Making Healthy Soda

Soda almost always gets a bad rap, but it's not the carbonation that is the issue. There is no difference between the CO² that makes your soda fizzy and the CO² in the air we breath. There is nothing unhealthy about it.

The reason people often frown on soda is because of the the chemicals and the high-fructose corn syrup that is ever present in the soda you find in the store. Therefore if you want to continue enjoying soft drinks, do the healthy thing and make your own. In that way, you can make it as healthy as you desire.

Let's consider what we're going to put in that healthy drink. Besides the chemicals that soda manufacturers put in their soft drinks, we want to avoid high-fructose corn syrup which most experts agree is worse than sugar. It's an artificial product which the body is unable to digest normally, and thus it leads to obesity.

Having said that, why not consider experimenting with sugar free drinks. You could try for instance carbonating ice cold green tea. Although it contains caffeine it has been found to lower cholesterol levels, and it is high in anti-oxidants which inhibit the growth of and even kill cancer cells. Another good tea which is caffeine free is rooibos which is also high in anti-oxidants.

You could experiment with carbonated vegetable drinks as well. How about carbonated tomato juice or carrot? Maybe you could throw some greens in there. Just grab your juicer and mix it all up.

I'm sure for many people the idea of unsweetened soda probably isn't very appealing. Instead of sugar and corn syrup, honey and fruit juices contain fructose, which is different than the fructose which is in corn syrup. It is of course natural, and the body is able to digest it much easier. If you want to go sweet, fruit juice and honey are your best bet. Just keep it in moderation. Like almost everything, too much fructose in your diet isn't good for you either. One combination that I think is excellent is pineapple with fresh spearmint leaves.

Once you've decided on your main ingredients, you might think about some additives. If you're into herbs and other natural products, you could throw those into the mix too. How about echinacea, ginkgo biloba or ginseng?

Making healthy carbonated beverages definitely isn't an original idea. However most articles I've seen on the subject recommend buying Perrier or some other type of carbonated water with the disclaimer that you should always read the ingredients to make sure it's just water that you're getting. But who wants to always have to check the ingredients?

With the Fizz Giz, you can bypass all that and just put straight CO² in your drink. One other advantage is that you don't have to water down your recipe if you don't want. You can add just the amount you want, and not only are you not diluting your drink recipe, you're also not diluting the carbonation.

The Fizz Giz can bring your beverage up to a carbonation level roughly equal to what you would would get from store bought sparkling water. However once you mix the store bought soda water with the other ingredients, it's diluted. Therefore you can always get higher levels of carbonation with the Fizz Giz than with any method that requires mixing in sparkling water.

Once you've made your batch of healthy ingredients, you might want to refrigerate it, because you'll get better carbonation results. When you're ready, funnel the mix into an empty PET bottle, leaving a little air space at the top. Squeeze the bottle to force the excess air out while putting the Fizz Giz cap on. Insert the Fizz Giz nozzle and inject the CO². Shake it up until the bottle gets a little softer. Inject and shake a couple more times until it just won't take any more carbonation.

Now sit back and enjoy a nice, highly carbonated, healthy beverage.