Zevia soda has a good demand in the market where people are trying to find zero-calorie drinks for themselves. As of now the current market size of craft soda is more than $580 Million.
Many keto practitioners too are leaning towards Zevia soda for cutting calories from their drinks.
Probably you might be one having Zevia regularly! So, it gets important for you to know- Is Zevia bad for you? Or is it healthy?
To make the correct decision for you, we will take the following steps into account:
- Review the ingredients present in Zevia.
- Look at whether any one of its ingredients has side effects or do they harm you anyway.
- Does it provide any additional benefit compared to other zero-calorie drinks?
What You Will Learn?
Excited! Let’s dive in.
Zevia Soda Overview
For those who don’t know what Zevia soda is, let me make it clear to you. Zevia soda is a zero-calorie soft drink, prepared by ZEVIA which claims to have no artificial ingredients in it.
Every ingredient Zevia uses is natural and none of them is found to contain gluten. And it’s a purely vegan drink.
Is Zevia Soda Bad For You?
The best answer to this query will come out after having a look at each of its ingredients. Looking at online reviews of Zevia soda might not do justice to your question because many of them are controversial. So, let’s jump straight into the ingredients of Zevia soda and how beneficial or detrimental they are for your health!
Major Ingredients In Zevia Soda: Stevia Leaf Extracts, Carbonated Water, Tartaric Acid, Caffeine, Natural Flavors, and Citric Acid.
Stevia Leaf Extracts:
Zevia soda uses stevia as a sweetener in its ingredients which is a great alternative to artificial sweeteners. STEVIA is a zero-calorie sugar having no nutritive value and is extracted from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana.
Stevia has long been considered a better alternative for diabetic patients as it is 200x sweeter than white sugar. And also it does not raise your blood sugar level too!
Now, does stevia have any potential side effects? Yes, it has but only if you consume it excessively (i.e. more than 4mg/kg of your body weight). Fortunately, stevia content in Zevia soda is quite little and it won’t harm your body.
Carbonated Water:
As Zevia soda is a beverage, it’s obvious that it will have carbonated water as the major ingredient. And, there’s no evidence yet which shows carbonated water is bad for your dental or overall health.
Several studies (1,2) claim that carbonated/sparkling water improves your digestive system and improves your swallowing function.
Tartaric Acid:
Another ingredient Zevia uses is tartaric acid. Let’s face its cons first. Tartaric acid can potentially cause problems like overeating, nausea, and abdominal pain.
But at the same time, its presence is known to improve your immunity and tolerance to glucose if you are a diabetic patient. So overall tartaric acid in Zevia does more good than bad.
Natural Flavors in Zevia:
Zevia uses natural flavors derived from herbs, spices, or fruits. Natural flavors provide an added benefit over artificial flavors which may have varied side effects. Companies use artificial flavors for cost-cutting.
Citric Acid:
The tangy taste of Zevia is brought by citric acid. Citric acid is naturally found in lemon, grapes, and oranges and gives soft drinks a refreshing feel.
Are there any side effects of citric acid? In rare cases, citric acid may lead to allergies but usually in sodas like Zevia, it’s risk-free and safe.
That was all about the ingredients Zevia has in it and how safe or harmful they are to you.
Now let’s show some concern about the nutrition facts of Zevia. There’s too little to discuss, as Zevia has zero fat, zero carbs, zero protein, and no sodium content. Thus, overall Zevia doesn’t have any nutritive value.
Conclusion:
The conclusion we derive from looking into the ingredients of Zevia is, that Zevia isn’t bad for you. As it has very little or no side effects on your body’s health. But at the same time, it also does not provide any nutritional value to your body.
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Is Zevia Healthy?
While Zevia isn’t bad for you, it isn’t healthy even. Zevia doesn’t provide you with any nutritional benefits. That is why you can’t say Zevia is a healthy drink.
Tartaric acid might promote immunity. However, the amount of tartaric acid Zevia uses is unknown, thus the health benefits of Zevia can’t be validated.
Zevia- Some Pros And Cons
As you have come so far, here’s something more for you. Why not look into some pros and cons of Zevia? That would help you make a better decision whether to continue/start with it or not.
