In the last fifteen years, sodas have seen a significant decline, especially among teenagers. Americans have begun ditching the sugary beverages for healthier alternatives like sparkling water. There is increasing evidence that sodas should not be consumed altogether because just one can puts a person over their daily sugar limit for the day. These days, it has become all about maintaining gut health, leading to the creation of prebiotic sodas like OLIPOP and Poppi. These sodas boast a much lower sugar content of 2-5 grams of sugar and do not use sweeteners like aspartame. These brands also claim to be “healthy” sodas as they contain prebiotics that support gut health. Before exploring the nutrition data behind OLIPOP, I am going to give a quick taste review of each flavor that I have tried.

Taste Review of OLIPOP Flavors:

Orange Squeeze: Unlike some of the other flavors, this soda does not have the same aftertaste from the OLISMART mixture. It taste pretty similar to a regular Fanta but less sweet and slightly more citrus.

Watermelon-Lime: I find that most watermelon flavored drinks tend to taste very artificial. Surprisingly, this flavor did not taste super artificial. That being said, I would reccomend the Classic Grape, Orange Squeeze or Lemon-Lime over this flavor.

Classic Grape: This was probably my favorite flavor. Tasted exactly like a Welch’s Sparkling Grape drink you would find in the grocery store.

Lemon-Lime: This flavor tastes like a slightly milder version of Sprite and is a close second to the Sparkling Grape.

Strawberry Vanilla: This one tasted a little too sweet for me. Would not recommend this flavor.

Tropical Punch: It reminded me a lot of the Punch you find in the grocery store but I prefer the Classic Grape and Lemon-Lime.

Vintage Cola: This one by itself was alright. It did taste like an actual Cola, but the aftertaste is not very good. It does quite well though in a Coke Float so I would recommend this flavor if you are looking to make a healthier Coke Float.

Cherry Vanilla: Same as Strawberry Vanilla. Would not recommend.

Root Beer: The aftertaste in this flavor is worse than the Vintage Cola. Would buy the Cola over this one.

Banana Cream: Do not recommend this flavor.

OLIPOP Ingredients: For starters, the prebiotic soda contains about 9 grams of dietary fiber per 12 oz serving. The recommended daily dose is about 30 grams per day from food. This means that one can of OLIPOP contains about a third of a person’s recommended fiber dosage. Looking towards the ingredients of the soda, it contains chicory root, cassava root, and Jerusalem artichoke. These are all prebiotic fibers that promote gut health and proper digestion as they are high in inulins. In addition, both chicory root and Jerusalem artichokes contain antioxidants and a number of healthy minerals such as iron and B vitamins which support both the immune system and metabolism. The soda also contains marshmallow root, calendula flower, and kudzu root. Each of these ingredients have been traditionally used in ancient or herbal medicine and are used to reduce symptoms from skin rashes as well as coughs. Currently, kudzu root is being studied for its potential to increase heart health and manage blood sugar levels. Finally, nopal cactus is known to be high in fiber and vitamins and has been used to manage diabetes.

Purdue Study: In 2023, Purdue conducted a study looking specifically at the ingredients of OLIPOP to see how they affected gut microbiota composition and functionality. In the study, researchers used fecal matter from human subjects in order to get samples of the bacteria living in our gut. Then, the bacteria were fed the OLISMART as well as other botanicals. Scientists analyzed how much the OLISMART was fermented compared to the other botanicals. The study concluded that the OLISMART mixture did benefit the growth of healthy gut bacteria and what those gut bacteria produce; however, the results were different for each person. In conclusion, which the OLISMART mixture does improve gut health, the affects of the OLISMART are dependent of the person’s gut bacteria.

So, Is OLIPOP Really Worth It?: In short, there needs to be more research done on the product before you can go drinking a can or two every day. However, 2-3 cans a week isn’t necessarily bad because the soda does contain healthy prebiotic ingredients shown to boost the immune system and dietary fiber.

Works Cited: Deemer, Dale. Goodwin, Ben. Bron, Peter. Lindemann, Peter. Voreades, Noah. “Botanicals impact the bifidogenic effect and metabolic outputs of in vitro fiber fermentation by gut-derived microbiota in individual-specific ways.” bioRxiv, https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.17.537114v1.article-info