sparkling water

jaj68
jaj68 Posts: 158 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am not trying to provoke a fight, I find myself curious about something. The other day I was reading a post here about someone wanting to give up diet pop. Many, many responses were "drink sparkling water" Am I wrong in my thinking, isn't sparkling water, glorified pop?

Replies

  • julesxo
    julesxo Posts: 422 Member
    Speaking from experience giving up diet pop was very difficult. It seems silly but it was! Carbonated water is better for you, it doesn't have the harsh chemicals that diet pop has, plus it might help a person transition to quitting pop all together.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    The "sparkling" part is carbon dioxide. If it's just sparkling water, then no it's not pop. It's just fizzy water. If it has added sugar or artificial sweeteners and flavourings then it would be similar to pop. I suppose it depends what aspect of pop you're trying to give up - sugar, artificial additives or bubbles.

    ETA: most people who give up diet soda are, I believe, trying to cut out the artificial sweeteners, which aren't added to pure sparkling water. Some sparkling waters also contain sodium, which is an issue for some people. Not all of them do though.
  • kbeckley11
    kbeckley11 Posts: 203 Member
    With most fountain pop, the syrup comes to the store/restaurant, and a CO2 tank carbonates the water, and it mixes together as you get the pop from the fountain. I'm pretty sure sparkling water is just the carbonated water. So, sparkling water doesn't have the calories and other additives from the syrup.
  • jaj68
    jaj68 Posts: 158 Member
    I am looking at the label for a recent Sparkling Clear. 0 calories, 0 sodium . Ingredients: carbonated water, citric acid, natural flavor, aspartame, potassium citrate, and potassium benzoate. Contains Phenylalanine.


    I can not find a sparkling water that doesn't have the aspartame. Even flavored (plain) water had some sort of sweetener.

    Am I missing something? I have read lots of labels and everything seems to have a sweetener.
  • RunningRichelle
    RunningRichelle Posts: 346 Member
    My impression is that most people would want to give up drinking diet pop to cut the artificial sweeteners, which I've heard Dr. Oz call 'obesogens,' which basically means a chemical (like aspartame, a common artificial sweetener) that does not have calories, yet contributes to weight gain/retention.

    If this is the case, and the drinker simply switches to a sparkling water product that uses the same artificial sweetener, there is no gain.

    I don't know much about the effect of carbonation on weight loss or gain, so I can't speak to that, but there's my two cents!
  • skinnyheather
    skinnyheather Posts: 38 Member
    I am looking at the label for a recent Sparkling Clear. 0 calories, 0 sodium . Ingredients: carbonated water, citric acid, natural flavor, aspartame, potassium citrate, and potassium benzoate. Contains Phenylalanine.


    I can not find a sparkling water that doesn't have the aspartame. Even flavored (plain) water had some sort of sweetener.

    Am I missing something? I have read lots of labels and everything seems to have a sweetener.

    Seltzer water has 0 everything, club soda has 0 everything but sodium
  • RunningRichelle
    RunningRichelle Posts: 346 Member
    The only brand I can think of that would be sweetener free would be S. Pellegrino. Then you could add cut up fruit to give it flavor.
  • Anniel88
    Anniel88 Posts: 150 Member
    I am looking at the label for a recent Sparkling Clear. 0 calories, 0 sodium . Ingredients: carbonated water, citric acid, natural flavor, aspartame, potassium citrate, and potassium benzoate. Contains Phenylalanine.


    I can not find a sparkling water that doesn't have the aspartame. Even flavored (plain) water had some sort of sweetener.

    Am I missing something? I have read lots of labels and everything seems to have a sweetener.

    What most people are referring to isn't the sparkling waters with flavorings, but Seltzer (aka Carbonated Water or Soda Water). Plain seltzer is just water and carbonation. I'll buy this and add my own lime or lemon slice. Although, they do make some with flavorings. The citrus ones are typically just added artificial flavorings, but real seltzer should not have any artifical sweeteners or any other additives. You should only see carbonated water + any flavorings on the label.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I am looking at the label for a recent Sparkling Clear. 0 calories, 0 sodium . Ingredients: carbonated water, citric acid, natural flavor, aspartame, potassium citrate, and potassium benzoate. Contains Phenylalanine.


