Yes, LaCroix is acidic, but far less so than soda, juice, or most other flavored drinks. Depending on the flavor, LaCroix has a pH somewhere around 4.7, compared to roughly 2.4 for a cola. Pure water sits at a neutral 7.0. So while LaCroix lands on the acidic side of the scale, it’s in a mild range that poses minimal risk to your teeth or digestive system.
Why Sparkling Water Is Acidic
The acidity in LaCroix comes from the carbonation itself. When carbon dioxide is dissolved in water under pressure, it forms a small amount of carbonic acid. This is what gives all sparkling water its slight tang and drops the pH below neutral. LaCroix’s only listed ingredients are carbonated water and “natural flavor,” which the company says are essence oils extracted from the fruit named on each can. There’s no added citric acid on the label, so the carbonation process is doing most of the acidic heavy lifting.
That said, flavored varieties tend to be more acidic than plain sparkling water. A CBC Marketplace test found LaCroix’s grapefruit flavor measured a pH of 4.71, while Perrier (unflavored mineral water) came in at 5.46. Citrus flavors in particular tend to push the pH lower, likely because the natural fruit essences contribute trace amounts of organic acids. LaCroix has acknowledged that pH levels “vary by flavour.”
How LaCroix Compares to Other Drinks
Context matters here. A pH of 4.7 sounds acidic until you line it up against what most people drink daily. For reference, the pH scale is logarithmic, meaning each full number represents a tenfold difference in acidity. So a cola at pH 2.4 is roughly 100 times more acidic than a LaCroix at 4.7.
- Coca-Cola Classic: pH 2.37
- Pepsi: pH 2.39
- S. Pellegrino: pH 4.96
- Perrier: pH 5.25
- Canada Dry Club Soda: pH 5.24
- LaCroix Grapefruit: pH 4.71
LaCroix falls in a similar range to other flavored sparkling waters and sits well above sodas, energy drinks, and fruit juices. If you’re switching from soda to LaCroix, you’re dramatically reducing the acidity of what you drink.
What This Means for Your Teeth
Tooth enamel starts to demineralize when exposed to solutions below a pH of about 5.5. LaCroix’s flavored varieties fall below that threshold, which raises a fair question about dental erosion. But pH alone doesn’t tell the whole story. The concentration of acid, how long it sits on your teeth, and whether you’re sipping all day or drinking with a meal all matter.
The American Dental Association’s position is reassuring. One study compared the effect of sparkling water and regular water on extracted teeth and found the two were “about the same in their effects on tooth enamel.” The ADA’s summary: sparkling water is generally fine for your teeth. Their one practical caveat is about citrus-flavored varieties, which have higher acid levels. If you drink those, finishing the can in one sitting or having it with a meal is better than sipping slowly over several hours, because repeated exposure gives acid more opportunity to work on enamel.
Your saliva also plays a natural buffering role, neutralizing mild acids in your mouth between sips. For someone with normal saliva production, the carbonic acid in sparkling water is easily handled.
Effects on Digestion and Reflux
If you’ve heard that carbonated water can trigger acid reflux, the evidence doesn’t support that. A systematic review of studies on carbonated beverages and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) found that while carbonation causes a very brief dip in pH inside the esophagus, there’s no evidence it directly damages the esophagus or consistently triggers reflux symptoms. The review concluded there is “no direct evidence that carbonated beverages promote or exacerbate GERD.”
Carbonation can cause temporary bloating or burping because of the released gas, and some people with existing reflux may find that uncomfortable. But the acidity of sparkling water itself isn’t strong enough to meaningfully change your stomach’s acid environment. Your stomach already operates at a pH between 1.5 and 3.5, far more acidic than anything in a can of LaCroix.
Does It Affect Your Bones?
The concern that carbonated drinks weaken bones traces back to cola specifically, not carbonation in general. Colas contain phosphoric acid, which was theorized to interfere with calcium absorption. But even that link is weak. A clinical trial published in the British Journal of Nutrition compared postmenopausal women drinking a quart of carbonated mineral water daily to those drinking the same amount of still water. After eight weeks, markers of bone turnover showed no difference between the groups.
A larger Tufts University study of 2,500 adults from the Framingham Osteoporosis Study found that non-cola carbonated drinks had no association with low bone mineral density. Cola intake was linked to slightly lower bone density at the hip in women, but that appears to be related to the phosphoric acid or other ingredients in cola rather than the carbonation. Plain or flavored sparkling water like LaCroix doesn’t carry the same concern.
The Bottom Line on Acidity
LaCroix is mildly acidic, with flavored varieties sitting around pH 4.7. That’s acidic enough to technically fall below the enamel erosion threshold, but in practice, it behaves much more like water than like soda. The acid is weak, the concentration is low, and your body’s natural defenses handle it easily. If you’re drinking a few cans a day, the only precaution worth taking is not nursing a citrus-flavored can for hours on end. Beyond that, it’s one of the least concerning things you could be drinking.