Pros/Benefits Of Zevia:
- Zevia is a zero-calorie drink and hence, it’s safe to have even if you are on ketosis.
- Zevia uses stevia which is an FDA-approved sweetener. Also, stevia can help lower your blood pressure and fight diabetes.
- Zevia contains a certain amount of antioxidants which helps you stay safe from chronic disease. Antioxidants also prevent inflammation of body cells.
- Some sodas contain phosphoric acids, but the good news for Zevia lovers is, that it’s completely free of phosphoric acid.
Cons/Side-Effects Of Zevia:
- As said earlier, Zevia has no nutritional benefits.
- Many report Zevia as having bad taste. But, that’s completely a personal view.
- Tartaric acid presence in Zevia might cause some short-term digestive issues.
- Using Zevia in the short term is healthy but long-term side effects are unknown. So, use Zevia in moderation.
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Is Zevia An Intelligent Choice For Zero Calorie Drink?
Which zero-calorie soda is best? Is Zevia better than other zero-calorie drinks? Such questions are quite obvious to arise while selecting your drink!
Some other zero-calorie drinks popular in the market are- Coke Zero, Fresca Original, Pibb Zero, etc. These sodas use Aspartame as their sweetening material while Zevia uses Stevia as its sweetener. Let’s see some major points of difference between aspartame and stevia.
Both aspartame and stevia are 200x times sweeter than sucrose or table sugar. Aspartame is an artificial sugar whereas stevia is a natural sugar.
As stevia is natural, it is very less likely to cause any side effects while aspartame may lead to an increase in insulin and glucose levels. At the same time, aspartame mostly resembles sugar while stevia has a bit of licorice aftertaste.
Some of you might be worrying about how much it costs. You can check out Zevia’s price on Amazon here.
Conclusion:
You may say Zevia is an intelligent choice for a zero-calorie drink, as it doesn’t use any artificial sweetener or flavoring agent in its product.
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Looking for more info on Zevia?
If you want to learn more about Zevia soda below is a video guide you can watch out for if you want to. In this video, Dr. Matthew Nuesse answers some important questions like, whether is Zevia healthy, does it makes you gain weight, and its side effects.
The Bottom Line
Zevia as a zero-calorie drink is a pretty good choice. It doesn’t contain any ingredient which harms your health. Even if it doesn’t provide any nutritional value, still it’s great as a healthy soda. Better than having a bottle of Coke/Coke Zero.
Now, it’s your turn! Which zero-calorie drink do you enjoy the most and why? What’s your opinion on Zevia soda? Share your experience using our discussion box below. 🙂
FAQs On Zevia soda
Though there has been no mention that drinking Zevia every day could harm you, we do not drink it every day.
As Zevia is a zero-calorie drink, it is not likely to make you gain weight.
There are certain flavors of Zevia like Dr. stevia, cola, and Mountain soda which contain caffeine
All ingredients in Zevia soda are 100% vegan and Zevia soda is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union.
Zevia soda doesn’t have any reports on side effects so far, but as mentioned some ingredients like tartaric acid might cause temporary digestive issues.
In the long-term, Zevia might cause diabetes. But that’s extremely rare.
WHY? it doesn’t raise blood glucose-hence it wouldn’t cause a significant rise in insulin secretion (unlike sugar loaded soft drinks/fruit juices) your comment doesn’t make sense to me
Hy David,
Ingredient’s in Zevia don’t seem to raise your insulin or glucose level, but the effect of unspecified “natural flavors” on your insulin level is still unknown. Thus, we mentioned in the long term if you are over-consuming it.
Zevia Cola I like best, but I think they are too sweet. Zevia should cut down on the Stevia.
Over ice it may not seem as sweet.
I do 50% water and 50% zevia over lots of ice. Less sweet and cheaper!
I drink 4 zevia colas a day. No caffeine. I love the stuff.
People forget that the product includes it’s container. There are small amounts of BPA and aluminum that enter the drink from the can. If you’re drinking it regularly, this is an issue. It would be worth doing a heavy metal detox at some point.
The article states “Fortunately, stevia content in Zevia soda is quite little and it won’t harm your body.”
How many mg of stevia is in a 12oz can of zevia? When I contacted them, they said it was proprietary and they could not disclose.
Thanks