Hi, Glenn.
It's a bummer about fizzy drinks being acidic. I always drink through a straw when available. However, I don't drink beer through a straw – yet. It is possibly more acidic given it probably has higher carbon dioxide content than soft drinks. Perhaps these drinks should not just have nutrition labeling but also an acid rating! Should we wait for these drinks to go flat?
Regards,
Warwick Boardman
A good thought Warwick. Maybe we should put the pH level on drinks. As we have discussed before, the acid content of soft drinks, sports drinks and fruit juices is high and can cause tooth enamel erosion.
As far as I can gather wine has a pH around 3.0-3.5 and beer has a pH of about 4, both in the acid range, although not as acidic as fruit juice, soft drinks and sports drinks, which tend to have a pH of 2-3. There have been reported cases of wine tasters, wine makers and even wine lovers suffering marked dental erosion due to the low pH of wine. To reduce wine contact with the teeth, and to stimulate saliva flow (saliva buffers the acid), drink wine with a meal.
Oh, and Warwick, never let your beer go flat! That is plain unnatural.