Elawady: the harm of soda is the carbonated water itself, not the sugar or sweetener; one 300 ml Pepsi delivers more carbon dioxide than the body produces in a whole day, and colas contain sodium bicarbonate that neutralises stomach acid and increases reflux.
Original statement
انت عارفكوبايه اللي هو البيبسي ال 300 ملي دول يكفوك يعملوا فيك قد ايه ثاني اكسيد الكربون اكت من اللي انت بتنتجه في جسمك على مدار اليوم ... حموضه الكوكا كولا وال والمياه الغازيه هي بتوصل 2.3 من قريبه من حموضه المعده بلس ان انا حاطط فيها صوديوم بايكربونيت
verbatim according to source. Translation by the project; the Arabic wording is authoritative.
Translation
Elawady: the harm of soda is the carbonated water itself, not the sugar or sweetener; one 300 ml Pepsi delivers more carbon dioxide than the body produces in a whole day, and colas contain sodium bicarbonate that neutralises stomach acid and increases reflux.
Origin
- Source status
- Video transcript (own words)
- Attribution
- Elawady (machine transcript)
- Video
- Dr Diaa Al Awady د ضياء العوضي is live! لايف هزار (Open source)
- Published
- 1 September 2025
- Timestamp
- not available (transcript has no timings)
- Attribution uncertainty
- Machine/CC transcript; wording may contain transcription errors.
- Claimed mechanism
Carbon dioxide load; sodium bicarbonate neutralising gastric acid.
- Claimed health effect
Disturbed digestion, reflux.
- Population concerned
Everyone
- Geographic restriction by Elawady
none found
Diverging source versions
- Source status
- Video transcript (own words)
- Attribution
- Elawady (machine transcript)
- Video
- الجن . آلام العمود الفقري . الحقيقه والسراب (Open source)
- Published
- 26 November 2025
- Timestamp
- not available (transcript has no timings)
- Attribution uncertainty
- Machine/CC transcript; wording may contain transcription errors.
- Source status
- Video transcript (own words)
- Attribution
- Elawady (machine transcript)
- Video
- ايه اللى بيحصل فى معدتنا بعد اكل العيش .. فيديو خطير وكلام اول مرة تسمعوه (Open source)
- Published
- 24 March 2021
- Timestamp
- not available (transcript has no timings)
- Attribution uncertainty
- Machine transcript (2021 video); attribution assumed from archive listing.
Scientific assessment
False – The statement contradicts the robust evidence.
Certainty of evidence: moderate – Further research may still affect the assessment.
1. What was claimed?
Carbonation, not sugar, is the problem; one can of Pepsi exceeds daily body CO2 production; colas contain bicarbonate that neutralises stomach acid.
2. What is demonstrably correct?
Colas are acidic. Sodium bicarbonate does neutralise stomach acid and produces CO2 (relevant for effervescent antacids, which he also mentions).
3. What is wrong or exaggerated?
The CO2 comparison is wrong by a very large margin: metabolism produces carbon dioxide continuously, which is exhaled with every breath. Colas are not alkaline and are not formulated as antacids; an acidic drink cannot neutralise gastric acid. Saying the sugar is irrelevant contradicts the archive's own case, which rests mostly on sugar-related evidence (C-SOD-01 to C-SOD-05).
4. What remains unclear?
None material.
5. Which studies support it?
None.
6. Which studies contradict it?
A-SOD-03 (colas contain phosphoric acid); I-SOD-01.
7. What applies to Germany and Europe?
Not region-specific.
8. What is known about Egypt?
Not region-specific.
9. What practical conclusion is appropriate?
The main established health concern with regular soda is its sugar (and acid for teeth), not the carbon dioxide.
Assessment details
- Rationale for certainty of evidence
Basic physiology and chemistry: the human body produces and exhales carbon dioxide continuously from metabolism, far exceeding the amount dissolved in a single can (textbook respiratory physiology; not quantified here from a fetched source). Colas are acidified with phosphoric acid (A-SOD-03 abstract); an acidic drink does not neutralise gastric acid. Sodium bicarbonate is typical of effervescent antacid salts ('fawwar'), not of colas. Certainty moderate because no product-specific ingredient list was fetched.
- Source quality
Own words (machine transcript). Internally inconsistent: in the same remarks he says colas are about as acidic as the stomach (pH ~2.3) and that they neutralise stomach acid.
- Regional transferability
Universal.
- Individual exceptions
None.
