When growing up, I wasn’t allowed to drink soda. My parents were concerned about the combination of sugar, carbonation, and other potentially harmful ingredients, so I stuck to natural juices. Now I have another healthy option, probiotic sodas. Probiotic sodas, like Poppi, Olipop, and Culture Pop, are all the rage on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, as users claim the product is helping with gut health and strengthening their immune system. Recently on TikTok, people have become intentional about what they digest as they are more aware of gut health. The hashtag #GutTalk on the platform has more than 900 million views, as users are beginning to incorporate prebiotic sodas into their daily lifestyle and include the drink in their “Sleepy Girl Mocktails.”
But what are probiotic and prebiotic sodas anyway, and how is it different from a regular Sprite? Probiotic sodas contain live, beneficial bacteria that can help support digestive health, and they aren’t to be confused with prebiotic sodas, which are carbonated drinks that contain prebiotic fibers that feed the beneficial bacteria in your gut. Probiotics are live microorganisms. According to the popular soda brand Poppi, Prebiotics help keep your gut healthy and provide the good gut flora in your digestive tract, which leads to many health benefits, like helping with bloating, supporting a healthy immune system, helps refine skin complexion, stopping breakouts, and reduce inflammation, and feed the probiotics in your gut, and even your overall mood. The benefits of probiotics are the following: a healthy immune system and heart, reducing the severity of certain allergies and eczema, helping reduce the symptoms of certain digestive disorders, and promoting good bacteria growth.
Probiotics and prebiotics are supposed to work together to keep our digestive system healthy and balanced, but what are the benefits of consuming them in a soda?
Consuming probiotic sodas claim to have several benefits, including improving digestion, minimizing diarrhea and bloating, strengthening the immune system, and keeping your gut a healthy, balanced environment. In addition to enhancing your gut health and immune system, another benefit of consuming probiotic sodas is their convenience. As a quick and easy beverage, these new-age sodas provide a tasty and seamless way to incorporate beneficial microbes and dietary fibers into a wellness routine without any heavy lifting, making them a viable option for consumers seeking to improve their gut health without making drastic dietary changes.
However, it’s important to note that sodas can be a simple and enjoyable way to incorporate more fiber into your diet, but you shouldn’t rely solely on them for gut health. Instead, going back to the basics by consuming natural and fiber-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, could do the trick.