Bubly sparkling water is a perfectly fine drink for most people. It has zero calories, zero sugar, zero sodium, and no artificial sweeteners. The ingredient list for the unflavored version is short: carbonated water, calcium chloride, and potassium chloride. Flavored varieties add natural flavors derived from plant sources. That said, there are a few nuances worth knowing, especially around dental health and appetite.
What’s Actually in Bubly
The base of every Bubly can is carbonated water with two mineral salts (calcium chloride and potassium chloride) that contribute to the taste and mouthfeel. Flavored versions include proprietary blends of natural flavors, meaning the flavoring compounds come from plants or biofermentation rather than synthetic chemistry. Some flavored varieties likely contain citric acid to sharpen the taste profile. There are no artificial ingredients, no sweeteners of any kind, and nothing that would show up on a nutrition label beyond zeros.
If you’re switching from soda, juice, or sweetened iced tea, the calorie and sugar difference is dramatic. Replacing one can of regular soda per day with Bubly eliminates roughly 140 calories and 39 grams of sugar from your daily intake.
Hydration Compared to Still Water
Sparkling water hydrates you just as effectively as flat water. Research using a beverage hydration index, which measures how well your body retains fluid from different drinks, found no meaningful difference between carbonated and non-carbonated water. Bubly counts fully toward your daily water intake. The only practical caveat is that carbonation can make you feel full faster, which might cause you to drink less during intense exercise. For everyday hydration, it’s interchangeable with tap water.
The Dental Health Tradeoff
This is where Bubly gets more complicated. The American Dental Association’s general position is that plain sparkling water is fine for your teeth, noting that research found sparkling water and regular water had roughly the same effect on enamel. But that research tested unflavored carbonated water, and Bubly’s flavored varieties tell a different story.
When CBC’s Marketplace tested popular sparkling water brands, Bubly had the most acidic products in the lineup. Its cherry, grapefruit, and lime flavors all had pH levels below 4.0. The grapefruit flavor measured 3.86, significantly more acidic than comparable flavors from LaCroix (4.71) and Perrier (5.46). For reference, tap water sits at a neutral pH of 6 to 7, and dental researchers note that pH levels below 4.0 can start wearing down enamel irreversibly.
The ADA specifically warns that citrus-flavored sparkling waters carry higher acid levels and increased risk of enamel damage. This doesn’t mean one can of Bubly lime will dissolve your teeth. Enamel erosion is cumulative. But if you’re drinking several cans of citrus-flavored Bubly daily, you’re bathing your teeth in a mildly acidic solution for extended periods. Drinking it with meals (when saliva production is highest), using a straw, or rinsing with plain water afterward all reduce exposure. Choosing non-citrus flavors also helps.
No Evidence of Bone Damage
The old concern that carbonated drinks weaken bones doesn’t hold up for sparkling water. A study published in the American Journal of Public Health examined bone mineral density in older women and found no association between carbonated beverage intake and bone loss, after adjusting for factors like calcium intake, exercise, and hormone use. The bone health concerns around soda appear tied to phosphoric acid (found in colas) and the fact that soda drinkers tend to consume less milk. Plain carbonated water contains neither phosphoric acid nor anything that interferes with calcium absorption.
Effects on Appetite and Weight
One animal study found that rats consuming carbonated beverages over the course of a year gained weight faster than rats drinking flat versions of the same beverages or tap water. The researchers attributed this to elevated levels of ghrelin, a hormone that signals hunger. In a parallel human component, 20 healthy men showed increased ghrelin levels after drinking carbonated beverages compared to flat controls.
This is a single study, and its practical significance for humans drinking a can or two of sparkling water daily is unclear. The rat portion involved long-term, consistent carbonated beverage consumption, and the human portion only measured short-term hormone changes, not actual weight gain. Still, if you notice that sparkling water seems to make you hungrier, this mechanism could explain why. It’s worth paying attention to your own appetite patterns rather than assuming the effect is negligible or guaranteed.
Digestive Comfort
A systematic review of carbonated beverages and digestive health found no direct evidence that carbonation promotes or worsens acid reflux. Carbonated drinks do cause a brief, temporary dip in the pressure of the valve between your esophagus and stomach, and a short-lived drop in esophageal pH, but neither effect has been linked to actual tissue damage or consistent reflux symptoms.
That said, the carbonation does introduce gas into your digestive system, which can cause bloating, burping, or mild discomfort, particularly if you drink quickly or consume large amounts. People with irritable bowel syndrome or functional bloating may find these effects more noticeable. This isn’t a health risk so much as a comfort issue. If carbonated water makes your stomach feel off, that’s your body telling you something useful.
How Bubly Compares to Other Options
Relative to what most people are choosing between, Bubly sits near the top of the health spectrum for flavored beverages. It’s clearly better than soda, energy drinks, sweetened tea, and fruit juice in terms of sugar and calorie content. It’s comparable to other unsweetened sparkling waters like LaCroix and Perrier nutritionally, though its citrus flavors run more acidic than those competitors. And it’s slightly less ideal than plain still water purely because of the acidity factor.
For most people, the realistic question isn’t whether Bubly is as healthy as plain water. It’s whether Bubly helps you drink more water overall and avoid sugary alternatives. If the answer to either is yes, it’s doing more good than harm. Stick to non-citrus flavors when you can, don’t sip slowly on it for hours (which extends acid exposure on your teeth), and treat it as what it is: flavored water with a minor dental asterisk.