- Regional scope of the claim
- general (biological/medical)
- Last reviewed
- 25 October 2026 provisional
In plain language
Dr. Diaa said that the gas in fizzy drinks, not the sugar, is the main problem, and that one glass contains more carbon dioxide than the body makes in a day. In reality, the body makes and breathes out carbon dioxide all the time, far more than any drink contains. Colas are acidic, so they cannot neutralise stomach acid. The best-documented harm of regular soda comes from its sugar.
Studies on this claim
Studies supporting the claim (0)
No studies in this group.
Studies contradicting or limiting the claim (2)
-
Cola and bone density in older women
Tucker KL et al.. Am J Clin Nutr 2006 · PMID 17023723 · DOI 10.1093/ajcn/84.4.936Cross-sectional studycited by the Tayebat archiveabstract only checked★ key studyWomen drinking cola daily had 3.7% lower hip bone density; other fizzy drinks showed no link.
Does the study support the specific claim? Partly · Methodological quality: moderate · Certainty of evidence: see overall assessment of the claim
Original publication · Scientific details
Study explained simply
- What did the researchers want to find out?
Is cola consumption associated with lower BMD?
- How was the study done?
Cross-sectional analysis of BMD (DXA) by FFQ soft-drink frequency, Framingham Osteoporosis Study.
- How many people, animals or samples were studied?
1,413 women; 1,125 men; Older women and men
- What was actually found?
Women: cola associated with lower BMD at each hip site (P<0.001-0.05) but not spine; daily intake 3.7% lower femoral neck and 5.4% lower Ward's area BMD; similar for diet cola; no association in men or for non-cola carbonated beverages; phosphorus intake not significantly higher in daily cola drinkers.
- How large was the observed effect?
-3.7% femoral neck BMD (daily vs <1/month)
- What do the results mean in everyday life?
Possible small effect on bone in women; not shown for other fizzy drinks.
- What are the study's limitations?
Cross-sectional; Effect only in women and at hip; Mechanism not demonstrated (phosphorus intake similar); Self-reported intake
- What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?
Main evidence for C-SOD-08; also limits C-SOD-14 (no association for non-cola carbonated drinks).
- Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?
Moderate.
- What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?
That phosphoric acid causes bone loss or fractures.
-
Fizzy drinks and reflux: systematic review
Johnson T et al.. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2010 · PMID 20055784 · DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2010.04232.xSystematic reviewindependent cross-checkabstract only checked★ key studyFizzy drinks briefly lower acidity in the food pipe, but there is no direct evidence that they cause reflux disease.
Does the study support the specific claim? No · Methodological quality: moderate · Certainty of evidence: see overall assessment of the claim
Original publication · Scientific details
Study explained simply
- What did the researchers want to find out?
Do carbonated beverages affect oesophageal pH, motility, damage, GERD symptoms and complications?
- How was the study done?
Systematic review (qualitative).
- How many people, animals or samples were studied?
Not stated in abstract; Not stated in abstract
- What was actually found?
Very short decline in intra-oesophageal pH; possible transient reduction of LES basal pressure; no evidence of direct oesophageal damage; not consistently shown to cause GERD symptoms; no evidence of GERD complications or oesophageal cancer.
- How large was the observed effect?
Not pooled
- What do the results mean in everyday life?
Fizzy drinks are not a proven cause of reflux disease.
- What are the study's limitations?
Old (2010); Limited primary evidence; No meta-analysis
- What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?
- Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?
High.
- What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?
That nobody gets symptoms from them.
No study in this group is marked as key.
Studies with mixed or unclear results (0)
No studies in this group.
Regional context
Germany / EU
Not region-specific.
Egypt
Not region-specific.
What applies in my country?
General scientific assessment
False The carbon-dioxide and bicarbonate explanations are factually wrong; sugar is the established problem.
The following areas of food safety are relevant to this statement:
- Additives and processing
Honey, sugar, sweets
Choose a country to see the checked information for it.
Limits: legal rules describe what is allowed, not what every single food contains. Measurement data come from samples and are meaningful only together with their method details.
Country of residence or purchase Compare with another country
References
- Colas, but not other carbonated beverages, are associated with low bone mineral density in older women: The Framingham Osteoporosis Study.. Tucker KL et al.. Am J Clin Nutr 2006 · PMID 17023723 · DOI 10.1093/ajcn/84.4.936
- Systematic review: the effects of carbonated beverages on gastro-oesophageal reflux disease.. Johnson T et al.. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2010 · PMID 20055784 · DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2010.04232.x