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Comment by daneel_w | Hacker News Reader

From what I've understood, the phosphoric acid is also a problem for the gut flora. With regular daily intake it will apparently kill certain bacterial cultures over time, and with that comes a set of new problems.

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Unlikely. Phosphate is ubiquitous in the body. Your metabolism basically runs off phosphate ions. And your stomach is far more acidic than phosphoric acid.

If phosphate ions are present in abnormally high concentrations, could that cause issues for some species of bacteria? AFAIK our phosphate is usually contained within our cells, and I'm definitely not an expert on the digestive process so I'm not sure how phosphate gets absorbed, at what rate, or if any enzymes would mess with it

Phosphate is present in every cell of your body and in extracellular fluid. Your kidneys keep phosphate levels within a very narrow range.

Right, so what happens if the concentration is too high in the intestines? What is the absorption rate compared to the concentration in coke zero?

Would it take slamming 6 coke zeros in a row on an empty stomach to hit concentrations that would be bad for the previously mentioned species?

It won't be too high by the time it hits your intestines. It'll be absorbed and excreted in the urine.

You should get together with the doctor I fired. He doesn't know internal medicine, either.

Sounds like you did them a favor!

I hope he treats himself in his own clinic. >:)

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