Sparkling water vs flavoured sparkling water vs diet soda

CallmeSbo

Which is the best/healthiest between the 3?

helenoftroy1

I hope the answer is sparkling water because I have gradually shifted from full fat, to diet soda to flavoured sparkling and now ALL I drink is sparkling water and green tea.

meerkat70

I prefer sparkling water, because I don't like the taste of artificial sweeteners.

In hydration terms, there's no difference.

In dieting terms, there's recent research evidence that drinking diet soda is correlated with lower rates of weight loss, but the nature of that correlation isn't entirely clear yet. (I would imagine that there's no big difference between diet soda and flavoured sparkling water - they're really the same thing, in a different bottle, unless the flavouring is pure juice, which is rare.)

LilMissFoodie

I don't like terms like 'healthiest' haha but that is just semantics. Basically, I would say that sparkling water pretty much equals regular bottled water (unless your tummy is upset by carbonation) so perhaps you would say it is the healthiest. Flavoured sparkling water (if it is low calorie) and diet soda are really the same thing just with slightly different marketing strategies

That said, I think diet drinks are a much better choice than full sugar drinks and based on the evidence don't think there is any harm at all in enjoying them in moderation.

CallmeSbo

I read somewhere that diet soda is not good for the belly, it promotes belly fat. I dont remember what it is in the diet soda that does that. Does anyone know? Is it the artificial sweetners or the gas?

Bentley2718

I prefer sparkling water, because I don't like the taste of artificial sweeteners.

In hydration terms, there's no difference.

In dieting terms, there's recent research evidence that drinking diet soda is correlated with lower rates of weight loss, but the nature of that correlation isn't entirely clear yet. (I would imagine that there's no big difference between diet soda and flavoured sparkling water - they're really the same thing, in a different bottle, unless the flavouring is pure juice, which is rare.)

There is lightly flavored sparkling water that is NOT sweetened, this would not be similar to diet soda, but closer to sparkling water. This I would put in the sparkling water category.

Recent research suggests that consuming artificial sweeteners is associated with lower weight loss, and even weight gain long-term. Some studies suggest that over a period of years, people who drank diet soda daily gained almost as much weight as people who drank regular soda--those who drank water fared the best, not surprisingly. (I wish I could remember the citations here, sorry.)

There is also an association between soda/cola and osteoperosis (spelling is off, sorry). At one point, I think it was believed that the carbonation was the problem, but it is my understanding that recent research shows that there does not seem to be an association between sparking water and osteoperosis. The calcium loss issue seems to be related to the acid they put in soda for flavor.

Also, if you're drinking caffeinated soda, caffeine is a dietetic, so I would not expect hydration to be equal across the three.

So I'd say unsweetened sparkling water (flavored or not) is probably the best of the three. I just got a water carbonator (SodaStream, you can build one cheaply, but I don't have much kitchen space so this was easier). I drink sparkling water either on its own or with a little lime juice.