He didn’t think much of it at first — just a sweet sip here and there, a way to stay awake through long work shifts. But over time, those sips became a full-blown obsession. By the time doctors intervened, the unnamed man was drinking over seven liters of soda every single day, for more than a decade. The horrifying toll it took on his body is now being revealed in full.
According to a report published by UNILAD, the man — known only as “BA” to protect his privacy — suffered one of the most extreme documented cases of long-term soda addiction. His daily intake amounted to nearly 30 cans of sugary soda, delivering upwards of 2,900 calories and over 800 grams of sugar each day.
“This wasn’t just a bad habit,” said Dr. Lena Harrow, a nephrologist who reviewed BA’s case during a recent Lancet symposium. “It was a form of self-poisoning — slow, progressive, and catastrophic.”
His condition spiraled out of control when he collapsed in his home and was rushed to a hospital in critical condition. Upon arrival, BA was found to be in a diabetic coma, with blood sugar levels more than 10 times the healthy threshold. His potassium levels were dangerously low, triggering hypokalemia — a disorder that can cause muscle breakdown, heart arrhythmias, and paralysis.
Lab tests showed signs of rhabdomyolysis, a severe condition in which damaged muscle tissue releases proteins into the blood, overwhelming the kidneys. “He was essentially dissolving from the inside out,” said ICU nurse Miguel Caron, who treated BA during his initial 72 hours in the trauma unit, as quoted by The New York Times.
Despite his critical state, BA reportedly continued to request soda from his wife while hospitalized. At one point, nurses caught him trying to drink a bottle of cola smuggled in under his pillow. “That’s when we realized this wasn’t just physical dependency,” Caron explained in an interview with BBC Health. “This was addiction. Full stop.”
BA’s wife, who asked not to be named, said she had tried for years to curb his intake. “He was irritable without it,” she told The Guardian. “He’d wake up in the middle of the night and drink soda instead of water. He’d skip meals just to save room for his Pepsi.”
Doctors placed BA on IV fluids and strict electrolyte monitoring while also beginning psychiatric counseling to address the compulsive nature of his behavior. Within weeks of quitting soda completely, his kidney function began to recover. “It was miraculous,” said Dr. Harrow in an interview with CNN Health. “But it also showed just how close we came to losing him.”
The long-term damage, however, is permanent. BA has developed early-stage chronic kidney disease and insulin resistance, both likely to affect him for life. He’s now undergoing weekly dialysis and is on a waitlist for a potential kidney transplant, according to updates shared on Reddit’s r/AskDocs community by a verified medical staffer.
The story has sparked international outrage and conversation about the role of sugar in modern diets. On X, Dr. Jillian Medford called it “a tragic case that exposes just how normalized extreme sugar intake has become.”
Public health officials are now citing BA’s case in calls for stricter regulation. The CDC estimates that 63% of adults in the U.S. consume at least one sugary beverage per day, with nearly 20% drinking three or more. A report by Harvard’s School of Public Health links sugary drink consumption to over 184,000 deaths annually worldwide.
In response, lawmakers in several states — including California and New York — have reignited efforts to tax sugar-sweetened beverages, with health advocates urging limits on marketing to children. “We wouldn’t allow this with cigarettes anymore,” said nutritionist Erin Bell on a segment aired by NPR. “So why are we still pretending soda is harmless?”
For BA, the road ahead is uncertain. He’s currently participating in a supervised recovery program and has pledged to speak out about the dangers of unchecked sugar addiction. In a voice message played at a recent WHO summit, he said: “I thought it was just a drink. Something to pass the time. But it nearly ended my life. I don’t want anyone else to go through what I did.”
And while his recovery is far from over, BA’s story now serves as a powerful — and painful — warning: sugar may be sweet, but the cost can be unforgiving.
