In the past few years, there's been a rise of self-branded "healthy" sodas not seen since the diet craze of the Reagan administration. Brands like Poppi, Olipop, and Zevia have been popping, if you'll forgive our pun, up in grocery stores around their nations. Fresh-faced influencers will cheerfully tell you all about how these sodas are not only healthier than your regular, disgusting diet Coke, but they're tastier too.
Is there any truth to these claims? Of course, if you see someone gushing about a product, it's safe to assume that they've been paid to do so, whether or not they disclose this matter. However, the real problem with these healthy sodas goes far beyond sponcon.
Healthy Sodas, Unhealthy Habits
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The main claim that sodas like Olipop and Poppi repeat is that they're healthier than traditional sodas like Coke and Pepsi. By this, they mean two things: these sodas have less "bad stuff", but they also have added "good stuff". Let's look at these claims in more detail.
In the Ozempic era, sugar is a dirty word. Never mind that sugars naturally occur in all sorts of foods and are part of a well-balanced diet. In the diet culture that these sodas are a part of, all sugar is bad for you.
If we're using "less sugar" as a byword for healthy, then, yes, these sodas are better for you. A 12 oz can of Coca-Cola has 39 grams of sugar. Let's compare this to the cola alternatives in other brands: Poppi Classic Cola has 5g of sugar, Olipop Vintage Cola has 3g, and Zevia Cola has no sugar at all.
However, the lure of these sodas isn't just that they're cutting out the bad stuff, but that they're adding good stuff. In particular, Poppi and Olipop both market themselves as "prebiotic" sodas with dietary fiber. Prebiotics are fibers that help feed the probiotics necessary for a healthy gut.
So, all this in mind, these sodas should be good, right? The truth isn't as complicated.
First of all, food cannot be easily categorized into "good" or "bad", "healthy" or "unhealthy". This sort of thinking is so thoroughly entrenched in diet culture that it leads to children developing eating disorders. A salad may have a more rounded nutritional profile, but sometimes a chocolate chip cookie is exactly what you need.
People who constantly drink these sodas to kick a sugar habit may be doing more damage to their relationships with food than good. Such regimented consumption reduces food and drink solely to fuel for the body, rather than something that can be enjoyed. It reduces the body and the palate to something mechanical, punishing those whose diets do not live up to an unattainable ideal.
False Advertising
Secondly, these healthy sodas aren't as healthy as they seem. In 2024, Poppi was hit with a class-action lawsuit for lying about the soda's benefits and contents. The suit claimed the Poppi was in violation of California law by overstating the amount of fiber and prebiotics in its cans.
Poppi contains about 2g of prebiotic fiber along with apple cider vinegar and agave inulin. While these compounds could theoretically feed your gut bacteria, they fall below the required five-gram threshold for "measurable gut health improvements". Basically, these companies are lying about their contents to get you to pay more.
There's also one smelly elephant in the room. Prebiotic sodas—Olipop in particular—can lead to an excess of particularly nasty gas. An increase of sudden fiber in your diet will lead to this, which can have some pretty mortifying social consequences.
Lastly, we cannot end this article without being petty. None of these healthy sodas actually taste good. In fact, they taste worse than the most artificial "unhealthy" soda.
Zevia has a nasty metallic taste that lingers in the mouth like you filtered water through a handful of dirty pennies. The natural sweeteners in Poppi are sickly enough to cause a stomach ache. Olipop is medicinal and under-carbonated.
In short, you're wasting your money on expensive soda alternatives. In no way do the alleged benefits outweigh either the price tag or the pitfalls. As with everything else that goes into a healthy diet, a little soda is fine in moderation.
