July 26, 2006 | 13 Comments

Seltzer Water vs. Tap Water?

We drink a lot of seltzer water in our home and have been wondering about the positive and negative effects of drinking Seltzer versus other types of waters. Jennifer, my wife, brought it up because she likes the Vintage Seltzer water versus tap or bottled water. So I went to some medical sites and did some research late last night.

Seltzer water is plain water into which carbon dioxide gas has been dissolved. The process of dissolving carbon dioxide gas is called carbonation. It results in the formation of carbonic acid (which has the chemical formula H2CO3). In the past, soda water was produced in the home by “charging” a refillable seltzer bottle by filling it with water and then adding sodium bicarbonate.

This is what I found:

- Seltzer water that has NO added ingredients (except carbonation) is nothing more than water, and on that basis seltzer water of this type is just as good as any other water. – John Hopkins – Dr. William Sazar MD

- “Seltzer is the popular name for filtered, carbonated tap water. Unlike mineral water, it does not have any added minerals. Unlike club soda and sparkling water, it does not have added salt. Plain seltzer would therefore have the same ‘water’ value as regular water.” – Dietitian Lois Maurer, RD, CDE

- Carbonation (carbon dioxide forced into water under pressure) could make you feel full but does not impede absorption of the water into your system. – Water.org

- “Many curative properties have been attributed to effervescent waters (e.g., aiding digestion and calming nerves), but few have been scientifically tested…Today, however, seltzer is simply well-filtered tap water with artificially added carbonation.” – WebMD, Seltzer Water Heals (November 2002)

- Carbonation is known to kill bacteria that may cause infection. You may choose carbonated water if you are traveling in a foreign country to prevent a negative reaction to the country’s bacteria. – USA Weekend Magazine (September, 1994)

From reading many websites I found that Seltzer water has the following effects:

1. Aiding digestion (scientifically proven John Hopkins study)
2. Calming nerves (not scientifically proven could be urban myth)
3. Feeling, which causes you to feel full faster and thus drink less water. (This could impede your water intake, or perhaps be good diet advice – to have a glass of seltzer before every meal?)
4. Kills some bacteria that causes infection (good while traveling or sick)
5. In some cases has caused esophagus irritation leading to bloating or indigestion.
6. Can increase absorption of alcohol into the system

There really was no downside to Seltzer Water. Old mineral waters turned into Club Soda did have problems with calcium disruption in the body. This is not an issue with today’s seltzer water. The only other issue is in flavored waters that have sugar.

Cold Kiwi Blog

Author:Jim

Internet junkie focused on how the worlds of advertising, online media, and entertainment converge to drive meaningful changes in our cultures, behaviors and economies. One of the first employees at Influentials.net, Adify, comScore Media Metrix, and eScan. Currently GM & Co-Founder of Dynamic Signal a new social media platform company offering brands tools and systems to build their own brand communities. Deep background in understanding and driving deep understandings around consumer behaviors online and building massive data collection and discovery platforms to enable effective and efficient mining for undiscovered consumer trends, attitudes, and opinions. Driven by a never ending drive for understanding and creativity. I have been working in the internet space since early 1996 and have been involved in multiple successful businesses started online. My drive and reason to exist comes from the enduring expedition to understand human behavior and all the data we are able to access in our hyper connected world. I believe the Internet is the most revolutionary development since the printing press, primarily because it brings together rich multimedia, never ending creativity, and unlimited information and consumer behavior. I love to hear about new ideas and Internet multimedia and behavioral data professional driven by the constant innovation and drive inherent in the interactive space. With a rich and deep background in consumer behavior and technology, I hope this great ride will never end! "People say, 'When you make it to the NBA, don't forget about me.' I feel like telling them, 'Well, if I don't make it, make sure you don't forget about me.' " -- William Gates, in the final scene of "Hoop Dreams" I live in the Chicagoland area, but I travel across the US for business on a regular basis. Ping me if for a free drink anytime, I am sure I will be in your town soon enough. You can reach me at: jim@coldkiwi.com or jim@larrison.org or j@jimlarrison.com or on Skype @ jim.larrison or through Google Voice at 801.686.8584
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  • dochollywood

    I am an MD and you are correct in your posting.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks. I was wondering about the effects of seltzer myself. I drink a liter bottle almost every day and it has totally replaced any cravings for soda or other carbonated beverages. Glad to hear that no side effects could be found.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for doing the leg work!! I also was wondering if it had any ill effects – i’m pregnant and constantly thirsty. i cant drink diet soda because of the aspertame, regular soda or juices have too many calories, and water is just plain boring – yay seltzer!!

  • Anonymous

    Hello,
    Thanks for the info. I know this is referring to seltzer water. What about carbonated spring water. Like Poland Spring Sparkling Spring water. Including the essence, (no sugar, nor artificial sugar) flavored ones? Drinking non-carbonated water sometimes make me nauseous.

  • Anonymous

    Hello,
    Thanks for the info. I know this is referring to seltzer water. What about carbonated spring water. Like Poland Spring Sparkling Spring water. Including the essence, (no sugar, nor artificial sugar) flavored ones? Drinking non-carbonated water sometimes make me nauseous.

