to give my kids gallons of sparkling mineral water?

[monkeyfacegrace]

Im soooo confused, but Ive managed to fuck up being a mum so far, meaning my 4yr dd and 2yr ds regularly drink fizzy drink. My fault entirley, I dont do tea/coffee, and guzzle 2L a day so they've picked up on my habits.

Anyway, Ive conned them both into thinking sparkling spring water is lemonade, and they are drinking loads of it mixed with a drop of squash.

How bad does that make me on a scale of 1-10?

i've definitely heard about it stripping calcium from your bones from a doctor specialising in nutrition.

Gleechie - can you please link to your source. Ta.

I was wondering that too aviatrix, let's hope someone comes along to let us know!

i've seen two nutritionists who've tried to get me off carbonated mineral water as apparently taking in all the carbon dioxide is really bad and therefore is a junk food drink

putting two many toxins in my body or something. bad for candida too as stimulates the yeast to grow

too many i mean

Have you tried adding a squirt of lemon juice to straight water? I'm also not terribly keen on water but it's okay with the lemon. I just use the concentrated stuff rather than trying to keep a fresh lemon around at all times!

Fizzy water destroys tooth enamel. It's the wrong ph.

lololizzy my cat could get a qualification as a nutritionist, many of them do just talk bollocks Gillian McKeith.

The one thing that is undeniable is that if you put CO2 in water then some of it will dissolve and make carbonic acid, so you need to take the normal dental precautions against acidic drinks (especially if you add lemon juice, obv).

(although I'm prepared to be corrected on that last bit by any actual chemists)

what a load of botty water. Why do people repeat such utter knob-jockery when its so obviously bunkum?

Why should you drinking it mean that your children can? I drink Jack Daniels but I wouldn't let my DC drink it. A 2yo and 4yo aren't mature enough to realise that drinking this will destroy their teeth. If you want to destroy yours, fair enough. Kids only dislike water once they are offered something else. If you only give them milk and plain water they will never know any different.

The acid is so mild it would do you no harm at all.

The danger of acid in carbonated water is a myth. Carbon dioxide dissolved in water is a weak acid called carbonic acid. It is about the weakest acid you can get, and then it travels to the stomach which is full of hydrochloric acid, a very strong acid.
Also, just about every food you eat is slightly acidic, fruits most notably. Even milk is slightly acidic at a pH of 6.5 to 6.7, and whoever heard of milk being bad for the teeth and bones?
People who say that things should always be alkaline are repeating things first proposed in the 1950s. The most recent research shows that slightly acid is better, and the advent of things like proton pump inhibitors (prilosec) are increasing the rates of osteoporosis because the reduced stomach acid inhibits calcium absorption.

Sorry for the DM link but it is harmful to the teeth
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-113900/The-snacks-harm-teeth.html

just cos its in the daily fail doesn't make it true!

I think the worry is also the use of squash/juice.It will cause erosion over a period of time and as it can take up to 30mins for the saliva to neutralise the effect, a continuous supply of drinks(re:UTI's)may well cause a problem in the long run.

Just ask your dentist when you next see him/her.

If your DC have good teeth, no issues with cavities, good dental hygiene, decent diet, it's probably not a problem.

When a family member had chemotherapy I was really surprised that among the list of forbidden foods (along with pate, stilton and shellfish) was bottled water of all kinds, due to the high risk of bacteria infection. Drinking tap water was fine.

Depending on the brand, I would also check the mineral (especially salt) content. Not as good for you as you might assume, fizziness aside and I certain;y wouldn't give it to my toddler on a regular basis.

why don't you all drink tap water?

bottled water = expensive, not to mention carbon footprint.

true, littleomar. I got addicted to it as i was on Lighterlife and it was the only thing that got me through it (ie it filled me up..also made me very gassy)It killed all my hunger pains but drinking at least 8 large bottles a day was probably not a good idea even though i did lose five and a half stone in 3 months. and yeh..i was never off the loo!

I don't like plain water, just doesn't taste nice. I'll drink it if kinda desperate, but I vastly prefer almost anything else (even the most boring herbal tea).

Looks like the jury is still out on this? I'm worried now as when I was pregnant I drank fizzy water all day every day, I had 24 hour morning sickness for 7 months so it was the only thing that kept me going. DD is nearly 10 now so can only hope it didn't do any harm, but perhaps unsurprisingly, she loves mineral water as well ...!