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Whether you’re sitting on the bleachers watching your kid’s baseball game or enjoying a night at the movie theater, it is common to accompany your activity with a soda. Some people drink it for the energy boost, others drink it for the flavor. Despite other beverages growing in popularity, soda still remains deeply ingrained in the culture of the United States. With millions of people drinking soda each day, it is important to understand the health implications of the beverage.
Due to the high amounts of sugar (or artificial sugar) in a can of soda, soda comes with a slew of negative health effects.
Sugar is highly addictive, with many studies pointing out that sugar has the same effect on the brain as hard drugs (1). Overconsumption of fructose is a common problem, as fructose does not make you feel full so it is typically consumed on top of your daily calorie intake. Sugary drinks are consistently linked to weight gain, and fructose in particular is linked to belly fat. Excessive belly fat can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease (1).
In addition, drinking soda is one of the leading causes of tooth decay (2). Soda provides the perfect storm of factors to harm your teeth: carbonation, sugar, and acids. Each of these factors weaken the tooth enamel, which can lead to tooth decay.
While most people associate soda to its negative health effects, there are a few benefits of drinking soda. Soda contains caffeine, which can help keep you energized throughout the day. Soda’s carbonation may help soothe stomach pain for some people (3). Plus, many people report drinking soda for its sweet taste.
To understand whether soda is alkaline or acidic, first one must understand “pH.” pH is a value assigned to a substance to measure its alkalinity or acidity. These values range from 0 to 14, with lower numbers being more acidic, and higher numbers being more alkaline. A pH of 7 describes a perfectly neutral substance, like pure water.
Even your body has a pH value–or multiple pH values, to be more precise. Each organ in your body sits at a tight pH range to function optimally.
Many beverages that you drink daily have a pH that sits right around neutral–not extremely acidic nor alkaline. Water, milk, and some types of tea all sit around or a little below neutral. Soda, however, is highly acidic, with its pH ranging from 2.34 to 5.24.
Extremely acidic sodas include:
Pepsi (2.39)
Coca-Cola (2.37)
Canada Dry Ginger Ale (2.82)
Hawaiian Punch (2.87)
Dr. Pepper (2.88)
Other acidic sodas include:
7-Up (3.24)
Diet Coke (3.10)
Mountain Dew (3.22)
Sierra Mist (3.09)
Sprite (3.24)
Root Beer (4.27)
No matter the type of soda, all sodas have a low pH and fall into the “acidic” or “extremely acidic” category (4)
To enjoy any food in a balanced diet, it is all about moderation. Most Americans tend to eat an overly acidic diet without even realizing it, leaning on meats, eggs, beans, dairy, and other acidic food. While these staples are not necessarily unhealthy–in fact, many of these foods contain a plethora of positive health effects–they are acidic. Adding in processed or sugary foods can lead to an overly acidic diet.
Eating too many acidic foods without alkaline foods to balance them out can lead to some side effects. For example, registered dietician Christine Mikstas states, “An acidic diet will affect the pH levels in your urine… [This] can produce uric acid stones, which are a type of stone that form in your kidneys” (5). Additionally, phosphoric acid, which is present in soda, may lower bone density.
To avoid the negative health effects associated with an overly acidic diet, you need to add more alkalinity to your diet. There are a few ways to do this. One way is to switch out acidic foods from alkaline foods, like fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Substituting a sugary soda for a green smoothie, for example, will not only help with your body’s pH levels, but it will also be adding healthy vitamins and minerals to your diet. Alkaline foods are generally not processed, so many people report losing weight and feeling more energized when they begin substituting acidic foods for alkaline foods.
However, some people do not want to make an extreme diet change to add more alkalinity to their diet. In that case, substituting regular drinking water for alkaline water is an easy first step to adding more alkalinity to your diet. Alkaline water is “alkalized” to add or maintain healthy minerals in it, like calcium, potassium, and magnesium. These minerals raise the water’s pH higher than normal drinking water. Alkaline water can easily be made from your own home through an alkalizing water pitcher.
Soda is an extremely common beverage, especially in the United States. However, soda contains loads of sugar that can become addictive and increase your risk of type 2 diabetes. Soda is extremely acidic, with a pH ranging from 2.34 to 5.24. To maintain a balanced diet, soda should be drunk in moderation, balanced out with alkaline food and beverages.
Are soda drinks acidic or alkaline?
Soda drinks are extremely acidic.
What drinks are high in alkaline?
Alkaline water is the beverage highest in alkalinity. Other alkaline drinks include bottled water, green tea, herbal tea, and plant-based milk.
Which soft drink is the least acidic?
Out of all the sodas, root beer has the highest pH and is the least acidic.
References Cited
Joe Leech,Healthline,https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-ways-sugary-soda-is-bad-for-you
Mississippi State Department of Health,https://msdh.ms.gov/page/43,2809,151,816.html
Matt Appleton, Bulk Wholesale Sweets,https://www.bulkwholesalesweets.co.uk/blogs/news/the-health-benefits-of-drinking-soda?srsltid=AfmBOooKZVz3IeyEZAVizBdwj5mUK92YEv_IV1DsheqBV3OBjIOJ-sUV
Mark Danner DMD LLC,https://markdannerdmd.com/downloads/table-beverage-acidity.pdf
Christine Mikstas,WebMD,https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-to-know-about-acidic-foods