  • Brenda B.

    Hello – Thanks very much for doing the homework on this.

    I replaced diet coke with the Vintage Seltzer on a full time basis about six months ago. Although the nutrition facts seemed to clearly indicate I made a healthy switch, I found your link as I was searching for verification.

    Thanks again!

  • Anonymous

    I also drink a 12 ounce can of seltzer water about three times a week. I have recently noticed that the ingredients in a 12 ounce can of Seagram’s “original seltzer” is “carbonated water” and “potassium chloride.” Does anyone know if the “Potassium chloride” when consumed in seltzer water on a consistent basis has any ill side effects on health? I’d like to know. If it does, is there a seltzer water on the market that does not have this ingredient in the water? Please advise when you have a moment…

  • Anonymous

    I heard that seltzer water is not good for your bones. Someone please respond to this concern.

  • Anonymous

    Thank you for doing the research, someone told me to drink seltzer water it's help when on a diet… I wanted to do a little reaserch before I stated.. Great research, I'll pick a bottle up soon..

  • Anonymous

    Potassium Chloride is the 3rd and final chemical used during lethal injections.

  • Anonymous

    Regarding seltzer and your bones: I am an ex-seltzer drinker. I loved seltzer I still love seltzer but no longer drink it. I started drinking Seltzer in the late 90's. Over the last 9 – 10 years, I have had increasing problems with my sinus. After years of searching for an answer, I found out 3 months ago the source of the problem was acid reflux… which seltzer seems to aggravate. But, that's not the worst of it… around 2001 -2002, age 51, I began to develop joint pain in my right hip and left arm. March 2008 I had to have a total hip replacement. March 2009 I had to have a total left shoulder joint replaced. There is no arthritis in my family… I was in great health in 2000, age 50. It is hard for me to believe that seltzer can have this effect. It does not make sense to me, but even now, if I have a can of seltzer, the next morning my head is conjested. So, my advise is tread carefully… once the damage is done it is done. There is no going back.

    Pat

  • Anonymous

    yea! I've been wondering myself. I personally drink La Croix, it comes in flavors with nothing in it but carbonated water. It helped me kick the soda pop habit a few years back. Another pro, (contrary to the previous post) it settles my stomach if it's upset or acidic (i have acid reflux. Actually, sometimes it's the only thing that makes my tummy feel better, and it's really good for a hangover;)
    thanks for the research!:)

  • Anonymous

    Carbonated water also known as, seltzer water. Which is a flavorless, naturally effervescent (spewing forth gas bubbles) water that takes it name from a town in Neider Seltzers in the Weisbaden region of Germany. Human made "seltzer," also referred to as soda water, was introduced in the latter half of the 18th century when carbon dioxide was injected into water. The original seltzer was the forerunner to soda pops, which came into being it the 1840's when flavors were added to seltzer water.

    A study presented at Digestive Disease Week here suggests the rise of esophageal cancer in the United States is temporally associated with the rise in carbonated soft drink consumption.

    "The incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma has been rising in the United States over the last 30 years," said lead author Dr. Mohandas Mallath.

    "What's surprising is that similar rises occur in Canada, the United Kingdom, most parts of Western Europe and Australia and New Zealand.

    "A lot of work has been done to find out what is the precise cause of this rise," Dr. Mallath said. "Because most cancers are linked to what we drink and eat, we began by looking at the food and drink intake of Americans over the last 50 years."

    Consumption (of carbonated drinks) rose 450%

    Using data obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Dr. Mallath and colleagues searched for major changes in the diets of Americans over the last half-century, and found that per capita consumption of carbonated soft drinks rose by more than 450% during this time period to 49.2 gallons in 2000, from 10.8 gallons in 1946.

    At the same time (last 30 years), the incidence of esophageal cancer has risen by more than 570% in American white males and continues to increase.

    By using linear regression to analyse the temporal trends between the three-yearly per capita consumption of carbonated soft drinks from1964 to1980 and the three-yearly incidence of esophageal cancer from 1974 to 2000, Dr. Mallath then determined there was a highly significant correlation between these incidence rates.

    In general, identical time trends have been seen worldwide, and only countries with per capita carbonated soft drink consumption below 10 gallons (e.g., Eastern Europe, Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, India) have had little increase in the incidence of esophageal cancer, he said.

    Scotland, which has significantly higher rates of esophageal cancer than England, also has a 1.8 times higher consumption of carbonated soft drinks.

    A strong biological basis also exists to explain the association between increased consumption of carbonated soft drink dose and duration of esophageal exposure to acid, Dr. Mallath said. Drinking carbonated soft drinks causes gastric distension that triggers reflux.

    Acid exposure

    He explained that consumption of 350 mL of carbonated soft drinks per day corresponds to 53.5 minutes of acid exposure, and 53 gallons per year would mean 32,100 more minutes of acid exposure per year.

    Given that excessive carbonated soft drink consumption starts in childhood and the average American drinks two cans of carbonated soft drinks per day, studies are needed to determined what would be the safe limit of soft drinks one could have, Dr. Mallath said.

    "As the rates may continue to rise for another 20 years, we believe that more epidemiological studies are urgently required to establish the true association."