Sparkling Water the Good, the Bad, and the Fizzy?

Is drinking sparkling (seltzer) water bad or good?

By the look of the shelves at the grocery store this Super Bowl Sunday, sparkling waters and seltzer waters are the new ‘It Drink’. Here’s 3 reasons to avoid it & 2 reason to drink it.

First let’s clear up the confusion between club soda, seltzer water, sparkling water, and tonic water. Hopefully, by now everyone understands that sodas are not good for you. They promote weight gain, increase insulin resistance, and promote tooth decay and bone loss(dark sodas). As sodas loose popularity, sparkling water are becoming the go-to for bubbles. Manufacturers are now cloud the waters with advertising gimmicks to encourage you to buy this soda like product. Here’s a carbonated primer. (Skip to the bottom if you already know the difference between these bubbles beverages)

Soda: Is the classic carbonated drink that contains a sugary flavored syrup and may contain caffeine. While the drink maybe what you crave, the sugar only provides calories and has no other nutritional benefit.

Tonic Water: Mainly used in cocktails, this carbonated mixer contains a bitter agent called quinine in the sweetened syrup. Often tonic water has as many calories and carbohydrates as soda. Still want a Gin & Tonic? Try plain seltzer with dash of bitters.

Diet Soda: This controversial soda contains a variety of non-caloric sweetener substitutes that are now suspect of causing a range of health problems. It is well knows to cause an increased appetite and higher threshold for sweetness that perpetuates cravings.

Sweetened Sparkling Water: There are two versions recently marketed to consumers. The first is carbonated water lightly sweetened with flavors added. The second uses artificial sweetener instead of the caloric sweetener. How confusing since bubbles, plus sweetener, and flavors used to be called a ‘soda’.

Club Soda: is plain carbonated water with salt added typically used as a mixer.

Sparkling/Seltzer Water: Sometimes called soda water, both terms are used to refer to carbonated water with very minimal flavoring if any at all. The flavors are natural or artificial but are not sweetened.

Naturally Sparkling Waters: These ancient waters bubble up from a spring deep in the earth fully infused with carbonation and a wealth of minerals. You’ll pay premium for these imported waters so make sure the word Naturally comes before the word Sparkling on the label because every thing else is man made.

Now that you know how to separate the soda from the waters, lets discuss the pros and cons of drinking them.

3 Reasons Not To Drink Sparkling/Seltzer Water:

1. Carbonated anything stretches out your stomach increasing your capacity to eat. If you find it hard to get full, drinking carbonated beverages is the last thing you want to do. When I worked with weight loss surgery patients carbonation was a big No-No because it helps to stretch the stomach back to its original size. Avoid carbonated Beverages for 2-4 weeks to see your stomach capacity shrink.

2. Chemically speaking, carbonated water is more acidic than the pH neutral 7 of plain water. Current studies haven’t linked the bubbles to higher cavities[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17023723] but there are few studies as the rise in use is relatively recent. The higher acidity can cause irritation to people with ulcers and GI problems. Additionally all that extra air can increase reflux symptoms and the extra gas and bloating can cause flare ups in people with IBS. For people with digestive issues, plain, room temperature water really is best.

3. Ecologically speaking, drinking any canned or bottled beverages over filtered tap water is just creating trash. Just peek around the corner at your recycling bin and see what a manufacturing, recycling, and disposal demand you are putting on the environment. Try adding lemon concentrate to filtered tap water to reduce waist. Or at least manage your consumption by using a soda stream unit.

As you can see there are plenty of reasons not to drink the fizzy water. Like any product there maybe some reason to use seltzer water to get meet your goals.

2 Reasons to Drink Flavored Sparkeling/Seltzer Water

1. Your trying to quit a more harmful habit such as alcohol or soda. Sugar free, Artificial sweetener free sparkling water can be a great tool in overcoming a sweet addiction. It’s gives you the mouth feel with out the addictive sweetness that can lead to insulin resistance, the precursor to diabetes.

2. Replacing alcohol at parties with seltzer water is an old trick taught to me by a punk rocker in my college days. He reported taking a 6 pack to all the parties, drinking them in a cozy to avoid awkward questions, and smashed them on his head with his crew. I’ve found that a Seltzer water is even free at bars if you tell them your the designated driver for the night.

If sparkling/ seltzer water is a helpful tool to changing your diet, buy sweetener free, all natural flavored options. Remember, don’t use those training wheels to long or they will become a crutch.

Tell me more! Has Sparkling Water helped you quit soda or is it your new addictive beverage?