Are there downsides to drinking too much soda water?

December 3, 2015 4:24 PM

I've become addicted to soda water recently in a big way and while I know it's better than sugared soda for me, I worry that at the amount I'm drinking (6-10 La Croix cans or 2L of Sodastream bubbly per day) is it more harmful than plain water? It's probably harmless but is there anything I should look out for at high levels? Are there gum diseases associated with Sodastream abuse? Does my liver hate processing acids all day? Is there anything I should avoid with these beverages or am I safe and in the clear?
posted by mathowie to Health & Fitness (10 answers total)

I've been doing that for a couple of years with no ill effects apart from burping a lot. There's some suggestion that it might hurt your teeth through high acidity but I couldn't find anything convincing about that when I did my own due diligence.
posted by Sebmojo at 4:31 PM on December 3, 2015

Best answer: My dentist noticed an uptick in enamel erosion when I started drinking more grapefruit-flavored soda water. She said that it probably had some acid added for flavor and that was causing the erosion. She suggested cutting back and also always drinking through a straw in order to minimize the soda's contact with my teeth.
posted by quince at 4:31 PM on December 3, 2015 [3 favorites]

I don't know about sodastream beverages, but your average store-bought soda water has phosphates added, which may be linked to increased risk of cancer.
posted by homodachi at 4:39 PM on December 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm hooked too. I drink seltzer water, which has nothing in it but carbon dioxide. So far (at least a decade later) my teeth are fine.
posted by bearwife at 4:44 PM on December 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

The cans of La Croix (like all canned carbonated beverages) are lined with a coating containing BPA if that is something that concerns you.
posted by cecic at 4:45 PM on December 3, 2015

Best answer: The biggest issue for teeth enamel is the usage of phosphoric and citric acid. There is carbonic acid, but but that only contributes a small amount. Looking at their site, the lemon flavored waters don't have any extra citric acid, and they don't add any phosphoric acid to any of their sodas.

I've seen a link that had a comparison of sodas and their acidity, and grapefruit soda was highest on the list.
posted by zabuni at 5:24 PM on December 3, 2015

One downside of drinking a lot of carbonated beverages is increased flatulence. If you are not burping you are probably farting.
posted by srboisvert at 5:25 PM on December 3, 2015

Carbon dioxide in water creates carbonic acid which is what gives carbonated water the slightly tart taste. (And global ocean acidification from carbon emissions...)

Carbonated soft drinks such as colas do have health risks. Carbonated colas have a correlation with slightly decreased bone density in older women. Soft drinks are about 100 times more erosive to teeth than plain carbonated water.

My takeaway; drink it with a straw when possible.
posted by anonymisc at 5:29 PM on December 3, 2015

Best answer: here is a delightfully comprehensive BBC article that uses real studies and evidence and stuff.

tl;dr, if you're drinking plain water made bubbly through the magic of carbonation; there is no real evidence your teeth, your bones, your brain, your sense of joie de vivre is at all hurt. Let the bubbling commence!
posted by smoke at 6:03 PM on December 3, 2015 [33 favorites]

Absolutely anecdotal. My brother ended up with his second batch of kidney stones, and the first thing his doc asked was if they had a soda stream at home. If you are already susceptible to kidney stones it is apparently really bad for that. But if not, drink away.
posted by arha at 10:42 PM on December 3, 2015