Most ginger ale is not particularly good for you. A standard 12-ounce can contains about 124 calories and over 30 grams of sugar, putting it on par with other sodas. The biggest misconception is that ginger ale delivers the well-documented health benefits of ginger root. In reality, most commercial brands contain almost no real ginger.
Most Ginger Ale Contains Almost No Ginger
The idea that ginger ale is a healthier soda rests on one assumption: that it contains meaningful amounts of ginger. It usually doesn’t. Canada Dry, one of the best-selling brands, lists “less than two per cent” ginger extract on its U.S. cans. Court documents from a Canadian class-action lawsuit claimed there is roughly one drop of ginger extract in about 70 cans. That extract, called ginger oleoresin, is used in parts-per-million concentrations, which food scientists consider trace or minute amounts.
Major brands like Schweppes, Seagram’s, and Vernors rely on high-fructose corn syrup as a primary ingredient, with ginger playing a negligible role in the formula. A few smaller brands use more real ginger. Reed’s uses pressed organic ginger, Bruce Cost uses fresh ginger, and Fever-Tree and Boylan use cane sugar instead of corn syrup. But even these are still sugary drinks, not health products.
It Won’t Settle Your Stomach
Reaching for ginger ale when you feel nauseous is one of those pieces of folk wisdom that doesn’t hold up. Cleveland Clinic gastroenterologists are blunt about it: most ginger ale won’t help with nausea, and it could make things worse. The amount of actual ginger in a typical can is far too small to have any therapeutic effect. Meanwhile, the 10-plus teaspoons of sugar and the carbonation can increase bloating, gas, and indigestion.
Real ginger, on the other hand, does work. Fresh ginger root contains a compound called gingerol that has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It has shown effectiveness against morning sickness, motion sickness, and chemotherapy-related nausea. The American Academy of Obstetrics and Gynecology recognizes ginger as an acceptable remedy for pregnancy-related nausea. But the delivery method matters. Ginger tea brewed from fresh root, or even a small piece of raw ginger, delivers far more of the active compound than a can of soda flavored with trace amounts of ginger extract.
Sugar Content Rivals Other Sodas
A 12-ounce can of regular ginger ale has about 124 calories and 32 grams of sugar. That’s roughly 8 teaspoons, comparable to a cola. The sweetener in most mainstream brands is high-fructose corn syrup. Canada Dry, Schweppes, Seagram’s, and Vernors all use it as their second ingredient.
Drinking this much added sugar regularly contributes to weight gain, blood sugar spikes, and increased risk of metabolic problems. If you’re reaching for ginger ale because it feels like a “lighter” choice than cola, the nutritional reality is nearly identical. Some brands like Zevia and Olipop use stevia instead of sugar, and Q Mixers uses organic agave, which offer lower-calorie alternatives, though they come with their own trade-offs in taste.
Diet Ginger Ale Has Its Own Drawbacks
Zero-calorie ginger ales swap sugar for artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame-potassium, or stevia. All of these are FDA-approved, but the research on their long-term effects is mixed and evolving. Two recent reviews suggest that artificial sweeteners may disrupt the balance of beneficial gut bacteria, potentially contributing to metabolic changes linked to type 2 diabetes and obesity.
One observational study found that people who regularly drank diet soft drinks were more likely to have metabolic syndrome than those who drank sugar-sweetened sodas or no soda at all. Diet soda drinkers also tended to have larger waist circumferences and higher fasting blood sugar levels. These are associations, not proof of cause, but the pattern is consistent enough to give researchers pause.
On a more immediate level, the sugar alcohols in some diet formulas can cause bloating and diarrhea, especially in larger amounts. People sensitive to aspartame may experience headaches or insomnia. And anyone with phenylketonuria, a rare genetic condition, needs to avoid diet versions containing phenylalanine entirely.
Carbonation Can Aggravate Some Conditions
The fizz in ginger ale introduces carbon dioxide into your digestive system, which can cause belching, bloating, and discomfort, particularly if you’re already dealing with gas or indigestion. For people with acid reflux, the picture is more nuanced. Carbonated beverages are slightly more acidic than flat water and may affect the valve between your esophagus and stomach. However, research from Baylor College of Medicine notes that carbonated drinks have not been consistently shown to cause or worsen reflux symptoms. Some people tolerate them fine, while others find they’re a clear trigger. If you have GERD, it comes down to your individual response.
Better Ways to Get Ginger’s Benefits
If you’re drinking ginger ale for the ginger, you’re better off going straight to the source. Johns Hopkins Medicine recommends ginger tea as a healthier alternative, noting that commercial ginger beverages provide ginger’s benefits only in theory while loading you up with sugar. Brewing tea from fresh ginger root is simple: slice a thumb-sized piece, steep it in hot water for 10 minutes, and you’ll get far more gingerol than any can of soda delivers.
Ginger beer tends to contain more real ginger than ginger ale and has a noticeably spicier flavor, though it’s not a health drink either. A 12-ounce serving has about 140 calories and 35 grams of sugar, slightly more than ginger ale. If your goal is the taste rather than the health benefits, ginger beer at least gets you closer to actual ginger. For the health benefits with no sugar, fresh ginger root or unsweetened ginger tea is the clear winner.