Carbonation - does it really take your breath away?

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jonesybgonsy13
jonesybgonsy13 Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys, I’ve heard a lot about carbonation and wanted to come to you guys to expel any myths about what it actually does to your body. I’ve been told it drinking it takes away from the amount of oxygen your body has so you never want to drink it before a run or strenuous activity, is this true?

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  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
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    Where did you here this? What a strange theory. 😕
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,154 Member
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    bpetrosky wrote: »
    It's complete nonsense. I've never heard this particular myth before. Any carbonated liquid going into the stomach will simply release the CO2 which mostly be belched out. There's no way for it to affect your blood oxygen levels in any significant way.

    The only reason to avoid it before exercise would be if it leads to stomach upset, same as with any drink or food.

    Agreed. I tend to avoid carbonation before a run since the burping can be a hassle when trying to keep your breathing even, but it's entirely a comfort thing.
  • MPDean
    MPDean Posts: 99 Member
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    Carbon dioxide in the blood promotes breathing. This is not true.
  • Rammer123
    Rammer123 Posts: 679 Member
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    MPDean wrote: »
    Carbon dioxide in the blood promotes breathing. This is not true.

    I think your point about carbon dioxide in the blood promoting breathing would prove the point no?

    Increased need for oxygen would "take your breath away" causing you to need to breath more....

    With that said, sodas or carbonated beverages are not going to cause your blood levels to increase enough to have any real effect to you while exercising.
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
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    Rammer123 wrote: »
    MPDean wrote: »
    Carbon dioxide in the blood promotes breathing. This is not true.

    I think your point about carbon dioxide in the blood promoting breathing would prove the point no?

    Increased need for oxygen would "take your breath away" causing you to need to breath more....

    With that said, sodas or carbonated beverages are not going to cause your blood levels to increase enough to have any real effect to you while exercising.

    No CO2 in the blood causes breathing response.

    When you hold your breath the urge to breath isn't caused be a lack of oxygen but rather a build up of CO2. When doing apnea training (for freediving for example) you first work on ignoring the discomfort of CO2 build up to extend your breath hold time.

    That means that if the CO2 in carbonated beverages did somehow get from your digestive system to your respiratory/circulatory system (and how that would happen is a complete mystery) the additional CO2 would trigger your breathing response rather than suppressing it.

    Thats why when you hyperventilate (have your breath taken away) you breath into a bag to recycle the expelled CO2 in your breath back into your body to increase the CO2 levels and regulate normal breathing reflex. It's also why freedivers hyperventilate before going down, to lower their bodies CO2 levels as much as possible to delay the onset of CO2 build up (and the discomfort) for as long as possible.
  • MPDean
    MPDean Posts: 99 Member
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    Yeah, what Danp said.

    Also carbon dioxide is quite soluble so it's not a stretch to see how some, but not a significant amount, could get from the digestive system to the circulatory system.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
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    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    Where did you here this? What a strange theory. 😕

    It's a fairly common belief. My mom had COPD and her doctor advised her not to drink carbonated beverages. She belonged to a group for a while, and most of the other members had also been told the same thing. Here's an article from Livestrong, for instance.

    https://www.livestrong.com/article/550595-effects-of-carbonated-drinks-on-lungs/

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