Many patients have told me that other doctors told them to stop drinking fizzy drinks because it was causing their gas or bloating or discomfort. This is a big misconception about fizzy, or carbonated, drinks and I want to set the record straight.

Have you ever wondered why some people can drink fizzy drinks and NOT get gas or bloating, and other people do? Well, if you haven’t wondered, I’ll bet now you’re wondering.

I’ve seen a lot of people who’ve asked me if fizzy drinks are the cause of their problem. I've never emphasized avoiding fizzy drinks in my treatment plan, because I don't see carbonated beverages as a major concern. But I need to explain why it is that I don’t worry much about carbonated beverages.

When people are suffering from gas or bloating or abdominal discomfort, the primary problem is about what is happening in their gut. It’s about the condition of their microbiome, as well as the types of foods that they are putting into their microbiome.

Those issues are the things that cause gas and bloating and abdominal discomfort. It’s not about the introduction of gas into that environment from foods that they are ingesting. Meaning that it’s not primarily about ingesting fizzy drinks or carbonated beverages.

Now I’m assuming that we’re talking about the ingestion of sparkling water types of fizzy drinks, NOT sodas and other drinks that have sugar in them. (Whether it’s real sugar, or corn syrup, or artificial sweeteners). All of those are bad.  

So if you’re drinking carbonated beverages with real or artificial sweeteners in it, of course it’s bad for your digestion, and might be a major cause of your problems. Stop that!

But if you’re just drinking Perrier or La Croix sparkling water or something like that, then it’s fine.

Of course, some of you have had different experiences and will disagree, and I’m looking forward to hearing about it in the comments below. Seriously. Please share that with us.

But I never focus on avoiding sparkling water in my patients. If it’s bad for you and causing gas or bloating, then it’s because your digestive system is already preloaded with a lot of gas that is being made in that microbiome of yours.

So go ahead and avoid it, but it’s not the underlying cause of your problem.

Ingesting fizzy drinks is merely pushing an already bad situation over the edge. You’re already at the tipping point, and when you have a carbonated beverage you are making your situation just enough worse that it’s causing you to really experience gas or bloating.

But I’ll bet that you aren’t exactly feeling perfect when you avoid carbonated beverages, are you? Because they weren’t really the primary cause of the problem to begin with.

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