Effects of carbonated water (soft drinks) on the body

Carbonated water, also known as sparkling water, is water that is "injected" with carbon dioxide gas. This creates bubbles in the water. You may often see these bubbles in sodas. With the bubbles in soft drinks, this gives a special sensation when you drink it. You may think that these bubbles in carbonated water have no effect on the body. However, your assumption may be wrong. Want to know what effect carbonated water has on the body? Listen to this.

What are the effects of carbonated water on the body?

Carbon dioxide that is deliberately "injected" into the water seems to have both good and bad effects on the body. Anything?

Benefits of carbonated water for the digestive system

Once your tongue hits the carbonated water, you can probably feel the sensation already. This sensation may be pleasing to some. The weak acids present in carbonated water can stimulate the nerve receptors in your mouth. Several studies have shown this can improve your swallowing ability. Even though it has an acidic pH, in fact carbonated water doesn't affect your body's pH.

Carbonated water may also help those of you who have problems with constipation. Some people may have smoother digestion after drinking carbonated water. This has also been proven by several studies.

Even though it is acidic, carbonated water may also be able to help you relieve heartburn due to increased stomach acid without any disturbance to the stomach organs (functional dyspepsia). This is because carbonated water can increase stomach activity.

However, it should be noted that this is only effective if you are consuming carbonated water without the added calories from sugar. Unfortunately, the carbonated water that you often encounter is in the form of soft drinks, which have been added with a variety of flavors and high amounts of sugar. In fact, this soft drink can cause weight gain.

The dangers of carbonated water on dental health

Another effect of carbonated water is on teeth. Carbonated water is often associated with tooth decay. This is because its acidic pH makes the enamel layer on the teeth eroded. However, this is not necessarily true.

Carbonated water with added sugar, such as in soft drinks, can indeed cause tooth decay, according to several studies. However, carbonated water without added sugar has not been shown to damage teeth.

The acids and sugars in soft drinks appear to play an important role in tooth decay. The combination of the two can cause the enamel layer to be eroded. So, choose carbonated water that doesn't contain sugar if you want to keep your teeth healthy.

Effects on bone health

So far, you've probably heard that carbonated water can cause bone loss. However, it turns out that this is just a myth. Carbonated water has no effect on bone health.

What affects bone loss is actually cola. Cola is different from carbonated water. Cola drinks contain a lot of phosphorus and usually people who frequently consume cola drinks have less calcium intake, especially women. This is the reason why cola can trigger bone loss.

So, you should still drink milk or other sources of calcium, even if you frequently consume carbonated drinks or cola drinks. Don't use carbonated drinks as a substitute for milk. But in fact, young women who consume carbonated drinks often make these drinks as a substitute for milk so that calcium intake for bone health is not fulfilled properly, according to a study in the journal Nutrition Research.