Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain
Speaker 1: Stuff Lauren Foco bamb here. As consumer preferences veered towards
Speaker 1: more quote unquote natural ingredients in their foods and beverages,
Speaker 1: diet soda sales are dropping in place of soda. Carbonated
Speaker 1: waters like Seltzer water are tingling ever more tongues. Americans
Speaker 1: are buying three times as much of the stuff as
Speaker 1: they did a decade ago. And although there are plenty
Speaker 1: of reasons to give up the artificial sweeteners and diet soda,
Speaker 1: could all those bubbles potentially be bad for us to First,
Speaker 1: let's sip on a bit of carbonated water. Lingo Sparkling
Speaker 1: water is a type of mineral water that's bottled at
Speaker 1: the source think brands like Peria. The minerals in them
Speaker 1: are naturally occurring, and the carbonation might be too, Although
Speaker 1: some manufacturers might add bubbles for more zip Seltzer waters
Speaker 1: biting bubbles are all created artificially, but they have no
Speaker 1: other added ingredients save for sometimes flavorings of some sort,
Speaker 1: either natural or artificial. A side note here. A natural
Speaker 1: flavoring means this chemical was derived from plants or animals,
Speaker 1: including laboratory farmed microorganisms and artificial means this chemical was
Speaker 1: synthesized in a laboratory from other chemicals. A natural chemical
Speaker 1: and an artificial chemical may be molecularly identical, and batches
Speaker 1: of the one labeled artificial might actually be more pure
Speaker 1: because they were synthesized in a carefully controlled lab anyway.
Speaker 1: Other than sparkling water and seltzer water, there are the
Speaker 1: offshoots of carbonated water that have other added ingredients. Club
Speaker 1: soda is a seltzer water with ad in minerals and sodium,
Speaker 1: potentially table salt or even baking soda, both of which
Speaker 1: reduce acidity and conjure a flavor that, for many drinkers
Speaker 1: is more reminiscent of natural spring water. Tonic water is
Speaker 1: altogether another entity, typically loaded with sugars and a dash
Speaker 1: of quinine, making it more soda pop than seltzer. All
Speaker 1: of these bubbling waters owe their existence to an eighteenth
Speaker 1: century English pre shuret named Joseph Priestley, who created a
Speaker 1: technique that forced carbon dioxide gas into regular old flat water.
Speaker 1: When held together under pressure, The gas remained in the
Speaker 1: water indefinitely until it was released into a glass, and
Speaker 1: the gas began the process of floating out, and the
Speaker 1: drinker finally enjoyed the refreshing, tingle of carbonation on their tongue.
Speaker 1: Later researchers found that forcing carbon dioxide into water has
Speaker 1: some notable side effects. It makes the water a bit
Speaker 1: more acidic, which adds some bite to flavors. It also
Speaker 1: helps to preserve the drink to make it taste fresher longer.
Speaker 1: Priestly erroneously touted his revolutionary drink as a way for
Speaker 1: sailors to beat back the effects of scurvy during long voyages,
Speaker 1: and even rigged up a portable system that allowed them
Speaker 1: to create carbonated water on board ships on demand. So
Speaker 1: are modern health conscious consumers mistakenly believing other health benefits
Speaker 1: of Seltzer's and their kin. A two thousand one study
Speaker 1: found that sparkling mineral water caused slightly greater dental erosion
Speaker 1: than still water, but according to the port quote, levels
Speaker 1: remained low and were of the order of one hundred
Speaker 1: times less than the comparator soft drinks. And a two
Speaker 1: thousand seven study found that flavored sparkling waters could be
Speaker 1: just as corrosive as orange juice to the teeth, but
Speaker 1: all the flavored waters in the study contains citric acid,
Speaker 1: which can be highly erosive. We spoke via email with
Speaker 1: Morrissa Moore, a registered dietitian here in Atlanta. She said
Speaker 1: that beyond those issues, bubbling water is rather innocuous. Quote.
Speaker 1: The carbonation may cause bloating for some and or feelings
Speaker 1: of fullness, but overall it's a fine way to hydrate,
Speaker 1: and especially helpful for those who don't particularly enjoy still
Speaker 1: or flat water. And if you're trying to lose weight
Speaker 1: by cutting your chloric intake, that feeling of fullness might
Speaker 1: even be a benefit, and fizzy water might be a
Speaker 1: good way to entice you into drinking more. H two
Speaker 1: o More said saltzer water is a fun and effective
Speaker 1: way to hydrate, particularly for those who wouldn't drink water Otherwise,
Speaker 1: if you have any digestive issues or effects from seltzer water,
Speaker 1: then you might cut back or even steer clear of it. Otherwise,
Speaker 1: I'd say consider enjoying your seltzer with a meal instead
Speaker 1: of solo or rinsing with plain water afterwards. Today's episode
Speaker 1: was written by Nathan Chandler and produced by Tyler Clang.
Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio's how Stuff Works.
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