Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko has received a thunderous bashing from Kenyans after his attempt to caution the public against drinking soda, seemingly exposed his dismal knowledge of the subject matter.
The flamboyant legislator had taken to social media to demonstrate how a popular soft drink affects the stomach lining, using milk for his demo.
Sonko expressed his shock after finding out that when milk is mixed with coke (cocacola brand soft drink) it forms a sludge and gravel, leaving the liquid resembling sewage water.
“The coke is so acidic that when combined with the proteins in the milk, it causes a bizarre chemical reaction,” wrote Sonko on his Facebook time line.
Sonko added that since the human body is made up of protein, a similar reaction takes place the moment one took soda.
“Next time when you drink soda remember this,” the Senator advised innocently.
Contrary to Sonko's inference, the reaction is a normal one in the case of an acid being mixed with a protein and does not lead to health risks.
According to a science website, milk contains casein, a protein in the form of small particle that are distributed inside the serum. Casein has a tendency to aggregate and get precipitated. But precipitation is prevented due to colloidal calcium phosphate on the micelle surface. When lemon juice is added, it increases milk's acidity as lemon contains citric acid. Due to this lowering of pH, calcium causes precipitation of the casein and thus milk gets curdled.
Further scientific experiments indicate that milk curdles when the pH balance of the liquid changes. The protein molecules in the milk attract one another and clump up to form "curdles." The milk reaction cannot only be achieved with coke but also any other acidic substance.
Consequently, the online audience could not take kindly to Sonko's 'advice', instead resorted to bashing him for misleading the public.
See a section of the comments below:
