– why do carbonated bubbles burn your throat when you drink too much or too fast?
In: 6
These other answers are wrong, it’s not the acid. Carbonated water has a pH of about 4.5, while other non-carbonated drinks with similar or lower pH, like coffee (4.85), orange juice (3.9), or lemonade (varies, but Minute Maid lemonade is about 2.6) don’t burn. The stinging actually comes from the carbon dioxide coming out of solution. According to [this paper](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2993877/) it’s specifically the high concentrations of carbon dioxide that build up on your tongue/throat that activate pain receptors. (Numbers sourced from Google)
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