As I was walking down the aisle of a food mart, I was consumed with guilt about whether or not to buy a large can of coke. My waist is competing with inflation as both refused to halt their progress. I have thrown my weighing machine in the thrash as she refuses to lie at least once about my weight.
According to American Herat Associate (AHA), the human body does not need any additional sugar to function healthily. So taking consuming any additional sugar is futile. Also, sugar drinks increase the risk of many diseases like diabetes, colorectal cancer, etc.
However, humans are not programmed to ignore their tastes. Luckily my eyes stumbled upon sparkling water. What the hell is that? I took it home for the experience.
A little bit of googling made me feel like a genius. So I decided to call my mother and told her about the carbonated water.
Mom, guess what I am drinking these days.
What are you drinking?
I am drinking Sparkling water. It's just water infused with carbon dioxide (CO2) under pressure. It has no calories but a fizzy texture that feels like you are drinking coke.
Beta, but why are you drinking CO2? Isn't it bad? Don't we exhale CO2 from our bodies?
I had no answer. So I told my mom that I will call back. I tried reading more and called my mom again.
Mom, let me tell you why carbonated water is different than CO2 we exhale.
Tell me.
I am not consuming CO2. It has no effect on the quantity of the CO2 in the blood. The carbonic acid decomposes into CO2 gas and it burped out.
Why not drink O2 drink then?
O2 has low solubility in water. Why should I drink oxygenated water if the tap already has oxygen in it?
Did you read about any harmful effects of carbonic acid?
CO2 dissolved with rainfall due to pollution can cause breaking of walls called weathering. So carbonic acid might have some effect on enamel. However, I haven't found any website that say conclusively that it's bad for teeth.
Don't drink it too much then?
Moderation is the mantra. I think other sugar drinks have far more adverse effect on teeth and bones. The phosphoric acid in the drinks can interfere in the bone metabolism. Plain sparkling water doesn't have phosphate.
What else did you read?
One study on mice shows that carbonated water increase hunger hormone grehlin1. However, the study was done on a very small set of people.
Don't become too fat. And find some time to do Yoga.
