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Soda Water is a good tasting, refreshing drink for diabetics, because it is totally free of carbohydrates and sugars.

Soda water, or sparkling water, is a carbonated water — that is, plain water to which carbon dioxide gas has been added. It is the principal part of most “soft drinks”. Carbonic acid — soda pop — results from the process of carbonation.

Soda water, or club soda, can be produced at home by using a seltzer bottle filled with water and then “charged” with carbon dioxide. Club soda may be the same as plain carbonate water but it can have a small amount of table salts, and sodium trace minerals. These additives could make the taste of home made soda water slightly salty. There are many areas in which this process occurs naturally, resulting in carbonated mineral water.

Sometimes sparkling mineral water causes a little dental decay. Potential dental problems with sparkling water are admittedly greater than normal water, but only slightly so. A much higher rate of tooth decay is caused by regular soft drinks than by sparkling water. The rate is so low that one wonders if carbonated drinks may be little or no factor in causing dental decay.

Ground water, usually from artesian wells, is often filtered among layers of minerals; these layers contain various carbonates; the water absorbs carbon dioxide gas released by the carbonates. This produces natural sparkling water. If the water also picks up enough different minerals to add a flavor to the water it becomes sparkling mineral water.

There’s no mystery about soda water — it’s just water and carbon dioxide. Sparkling mineral water is a carbonation which is naturally-occurring. A device to produce an artificial carbonated mineral water was made in 1794 by a jeweler.

A taste test was conducted involving several carbonated drinks; Perrier, a sparkling natural mineral water, was deemed to keep its fizz the longest.

Consumers feeling seltzer to be a bit harsh will find club soda to have a more gentle fizz. During the taste test, club soda seemed to be milder, and a little sweeter, than the standard carbonated water.

Club soda, sparkling mineral water, seltzer, and carbonated water do not have any calories, making them a dieter’s choice over soda pop and tonic water.

A type of carbonated drink that contains water, sugar, carbon dioxide and quinine is called tonic water. Originally, quinine was added to tonic water for a medicinal purpose — to help cure or prevent malaria. Today it is often mixed with gin and lemon or lime for an alcoholic drink.

These are some of the basic facts about soda water.