Counseling Patients on Prebiotic Soda Trends, With Carlos Soto Diaz, MPH

A new analysis of the US beverage market found prebiotic sodas contain fewer calories and less sugar than regular sodas and fruit drinks, but more than diet sodas and flavored sparkling waters.

Carlos R. Soto Díaz, MPH, a PhD candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, presented the findings at NUTRITION 2026, the American Society for Nutrition's annual meeting. He and a team of investigators drew on data from 3709 non-alcoholic beverages launched in the United States between 2021 and 2025, cataloged in the Mintel Global New Products Database.¹

Per 100 mL, the 108 prebiotic sodas identified carried a median of 9.9 kcal, 1.4 g total sugars, and 1.4 g fiber, all significantly different from regular sodas and fruit drinks (P < .001).¹ On a per-can basis, prebiotic sodas averaged about 35 kcal, 5 g of sugar, and 5 g of fiber, with fiber ranging from about 2 g to 9 g across products, since the term "prebiotic" carries no minimum fiber threshold.¹^,² Non-nutritive sweeteners appeared in 64.8% of products, more often than fruit drinks or sparkling waters, but less often than diet sodas.¹

In an interview with Patient Care Online, Soto Díaz encouraged clinicians to direct patients toward the Nutrition Facts label rather than front-of-package marketing.

"I would definitely encourage patients to actually look at the nutritional facts label instead of relying on just looking at the added sugar claims, since we know that a lot of times things that are added as sweeteners such as fruit juice don't count as an added sugar," he said.

"Prebiotic sodas, even if their fiber content isn't especially high, can still be a better option than sugary sodas, fruit drinks, or fruit juices," he added. "But being prebiotic doesn't necessarily mean they're the healthiest option, since they still have more sugar and calories than sparkling waters and diet sodas."

References

1. Soto Díaz CR, Smith Taillie L. Nutritional profile of prebiotic sodas compared with other beverages in the US food supply: a secondary analysis of Mintel GNPD, 2021-2025. Presented at: NUTRITION 2026; July 25-28, 2026; National Harbor, MD.

2. American Society for Nutrition. Prebiotic sodas typically contain as much sugar as fiber. EurekAlert! Published July 25, 2026. Accessed July 31, 2026. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1136407