Originally posted by: BooGiMaN
I bought some perrier and pelligrino at costco to try them out.
I like the fizz of soda but not all the sugar and stuff in it so i figured carbonated water would be cool to try.
just wondering if it is bad for you healthwise.
Arg, I had to fight that myth all through track and cross country. Did you know you breathe out the CO2 in your blood? Gasp! It doesn't stay there to hinder your oxygen level. Even a slight CO2 level increase will create a dramatic increase in the number of times you breathe, to balance it right out.Originally posted by: vi_edit
If you are an athlete it can hinder aerobic performance a bit (CO2 lowers the amount of oxygen your blood can carry).
Originally posted by: dullard
Arg, I had to fight that myth all through track and cross country. Did you know you breathe out the CO2 in your blood? Gasp! It doesn't stay there to hinder your oxygen level. Even a slight CO2 level increase will create a dramatic increase in the number of times you breathe, to balance it right out.Originally posted by: vi_edit
If you are an athlete it can hinder aerobic performance a bit (CO2 lowers the amount of oxygen your blood can carry).
CO2's only real effect is it might make it uncomfortable if it upsets your stomach (and that only happens to a few people).
Sorry, I don't have the time for a full search of the original studies, so you get the first Google link with annoying but harmless popup.Originally posted by: vi_edit
There has to be something more to it than simply a placebo affect...
In related follow-up research, investigators at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis examined the effects of ingesting a carbonated, carbohydrate-rich beverage similar to Coca-Cola during strenuous exercise.
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In one case, the drink was a carbonated, 10-per-cent-carbohydrate beverage (very close to Coke's 11-per cent concentration); during another workout, a non-carbonated, 10-per-cent-carbohydrate drink was utilized. The subjects also completed the workout with both carbonated and non-carbonated drinks which contained no carbohydrate at all.
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The presence of carbonation did not in any way interfere with carbohydrate's ability to deliver the goods.
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One knock against carbonated beverages is that they add excessive amounts of carbon dioxide to the blood, throwing out the blood's acid-base status. However, the Washington University researchers were able to show that the cyclists' blood acidity was exactly the same when using carbonated and non-carbonated drinks (the blood easily handled the increased absorption of CO2). Some individuals have also worried that carbonated beverages might interfere with the oxygen-transport capacity of the blood, but there is little basis for this concern.
I can't say what you react to or if your reactions are real or not. That is why I haven't addressed your particular case in this discussion. I did address your generalization though. Just because you are sensitive to something doesn't mean the population as a whole needs to worry about it. Your first sentence in your first post came off as seeming like every athlete needed to worry about it. Sorry if I misinterpreted.Originally posted by: vi_edit
I don't see it as too far of a leap to assume that some people can have negative reactions to carbonated beverages.