3 Key Reasons Sparkling Water Is Actually Good For You

Sparkling water is fancy, packed with refreshing bubbles, and often comes in a wide array of unique fruit flavors – but is it good for you?

 Bubbly drinks often get a bad rap, and it’s only natural to be skeptical. Overall, sparkling water provides all of the same hydrating power as a boring glass of tap water. 

In some instances, drinking water that’s sparkling may be more beneficial than filling up your water bottle with flat water. 

Below, I wanted to dive into all of the reasons that getting fancy with a glass of mineral water may bring you overall health benefits.

The 3 Reasons Carbonated Water is Good for You

1. Weight Management

Giving up fizzy soda in pursuit of your weight loss is hard. However, once you realize that one can of soda contains as much sugar as four donuts, put things into perspective. 

While diet sodas are free of calories, they are often packed with artificial sweeteners that have been known to make you hungrier and can erode tooth enamel. 

Swapping a soda or soft drink can for sparkling water contains no sugar no calories, and many brands like AHA have a long lineup of exciting flavors (my favorite is the Peach and Honey!). These sparkling water options give you tons of flavor options with none of the unwanted side effects. 

Another significant aspect of sparkling water is that the carbon dioxide bubbles help you fight off food cravings. Unlike regular water, the bubbles in sparkling water fill up your stomach and trick your body into thinking that it’s full. 

The next time you find yourself looking for a late-night snack, grab a can of sparkling water instead; it’s the healthiest snack in your fridge!

2. Keeps You Hydrated

Making sure that you drink enough water throughout the day is the key to wellness. So, does sparkling water hydrate as well as tap water? It absolutely does! Those that added sparkling water into their diet found that they drank more water throughout the day. 

Sitting down with a glass of flat water doesn’t exactly feel like a treat. For many, it’s more of a chore, which means that it’s a little bit harder to reach their daily water intake. Dressing up flat water with infuser bottles or a splash of lemon is a great way to keep things interesting, but it requires a little bit of work. 

Packing your fridge with multiple flavored water bottles will make you more likely to reach for a healthy beverage that hydrates you just as well as flat water. 

3. Aids In Digestion

Those tiny bubbles are more than just for show. A bubbly drink feels light and refreshing, but did you know that it can also aid in digestion? 

A 2002 study gave one group of participants flat water and one group sparkling water. At the end of the study, the group that drank sparkling water saw improvements in gallbladder emptying and improvements in their constipation. 

Kick Your Soda Habit For Good

Drinking a sugary soda has tons of adverse side effects, including weight gain, potential insulin resistance, increased belly fat, and attributes to overall unhealthy eating habits. Diet sodas may seem like a great alternative, but they are simply swapping out one problem for another. 

Swapping out sugary soda for a diet soda may make you hungrier throughout the day and can erode tooth enamel. Plus, diet sodas are packed with many chemicals and artificial flavors that your body does not need. 

It can be challenging to drop your soda habit. Filling your fridge with the best sparkling water brands such as AHA sparkling water is a great way to kick the habit without feeling like you are giving anything up! 

These flavored sparkling waters have simple ingredient labels and natural flavors, are free of artificial sugars or additives, and hydrate you just as well as a boring glass of tap water. 

3 Things to Keep In Mind

1. Be sure to read the label 

Not all sparkling water is created equal. When reaching for a bubbly fruit juice drink, be sure that the label is free of artificial sweeteners or dyes. 

It won’t read as ‘artificial sweetener’ on the label, so keep an eye out for these ingredients: Aspartame, Saccharin, Sucralose, Acesulfame K, or Stevia. 

These artificial sweeteners have zero calories but may contribute to tooth enamel decay and make you crave sugar. 

 2. For exercise, stick to flat water

Sure, carbonated water hydrates you just as much as plain water, but it may not be great when you head to the gym. Sparkling mineral water makes you feel fuller than flat water, decreasing your water intake overall. 

Plus, the bubbles found in sparkling water may cause excess gas and bloat, which is the last thing you want when going for a run!

3. All Things In Moderation

Ensuring that you hit your daily water intake is super important, but you may need to be mindful of sparkling water. While drinking two glasses a day is perfectly fine, exceeding more than that can cause excess gas and bloating. 

If you find that your daily sparkling water habit is causing any stomach distress, it may be time to hit up the water cooler instead.