A Good-For-You Soda Alternative?

By now, we all know that most of the ingredients in a typical soda aren't that great for our health when consumed regularly. Whether high in sugar, artificial sweeteners or questionable chemicals, traditional soda isn't a recommended thirst-quencher for any age group. But what if there was a good-for-you soda alternative? Would you be intrigued and apt to give it a try? Enter prebiotic soda. You may have seen brands of prebiotic soda like Poppi and Olipop flooding store coolers and shelves lately as its popularity grows among soda drinkers. Prebiotics contain substances like inulin, an indigestible type of fiber that can feed the gut's healthy bacteria. They differ from probiotics in that probiotics are foods that contain live microorganisms to maintain or improve the body's healthy bacteria, such as yogurt, kombucha and kimchi. Healthline.com explains the two in this way for better understanding: "Probiotics are beneficial bacteria, and prebiotics is food for these bacteria. Eating foods or supplements containing both can help balance your gut bacteria." While this statement acknowledges that both are also available in supplement form, some examples of prebiotic foods that can be consumed through the diet are asparagus, garlic, onion and bananas. Incorporating a diversity of prebiotic foods into your weekly menu can vastly improve the health of your gut bacteria. Why do we want healthy gut bacteria? A healthy gut communicates with the intestinal cells to digest certain foods and to prevent unwanted disease-causing bacteria from sticking around in the intestine. Unfortunately, an imbalanced gut microbiome can threaten the body's ability to absorb nutrients, regulate blood sugar and store fat leading to diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, diabetes and chronic heart diseases. In recent years, the importance of gut health has been widely studied. Now that we've sorted that out, back to the prebiotic soda. Like kombucha, which is a fermented tea that contains probiotics, prebiotic soda is also a fizzy carbonated beverage with flavoring. While most health experts seem to agree that drinking a prebiotic soda a day is better than drinking none, they also agree that these sodas aren't as beneficial as eating whole plant foods that are natural source of prebiotics. Those hoping to increase their gut health should make other dietary changes by adding high-fiber foods like fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains. However, while these sodas aren't the best source of prebiotics, they may have another benefit worth considering. Many brands have much less sugar than traditional soda (or use alternative sweeteners like monk fruit) and can help reduce one's overall sugar intake if consumers stay away from brands with excessive sugar, artificial sweeteners/colors/flavors and chemical additives. However, most experts encourage consumers to take care when rapidly increasing their fiber intake. Some prebiotic drinks contain up to nine grams of fiber per can and many Americans only consume twice that in their daily diet. Although everyone will react individually, a sudden increase of fiber intake can negatively impact the digestive system and cause side effects like gas, bloating, cramps, constipation and uncomfortable feelings of fullness. Drinking only one can per day is recommended, especially at first until you know how your body will respond. It should be noted that prebiotics are not appropriate for everyone and can worsen symptoms in those diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS. They can also cause gastrointestinal distress in those sensitive to FODMAPs, which stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols (short-chain carbohydrates absorbed inefficiently by the small intestine). If you have questions or concerns, talk to your health care provider before adding a prebiotic soda to your menu of daily beverages. While switching from standard cola to a prebiotic soda alternative may not be enough to completely heal a struggling gut, these tasty drinks could be the key to kicking your sugary-soda-sipping habit for good.