When it comes to proper hydration, water is the gold standard.
Water is crucial to so many aspects of our health and well being. It carries nutrients and oxygen to our cells, normalizes blood pressure, aids in digestion, cushions joints, protects our organs — and the list goes on.
While we at Mountain Valley Spring Water love, love, love our spring water, we realize, every now and then, people crave something a tad more lively, effervescent. A beverage with a bit of bubbliness, a flicker of fizz, a sprinkle of sparkle.
The good news is, sparkling water has its own set of health-boosting benefits. It may not quite be the gold standard of its still-water sibling, but sparkling water has many advantages of its own.
What is sparkling water?
First things first: What exactly is sparkling water? Essentially, it’s water with added carbonation.
“Sparkling water” has become an umbrella term for most any fizzy water. Sparkling water could be carbonated tap water, carbonated well water or, if you’re drinking Mountain Valley Sparkling Water, carbonated spring water sourced directly from our protected, all-natural spring in the verdant heart of Arkansas’s Ouachita Mountains.
However, not all sparkling waters are created equal. Here’s a breakdown:
- Club soda: Water that’s carbonated through the injection of carbon-dioxide gas and flavor-enhanced with added minerals such as sodium chloride, potassium sulfate, sodium bicarbonate, and/or disodium phosphate.
- Seltzer: Similar to club soda, seltzer is also injected with CO2 to make it bubbly. However, seltzer doesn’t have added minerals, meaning the natural flavor of the water is more likely to come through.
- Sparkling mineral water: Water that comes from a spring or well with natural carbonation and naturally occurring mineral content; some extra carbonation may be added.
- Tonic water: Also artificially carbonated, tonic water’s added minerals include quinine, which gives tonic its signature bitterness. Tonic water also has added sugars or sweeteners to balance its bitter taste.
Is sparkling water good for you?
In short: Yes.
So long as you’ve chosen a sparkling water with no added sugars or sweeteners, feel free to drink up. As registered dietitian Lauren Sullivan told the Cleveland Clinic, “In many cases, sparkling water is just water — which is, of course, vital to your health.”
Be sure, however, to read your labels. Tonic water in particular should be consumed in limited quantities, not only due to its sugars and sweeteners but also because of its added quinine. As Sullivan put it, “too much quinine can also cause an upset stomach, headaches, ringing in the ears, as well as other medically serious, unpleasant side effects.”
The rest of the sparkling waters are fair game and can have some wonderful health-boosting benefits.
The benefits of drinking sparkling water
The benefits of drinking water and sparkling water overlap in many ways. But a few (million) fizzy bubbles give sparkling water some distinct advantages.
Sparkling water is hydrating
When you just can’t drink another glass of plain water, sparkling water is the healthiest alternative for staying hydrated. So long as your sparkling water is free of sugary additives and chemical sweeteners, it will be just as hydrating as flat water. And, to some, sparkling water simply tastes better.
As wellness reporter Christina Caron wrote in The New York Times, “For those who crave it, carbonated water offers a sensory experience that flat water cannot: There’s the satisfying snap as you pull back the tab on the can. The sound of the fizz as you unscrew the bottle cap to pour yourself a glass. The tingly sensation as the beverage hits your tongue.”
Sparkling water feels more filling, helps things move
All those tiny bubbles can play a big role in digestion.
- A 2012 study published in the Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology showed drinking sparkling water can make you feel full for longer and may help food stay in your stomach longer.
- Certain types of sparkling mineral waters have even been shown to improve the frequency and severity of heartburn according to a 2016 study published in the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Pathophysiology.
- Sparkling water, according to a clinical trial published in the European Journal of Gastroenterology Hepatology, may help relieve constipation and indigestion, and it could improve gallbladder function.
Sparkling water can help end a soda addiction
Sugary soft drinks are all too easy to sip and all too difficult to quit. A single can of cola can have 10 or more teaspoons of added sugar. While that may taste good, consuming high levels of sugar can have disastrous health consequences, from diabetes to heart disease to dementia. Those trying to kick the cola habit can turn to sparkling water for that same bubbliness and effervescence without all the dangers of sugar.
“It can be difficult to transition from sweet drinks to water, but flavored seltzers and sparkling water can help,” Sullivan told the Cleveland Clinic. “Water, whether plain or carbonated, is better than high-calorie, sugar-infused drinks.”
To ease away from soda and toward sparkling water, consider infusing your sparkling water with fresh fruits and vegetables: slices of cucumber and a squeeze of fresh lime, perhaps, or hunks of strawberry muddled with basil, or whatever refreshing combination makes your mouth water.
Sparkling (and award-winning) water delivered to home or office
The benefits of drinking sparkling water are many, and with Mountain Valley Sparkling Water you get one more: the award-winning flavor that has made us an all-American favorite for more than 150 years.
Mountain Valley’s sparkling options include our traditional sparkling water, as well as our three sparkling essences: Sparkling Key Lime Twist, Sparkling White Peach and Sparkling Blackberry Pomegranate. Each of our sparkling waters is free of sweeteners and purely sourced from our protected all-natural spring.
They’re also delicious.
In 2019, the esteemed judges at the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, known to those in the business as the Academy Awards of Water, awarded Mountain Valley top honors in the Best Sparkling Water category. That year, Mountain Valley also won Best Flavored Essence Sparkling for our White Peach Sparkling Water.
You can have the award-winning benefits of Mountain Valley Sparkling Water delivered directly to your home or office. It doesn’t get any easier or fresher than that. Get started here.
