Why isn’t a caffeine-free, sugarless beverage equivalent to drinking water?
In: Chemistry
It depends entirely on what that “caffeine-free sugarless beverage” is.
Plain water is caffeine free and sugarless. But so is hard liquor.
Fundamentally, it has to do with the other compounds that are in there with the water and their effects on the body.
The substitutes and flavorings they use do not offer caloric value, but they do have an affect your body chemistry. Some artificial sweeteners alter osmotic pressure (and give you stomach pain, like sugar alcohols), others cause you to crave certain food items due to how it’s broken down. There are also added acids (citric) which don’t any any calories but can still change the pH of your digestive organs, which the body will have to regulate again (as a part of homeostasis).
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