Soda
Why soda is inflammatory
Soda is inflammatory, and the reason is the sugar dissolved in it. A standard can holds around nine teaspoons, with no fibre, fat or protein to slow it down, so the whole dose reaches your blood within minutes. Nothing in the can balances that out, which is why soda scores 9 out of 10 on our inflammation scale.
Adults who drink the most sugary drinks have more inflammation showing in their blood than people who drink none. Those readings come from a single point in time, so they show a pattern rather than proof.
Half the sugar in a soda is fructose, which only your liver can process. In a trial, healthy men who drank about two cans’ worth a day for seven weeks doubled the rate at which their livers turned sugar into fat, without eating more calories. Glucose alone did not have that effect. Fat that builds up in the liver is the first stage of fatty liver disease, which damages the organ through inflammation.
Diet and zero versions leave out the sugar that earns soda this score, though what the sweeteners do instead is less clear. A fruit flavour changes nothing: that sugar is added, not from the fruit. Check the sugar for the whole bottle, not the figure per 100 ml.
If soda is a daily habit, cutting the days matters more than switching brand. Sparkling water with lemon or lime covers the cold and the fizz, and that is most of what a can is for.
Soda on the AIP diet
Soda is not allowed during the elimination phase of the Autoimmune Protocol. AIP takes out refined sugar and manufactured additives, and a can is made of both. Diet versions are out too, because artificial sweeteners sit on the same list. Sparkling water with lemon or lime fits from day one and covers the same craving. Soda is rarely one of the foods people reintroduce afterwards.
Benefits
- A fast source of sugar, which can help during long endurance exercise
- Colas carry caffeine, roughly a third of what a cup of coffee gives
- Sold in fixed cans, so the amount you drink is easy to count
- Sugar-free versions keep the taste and leave the sugar out
Watch out for
- Around nine teaspoons of sugar in a can, with nothing to slow it down
- Liquid sugar does not fill you up, so it adds to what you eat
- Regular drinking is linked to fatty liver, weight gain and type 2 diabetes
- The phosphoric acid in colas wears down tooth enamel
Get the inflammation score of any meal
Just snap a photo or describe your food to get its inflammation score and uncover hidden patterns that may be affecting your well-being.
Frequently asked
Is soda inflammatory?
Yes. The sugar arrives in liquid form with nothing to slow it down, and people who drink the most sugary drinks show more inflammation in their blood than people who drink none.
Is diet soda better than regular soda?
For this question, yes. Diet versions leave out the sugar, which is the part of soda tied to inflammation. What the sweeteners do instead is still being studied, so it is a smaller problem rather than none.
Does one soda a week matter?
Not much. The link with inflammation shows up in people who drink it most days. An occasional can in an otherwise decent diet is not what drives it.
Is fruit juice a better choice?
Only slightly. A glass of juice carries about as much sugar as a can of soda, though it also brings some vitamin C and potassium. Whole fruit is the version with the fibre still in it.
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