    I can not find a sparkling water that doesn't have the aspartame. Even flavored (plain) water had some sort of sweetener.

    Am I missing something? I have read lots of labels and everything seems to have a sweetener.
    You can get sparkling water with no additives other than CO2. You can in the UK anyway, I presume you can elsewhere.
  • cjsacto
    cjsacto Posts: 1,421 Member
    I am looking at the label for a recent Sparkling Clear. 0 calories, 0 sodium . Ingredients: carbonated water, citric acid, natural flavor, aspartame, potassium citrate, and potassium benzoate. Contains Phenylalanine.


    I can not find a sparkling water that doesn't have the aspartame. Even flavored (plain) water had some sort of sweetener.

    Am I missing something? I have read lots of labels and everything seems to have a sweetener.

    I buy Crystal Geyser natural lemon or lime flavor, or plain. No sweeteners, a little sodium, and essence of lemon or lime. I also buy Arrowhead which does list the ambiguous "other natural flavors" ingredient, but no sweeteners. If you get the plain one it shouldn't have anything but carbonation. Don't look with the sodas and sports drinks, look with the plain water aisle. It says "Sparkling Mineral Water." (I live in the US.)

    It might take some getting used to - they are NOT sweet but they are refreshing and I sometimes add my own healthy juice for a spritzer.
  • shellbatronic
    shellbatronic Posts: 193
    Pelligrino, Perrier, Quibell, Calistoga are all big-name sparkling waters, they are different than the "flavored seltzers" that you'll find and don't have artificial sweetener. Can be an acquired taste, though. Me, I love 'em (Pelligrino is my secret weapon for when I go out to dinner, we order a big bottle and it keeps me away from the wine.)
  • redredy9
    redredy9 Posts: 706 Member
    Sparling Clear and other sweetened spakling waters are basically the same as diet soda.

    Mineral water, seltzer, flavored seltzer, club soda are all just water with bubbles and maybe a little flavor and sodium. Big difference. I LOVE club soda and drink tons of it but won't touch diet sodas or the sweetened sparkling waters.
  • Its_Nat
    Its_Nat Posts: 184 Member
    I buy sparkling natural mineral water - only ingredient is Carbonated Water.
  • MMMendoza007
    MMMendoza007 Posts: 157 Member
    I too have questions about sparkling water versus regular water. I thought this short but succint article (http://www.ehow.com/about_5100595_sparkling-water-vs-regular-water.html) gave some good advice.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Seltzer has no sweetener of any kind. I got over my coke habit by switching to that with a drop of orange juice.
  • Tom_Jones74
    Tom_Jones74 Posts: 108
    I love sparkling mineral water. It's a great mind-hack that works for those trying to quit both soft drinks and/or beer. Add a slice of lemon and voila.
  • Longbowgilly
    Longbowgilly Posts: 262 Member
    I have switched from 3 cans ofdiet coke a day to 2lt of sparkling natural mineral water , I have a bottle of it on my desk every day and make sure I drink it all during the day, I find it refreshing and don't drink coke anymore so it must be working!
  • cuterbee
    cuterbee Posts: 545
    Perrier has a lemon flavor but no sweetener (note: the lemon taste is very faint!). I miss the grapefruit flavor they used to have. There's also a lime.

    What I really seem to like in sodas are the bubbles. So now I drink Perrier or sometimes Pelligrino.
  • TravisBikes
    TravisBikes Posts: 674 Member
    I gave up soda for 2011, and my tastes grew from hating Sparkling water, to loving it. I buy Perrier or Pelligrino when they are on sale for an occasional treat.

    This year I gave up soda again, and overall I must say I don't miss it. I drink more water, coffee, or tea, but rarely juices or other sweetened things except for a very very rare treat.
  • angelofmercy106
    angelofmercy106 Posts: 16 Member
    Kroger has a sparkling seltzer water that is very good, it is carbonated water.

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