Olipop and Poppi Soda: Are They Healthy?
Hi, and welcome back to our channel.
Today we're going to explore the differences between Olipop and Poppi Soda.
I will compare the differences in their nutritional value,
As well as speak about what are the positives or benefits of the prebiotics that are in each soda,
And finally answer the question of are they truly healthy?
[Video Transcript Below Video - it is the same information]
But before we dig into our topic, my name is Marcie Vaske and I'm a functional licensed nutritionist working with Oswald Digestive Clinic.
I'm going to link our website here where you can easily make an initial appointment if you or someone you know and love is struggling with gut health or any other symptoms that are bothersome hormones, thyroid stuff, we see it all.
Also, I'm going to link our free guide here, which is Five Ways to Improve Your Gut Health.
So let's dig back into our topic, which is answering the question of:
Is Olipop and Poppi Soda truly a healthy alternative?
And as a nutritionist, talking to people all day long, changing diets, making lifestyle changes, I'm always trying to find good alternatives to the things that they feel like they can't give up.
And for sure, we know that people really struggle once they're drinking sodas to give up that Diet Coke habit or that Coke habit.
So I'm always digging around and looking for some good stuff. So today, like I mentioned, I'm going to talk about Olipop and Poppi Soda.
So Olipop and Poppi Soda are new, and some of you may have not heard of them yet, but they did come out around 2018 and 2019 and both trying to come up with a more gut healthy option because we're always trying to improve our gut health as well as reducing the amount of sugars we're intaking on a daily basis. So formed Olipop and Poppi Soda, but how different are they?
So how different are Olipop and Poppi Soda?
So let's take a closer look and just actually see what's inside both of these.
Alternative sodas actually has several more ingredients than Poppy soda, but that doesn't mean it's negative, just that they have more things.
And so first of all, Olipop has prebiotics in the way of cassava fiber and chicory root fiber, which are going to help support our gut microbiome. It also contains four different extracts that help to give it good flavor and to make it more appealing, and then followed up with some stevia and monk fruit to give it a little bit of sweetness that we kind of have grown to enjoy when we're drinking sodas.
Whereas poppy soda actually has a few less ingredients and their prebiotic in their soda is the chicory root fiber.
And then for sweeteners in it, they have the stevia as well as monk fruit to give it that little extra sugars to sweetness. It also contains natural flavors, and of course then some citric acid.
So you can see that both of these sodas are very similar.
They both have some prebiotic, they both have the same sweeteners in there to help bring up that taste volume, but also giving us an alternative to improve our gut health and bring down sugars in our diet.
Now, the nutritional comparison between Olipop and Poppy soda is pretty minimal, but there are differences.
First of all, Olipop does have a bit of a higher calorie content only by maybe 10 or 15 more calories, which is really insignificant. I think that due to the having more ingredients in their soda, this probably brings up that caloric content just a little bit as well.
Olipop does contain a bit more fiber as I read through what's actually in that type of soda than the poppy, but both contain wonderful prebiotics. It's just Olipop has a little bit more.
So with the nutritional comparison, which was very minimal, I think they're pretty much the same. So it's really going to come probably down to taste and how it makes you feel.
Prebiotic Benefits
So I've mentioned the chicory root and the cassava root fiber that's in the sodas, and we call those prebiotics. And so what is a prebiotic anyway, but a prebiotic is something that helps to feed your good flora. So by doing that, it helps to support your microbiome, keeping it more diverse and much healthier.
So both of them can contribute to that, which is kind of a fun fact when you're thinking about, well, I'm going to drink some soda. You don't oftentimes think about improving your gut health, but definitely with those prebiotics in there, it can do that as well.
Both of these root fibers, sugary root as well as cassava root, also help to increase our lactobacillus family of flora in our gut and our bifidobacterium.
So those are our two main families of flora in our digestive system.
So just by we are always wanting to support those lactose lactobacillus in the bifidobacterium to help you have a better gut microbiome. Having a better gut microbiome is going to help support your immune system, obviously the way you digest your food and your mental health.
So both Olipop and Poppy have some pretty positive things about them, but when it comes to the real world, is it really standing up to their claims?
Oftentimes just consumer research is finding that many people have said, yeah, I do feel my gut does feel better from drinking these sodas here and there.
But of course, everybody is different, and there isn't any long-term studies saying that if you drink op every day, you're going to have a better gut health. And I think using these sodas more as something fun and a nice alternative to drinking a Coke or a Diet Coke or whatever soda you choose is going to be a much better choice.
If you are someone out there who's thinking, yep, I need to get all the soda out of my life, but I really like that carbonation and I don't like carbonated waters, Olipop or Poppy soda might be another choice for you.
How to incorporate Olipop and Poppi Soda - How much to have each week?
Like I said earlier, I would use them more as a treat something kind of special to have one time a week, maybe two times a week.
Also, because they have that prebiotic nature to them. If you have one of the Olipop or the Poppy, whichever one, and you notice that you're more gassy or bloated, that could be because of the prebiotics that are in there.
So just listen to what your body is saying, add it in slowly.
Maybe you even want to pour half of it in a cup with ice water and fill the rest with water actually to dilute it and just sip on it. Make sure that your gut agrees with it.
Oftentimes, when we have these bloaty gassy symptoms from prebiotics, or even if you take a probiotic, what is happening is that the flora is some of the bad or opportunistic flora is being kind of rid of. And also when you add prebiotics in, your body's not always used to that, so you can get a little gassy.
So if you're somebody prone to that, I would definitely just go slow with it, but should totally be well tolerated.
Also, of course, with anything stay well hydrated in general. So if you do get a symptom, just drink a lot of water and it should pass. It's just something that your gut's not used to. And it's like with anything, if you have a bad gut, you have to take everything kind of slow it seems.
So just to wrap up our conversation today, I think that Olipop and Poppi Soda both have something to offer and are a good alternative to definitely sodas of any kind, energy drinks, all the stuff that's loaded with toxins and excess sugars. Incorporating one of these sodas into your dietary life is going to be totally fine.
Starting slow to make sure you don't get any gas or bloating, but just enjoy in moderation with everything really.
Especially if you have gut health issues, making sure that that reduce any symptom by just going slow with it.
But all in all, find your favorite flavor of either of them and enjoy. Thanks for watching.
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