Why do diet soda/softdrinks contain sodium?

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healthieramanda
healthieramanda Posts: 95 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Puzzles me as to why it contains sodium! I know that sodium exacerbates thirst, but does anyone know why it is in there?

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  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
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    I'm sure Google knows why...Google knows just about everything!
  • sjtreely
    sjtreely Posts: 1,014 Member
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    Gotta get flavor some where. Otherwise you'd just have colored carbonated water. Sodium brings out some flavor.
  • Gigi_licious
    Gigi_licious Posts: 1,185 Member
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    Do they? I've never noticed. Guess I've been too busy drinking the real deal. Huh.
  • chrisc16
    chrisc16 Posts: 94
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    It's not a lot - usually about 40 mg per 12 oz can. Pretty much everything contains some salt, unless your drinking 24 cans a day, I wouldn't worry too much.
  • healthieramanda
    healthieramanda Posts: 95 Member
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    I'm sure Google knows why...Google knows just about everything!

    Already tried googling! Nothing really comes up except about how diet sodas are bad for you! haha.

    I know it's not much, it can be anywhere between 40mg-50mg, but I question everything - I have a ridiculously curious mind! I'm sure it's got something to do with the preservatives or something! I only have 1 every week or two, so I'm not concerned about it :laugh:
  • grannygethealthy1111
    grannygethealthy1111 Posts: 422
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    I read an article that said they put sodium in soft drinks to help disguise metallic or chemical aftertaste.
  • maryd523
    maryd523 Posts: 661 Member
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    I've heard the sodium is there to make you drink more. The sodium is a diuretic, so it makes you pee free water, which then makes you thirstier. Of course, they put in a bunch of sweetener to make it so you don't taste the sodium.

    Soda is disgusting! Drink water instead!
  • MBSNANA
    MBSNANA Posts: 149 Member
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    The way I get around that is by bying Diet Rite. The white grape is good and it has -0- sugar, sodium and calories. Can't even tell the sodium is gone.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
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    I've heard the sodium is there to make you drink more. The sodium is a diuretic, so it makes you pee free water, which then makes you thirstier. Of course, they put in a bunch of sweetener to make it so you don't taste the sodium.

    Soda is disgusting! Drink water instead!
    40mg of sodium is hardly going to make you so thirsty that you drink like a mad man.
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    Soda is disgusting! Drink water instead!

    Water is bland and horrible! Drink soda! :D

    (just remember to log the calories)
  • CaWaterBug8
    CaWaterBug8 Posts: 1,040 Member
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    FLAVOR! Salt, sodium or whatever you want to call it, gives things flavor!!!
  • capriciousmoon
    capriciousmoon Posts: 1,263 Member
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    There is sodium in bottled water too. In bottled water is is added because people seemed to prefer it in taste tests, so it may be the same for soda.
  • maryd523
    maryd523 Posts: 661 Member
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    I've heard the sodium is there to make you drink more. The sodium is a diuretic, so it makes you pee free water, which then makes you thirstier. Of course, they put in a bunch of sweetener to make it so you don't taste the sodium.

    Soda is disgusting! Drink water instead!
    40mg of sodium is hardly going to make you so thirsty that you drink like a mad man.

    Hey, I didn't make it up. I've heard that before, and then the doctor in "Sugar, the Bitter Truth" explained it again.
  • CaptainMFP
    CaptainMFP Posts: 440 Member
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    I've heard the sodium is there to make you drink more. The sodium is a diuretic, so it makes you pee free water, which then makes you thirstier. Of course, they put in a bunch of sweetener to make it so you don't taste the sodium.

    Soda is disgusting! Drink water instead!

    Sodium is actually not a diuretic. Most pharmaceutical diuretics (e.g. loop diuretics like Lasix as well thiazides and thiazide type diuretics) cause you to lose water by inhibiting the retention of sodium at different places in the kidney. Sodium makes you thirsty by increasing your osmolarity which in turn causes water retention, not diuresis.

