Picking up sparkling water can be almost as addicting as binge watching your favorite Netflix shows and going out to that one restaurant you love every week. Sparkling has definitely become one of the favored alternatives to drinking regular water and passing on the soda. It’s actually a common belief that sparkling water is good for your teeth, and it’s true. Carbonated water may not be as great as regular water, but is certainly better than drinking soda.
We took some time to look at what sparkling water and its effects, here’s what we found out.
The Effects of Sparkling Water on Your Teeth
The fizzy, tangy sensation of sparkling water may seem really great to gulp down as you’re quenching your afternoon thirst, but there’s a lot of mixed feelings. Here’s how sparkling water is affecting your teeth.
What is Carbonic Acid and How Does it Affect Your Teeth?
It starts with how it works. Sparkling water contains no sugar, so how it gets its flavor is through a chemical reaction that produces carbonic acid. Carbonic acid may not seem so bad, as it’s the same acidity level as lemons, but you wouldn’t squeeze fresh lemon into your mouth now would you?
Carbonic acid is much more than just a name. Drinking excessive sparkling water allows the carbonic acid to disrupt the pH balance in your mouth, causing major damage to the enamel of your teeth. It’ll cause enamel to erode, and expose the dentin that lies underneath it. Enamel is the part of your teeth that keeps it protected and pearly white, and once it’s gone it is gone.
How Can You Keep Your Teeth Healthy While Enjoying Sparkling Water?
If you’re worried that carbonic acid will have a toll on your teeth, there are many ways for you to help out your teeth while continuing to enjoy sparkling water.
Keep in mind that we said, “drinking excessive sparkling water.” Like many other drinks, if you keep it into moderation, and give your teeth the daily care that they deserve, you shouldn’t have to ever worry about the dangerous effects of carbonic acid on your teeth. So if you’re one of those who like to only drink sparkling water, it may be time to look at regular water to stay hydrated.
First off, use a straw! By using a straw, you can minimize the amount of carbonic acid that has contact with your teeth and thus protecting your enamel.
Drink your sparkling water with a meal. By limiting yourself to a glass of sparkling water during fulfilling meals, you save yourself a lot of toothaches down the road. That is because eating will cause an increase in saliva production, thus saliva can neutralize the acidity levels of sparkling water as you take it in with your food.
If you plan on drinking sparkling water close prior to going to sleep, make sure you give yourself enough time, preferably 30-45 minutes before brushing your teeth and getting into your bed. This is because your teeth will be slightly weakened right after you drink sparkling water due to the acid levels, and can be permanently damaged if you brush your teeth while it’s in a weak state.
How is Sparkling Water Affecting the Rest of Your Body?
Surprisingly, if you’re able to take care of your teeth, sparkling water is really not that bad for you. In fact, sparkling water has other health benefits you probably never knew about!
You Will Have Stronger Bones
It doesn’t seem like sparkling water would have many other benefits, but in fact sparkling water is great for your bones.
In a closed study, those who drank sparkling water has a slight increase in calcium retention in their bones compared to the control group who only drank water. On the other side of the spectrum, those who drank sodas were found to have a huge calcium deficiency.
Why is this caused? Sodas have a high concentration of phosphorous, which is not good on your bones at all. Regular and sparkling water contain very little to no phosphorous. We conclude that sparkling water is just as good for your bones as regular drinking water, and is certainly better for your bones than soda is.
Your Heart Can Benefit Too
There are arguments about sparkling water being beneficial for your heart, and there exists some evidence that may back it up.
If you are looking to skip out on heart problems, drink sparkling water will lower your chances of developing cardiovascular disease up to 35% in comparison to regular water.
There has also been a recent study consisted of 18 people that measured the effects of sparkling water on heart health. LDL (bad) cholesterol, inflammatory markers and blood sugar all decreased in each subject, while there was an increase in HDL (good) cholesterol.
The benefits of drinking sparkling water sure seems to favor great heart health, but needs to be studied a lot more in order to affirm this statement.
It May Improve Your Digestion
The last thing anyone would’ve thought sparkling water would beneficiate would be the digestive system. Sparkling water actually improves the functionality of your digestion system in several ways.
Sparkling water is directly linked to improved swallowing abilities in both younger and older adults. It demonstrates the greatest ability to cause the maximum nerve stimulation used for swallowing. This is especially good news for those who consistently clear their throats.
There are current studies being piloted that are studying sparkling water’s effect on you feeling full. It’s backed by the assumption that sparkling water keeps food in the stomach sac for a longer duration, which can trick your body into thinking you’re sated. Current studies are showing positive results, but further testing needs to be conducted before we can confirm it.
Sparkling water may also be a way to relieve people of constipation. Already there has been a study consisted of 40 people, 58% of them reported back that sparkling water decreased their symptoms of constipation.
What We Conclude
Your teeth are at most risk of the harmful effects of carbonic acid that is found in sparkling water. However, there are easy, simple to do tips that can minimize the dangerous effects that include tooth decay and gum disease. Other than this, sparkling water poses no threat, and has some key benefits that are often overlooked. For all those worried that sparkling water is bad for your teeth, it’s okay! You’re all set to keep enjoying your drink, so long as you drink in moderation and give your teeth the care they need.
What’s your take on sparkling water? Have any questions or would like to share your opinion on this? Leave a comment below!