Is carbonated water bad for you?

BooGiMaN

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Jul 5, 2001
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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.
 

vi edit

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Oct 28, 1999
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If you are an athlete it can hinder aerobic performance a bit (CO2 lowers the amount of oxygen your blood can carry).

Some people are more sensitive to it than others. I can really notice an impact and go out of my way to avoid carbonated drinks because of this.

 

KMFJD

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Aug 11, 2005
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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.

I've been doing the same, starting to cut down on the sugary pop, i've never really enjoyed bottled water unless it was carbonated. The lemon flavored Perrier is especially good...
 

dullard

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May 21, 2001
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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).
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.

CO2's only real effect is it might make it uncomfortable if it upsets your stomach (and that only happens to a few people).
 

vi edit

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Originally posted by: dullard
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).
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.

CO2's only real effect is it might make it uncomfortable if it upsets your stomach (and that only happens to a few people).

There has to be something more to it than simply a placebo affect...

If I drink a 12 oz diet soda an hour before I lift I can't lift as much as I normally can. Same goes for cardio exercises - I feel more winded during the workout.

 

dullard

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May 21, 2001
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Originally posted by: vi_edit
There has to be something more to it than simply a placebo affect...
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.
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.
...
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.
...
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.
 

vi edit

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That was the reason I used the word "sensitive". People have all sorts of strange reactions and sensitivities to various environmental and consumed items.

Flowers make me sneeze. My wife loves them. Cats make me break out in hives. Other people can use them as pillows without issue. Peanut butter will kill some people. Strawberries others. Some people can't tolerate MSG, others it's aspartamene.

I don't see it as too far of a leap to assume that some people can have negative reactions to carbonated beverages.
 

Chiboy

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Jun 4, 2002
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I know people that will drink carbonated water when they have gas... It seems to help them out.
 

dullard

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May 21, 2001
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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.
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.
 

MastaTam

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Aug 7, 2001
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From the NYTimes:

Q. Am I putting my health at risk by drinking sparkling water rather than still water with meals?

A. While extensive studies have not been done, carbonated water seems to present a negligible health risk in most circumstances. A far greater risk, most experts believe, is the failure to drink enough water.

People with some disorders like esophageal reflux are often told to avoid carbonation, and a few drugs should only be taken with plain water. Most bottled waters lack the tooth-hardening fluoride that is added to many public water supplies.

Most studies suggesting that the acidity in carbonated beverages harms tooth enamel implicate flavored beverages, not carbonated water, club soda or seltzer.

The handful of studies that did include carbonated water found a risk to extracted teeth that were immersed in it, but it was a very low one.

One study found that sparkling mineral waters produced slightly greater dissolution of tooth material than still waters, but levels that were only 1/100th of those of the flavored soft drinks tested.

High sodium levels in some bottled waters present a risk for some people, but a study in Spain, reported in 2004 in The Journal of Nutrition, suggested that a sodium-rich carbonated mineral water might reduce cardiovascular risks in postmenopausal women.