it not for the consumption of very large quantities of Coke by Natasha Harris, it is unlikely that she would have died when she died and how she died,’ reported the Bussleton-Dunsborough Mail.
MSNBC noted that “Harris suffered from a myriad of medical conditions, including a racing heart and ‘absent teeth’, which her family say was caused from Coke consumption.”
Symptoms of hypokalemia can include abnormal heart rhythms, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
UPDATE: MSNBC link has been disabled, BBJ The Dispatch
