Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain Stuff Lauren Foco bamb here. As consumer preferences veered towards more quote unquote natural ingredients in their foods and beverages, diet soda sales are dropping in place of soda. Carbonated waters like Seltzer water are tingling ever more tongues. Americans are buying three times as much of the stuff as
they did a decade ago. And although there are plenty of reasons to give up the artificial sweeteners and diet soda, could all those bubbles potentially be bad for us to First, let's sip on a bit of carbonated water. Lingo Sparkling water is a type of mineral water that's bottled at
the source think brands like Peria. The minerals in them are naturally occurring, and the carbonation might be too, Although some manufacturers might add bubbles for more zip Seltzer waters biting bubbles are all created artificially, but they have no other added ingredients save for sometimes flavorings of some sort,
either natural or artificial. A side note here. A natural flavoring means this chemical was derived from plants or animals, including laboratory farmed microorganisms and artificial means this chemical was synthesized in a laboratory from other chemicals. A natural chemical and an artificial chemical may be molecularly identical, and batches of the one labeled artificial might actually be more pure because they were synthesized in a carefully controlled lab anyway.
Other than sparkling water and seltzer water, there are the offshoots of carbonated water that have other added ingredients. Club soda is a seltzer water with ad in minerals and sodium, potentially table salt or even baking soda, both of which reduce acidity and conjure a flavor that, for many drinkers is more reminiscent of natural spring water. Tonic water is altogether another entity, typically loaded with sugars and a dash
of quinine, making it more soda pop than seltzer. All of these bubbling waters owe their existence to an eighteenth century English pre shuret named Joseph Priestley, who created a technique that forced carbon dioxide gas into regular old flat water. When held together under pressure, The gas remained in the water indefinitely until it was released into a glass, and the gas began the process of floating out, and the drinker finally enjoyed the refreshing, tingle of carbonation on their tongue.
Later researchers found that forcing carbon dioxide into water has some notable side effects. It makes the water a bit more acidic, which adds some bite to flavors. It also helps to preserve the drink to make it taste fresher longer. Priestly erroneously touted his revolutionary drink as a way for sailors to beat back the effects of scurvy during long voyages, and even rigged up a portable system that allowed them
to create carbonated water on board ships on demand. So are modern health conscious consumers mistakenly believing other health benefits of Seltzer's and their kin. A two thousand one study found that sparkling mineral water caused slightly greater dental erosion than still water, but according to the port quote, levels remained low and were of the order of one hundred
times less than the comparator soft drinks. And a two thousand seven study found that flavored sparkling waters could be just as corrosive as orange juice to the teeth, but all the flavored waters in the study contains citric acid, which can be highly erosive. We spoke via email with Morrissa Moore, a registered dietitian here in Atlanta. She said that beyond those issues, bubbling water is rather innocuous. Quote.
The carbonation may cause bloating for some and or feelings of fullness, but overall it's a fine way to hydrate, and especially helpful for those who don't particularly enjoy still or flat water. And if you're trying to lose weight by cutting your chloric intake, that feeling of fullness might even be a benefit, and fizzy water might be a
good way to entice you into drinking more. H two o More said saltzer water is a fun and effective way to hydrate, particularly for those who wouldn't drink water Otherwise, if you have any digestive issues or effects from seltzer water, then you might cut back or even steer clear of it. Otherwise, I'd say consider enjoying your seltzer with a meal instead of solo or rinsing with plain water afterwards. Today's episode was written by Nathan Chandler and produced by Tyler Clang.
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