    The main role of sodium in most processed foods like soda is as an antimicrobial preservative. Most sodas contain sodium benzoate, for example, which is there for exactly this purpose. You can debate the taste issue (I've heard the claim that it covers certain negative flavors a few places), but it's mainly there as a preservative. (Ever notice that most frozen vegetables are much lower in sodium than canned ones? Same reason. Sodium as a preservative in the canning process is less necessary when freezing is used as the mechanism of preservation.)
  • healthieramanda
    healthieramanda Posts: 95 Member
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    To add flavour does make sense! And I was actually just thinking how even bottled water contains sodium as well (I had a bottle right in front of me).

    Water is pretty bland, tastes horrible! I still drink it anyway, allows me to stick to my calorie intake for the day!
  • healthieramanda
    healthieramanda Posts: 95 Member
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    I've heard the sodium is there to make you drink more. The sodium is a diuretic, so it makes you pee free water, which then makes you thirstier. Of course, they put in a bunch of sweetener to make it so you don't taste the sodium.

    Soda is disgusting! Drink water instead!

    Sodium is actually not a diuretic. Most pharmaceutical diuretics (e.g. loop diuretics like Lasix as well thiazides and thiazide type diuretics) cause you to lose water by inhibiting the retention of sodium at different places in the kidney. Sodium makes you thirsty by increasing your osmolarity which in turn causes water retention, not diuresis.

    The main role of sodium in most processed foods like soda is as an antimicrobial preservative. Most sodas contain sodium benzoate, for example, which is there for exactly this purpose. You can debate the taste issue (I've heard the claim that it covers certain negative flavors a few places), but it's mainly there as a preservative. (Ever notice that most frozen vegetables are much lower in sodium than canned ones? Same reason. Sodium as a preservative in the canning process is less necessary when freezing is used as the mechanism of preservation.)

    I was going to post a similar comment about sodium and diuretics, but you bet me to it :tongue:

    I knew I was going to get a true answer eventually! I'd thought it was something to do with preservatives, because processed food is VERY high in sodium and they also happen to have a HUGE shelf life.
  • rafor
    rafor Posts: 78 Member
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    Diet soda has sodium because a little bit of sodium kicks up the taste of the sweetener. If you are into cooking, you know that if you are trying to make a sweet spaghetti sauce and you have added things to sweeten it but it doesn't seem to work, you add a little bit of salt and it is suddenly super sweet. Your tastebuds will only accept so much of one taste until it just becomes too much. However, if you provide the opposite (sweet and salty) it will provide the contrast. You will notice that caffeinated diet soda will have even more sodium because they put more sweetener in to cover up the bitter taste of the caffeine.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
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    I've heard the sodium is there to make you drink more. The sodium is a diuretic, so it makes you pee free water, which then makes you thirstier. Of course, they put in a bunch of sweetener to make it so you don't taste the sodium.

    Soda is disgusting! Drink water instead!
    40mg of sodium is hardly going to make you so thirsty that you drink like a mad man.

    Hey, I didn't make it up. I've heard that before, and then the doctor in "Sugar, the Bitter Truth" explained it again.
    What makes you want more is the spike in blood sugar levels.
  • BrewerGeorge
    BrewerGeorge Posts: 397 Member
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    I've got news for you folks stressing about 40mg of sodium in a soda.

    That's roughly 120 ppm of sodium. That's only about 6 times as much as is in your tap water, on average. If you live in a coastal area, your tap water is probably higher than that soda due to salt water intrusion into wells. So if you're dutifully drinking your 8+ MFP-recommended glasses of tap water each day, you're probably equaling or exceeding what you might get from a soda.

    In other words, stop obsessing over the little things or you'll drive yourselves crazy!
  • MBSNANA
    MBSNANA Posts: 149 Member
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    That really throwed me when somebody said that even bottled water has sodium.:huh: So I had to go a get my bottle of water and look. My bottle says -0- sodium.:happy: You had me scared there for a minute. I am someone who needs to watch there sodium intake because of swelling I have from blood clots.

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