Is Perrier Healthy? 13 Things You Should Know

Is Perrier a healthy beverage option?

I’ll be honest. Of all the “sparkling” drinks out there, Perrier is not my favorite. But I often buy it in Starbucks anyway when I go there to do work. Now, why on Earth would I do that? Why buy a drink I don’t even love? Well, because nutritionally, it’s a pretty good choice.

Perrier is a sugar-free, zero-calorie sparkling mineral water that is widely considered healthy. Unlike many other fizzy drinks, Perrier does not have artificial sweeteners, sugar, stevia, or any sweetener at all. It is also free of added sodium and artificial colors.

Below, I’ll discuss whether Perrier is good for hydration, weight loss, dental health, and more. We’ll look closer at the mineral content, the “natural flavors” in the flavored versions of Perrier, and the ingredients of “Perrier Energize” (the version with caffeine).

Is Perrier Good for You?

Here are the 13 questions we’re going to cover on Perrier nutrition. Click to skip ahead to any of them—or just scroll down to read it all:

1. What Ingredients Are in Perrier?
2. What Are the Minerals in Perrier?
3. Is Perrier Good for Hydration?
4. Is Perrier Good for Weight Loss?
5. Does Perrier Have Artificial Sweeteners?
6. What Are the “Natural Flavors” in Flavored Perrier?
7. Does Perrier Have Sugar or Carbs?
8. Is Perrier Bad for Your Teeth?
9. Is Perrier Low in Sodium?
10. Does Perrier Have Caffeine?
11. Is It Ok to Drink Perrier Every Day?
12. Is Perrier Healthier Than La Croix?
13. Is Perrier Vegan?

1. What Ingredients Are in Perrier?

Let’s start by looking at what Perrier actually has in it. We’ll look at 3 different products: The original Perrier, a flavored Perrier, and Perrier Energize.

I’ll share my observations after the table:

Perrier Drinks	Ingredients
Perrier Original	Carbonated Mineral Water.
Perrier Lemon	Carbonated Mineral Water, Natural Flavors.
Perrier Energize	Mineral Water, Organic Yerba Mate Extract, Organic Cane Sugar, Carbon Dioxide, Citric Acid (To Preserve Freshness), Natural Flavors, Organic Green Coffee Extract (Caffeine).

Here’s what I notice about these ingredients:

• Most Perrier has minimal ingredients. Many beverages have long lists of chemical-sounding ingredients. Not Perrier. Their non-caffeinated drinks only have 1 or 2 ingredients. Perrier Energize has more, but still there’s nothing too crazy.

• Most Perrier is free of sugar. This applies to Perrier Original and the basic flavors, although not Perrier Energize. It means most Perrier doesn’t have the empty calories found in most drinks, and that’s generally good. Below, we’ll look more at Perrier for weight loss.

• Perrier is free of artificial sweeteners. Most artificial sweeteners have been associated with possible health risks, particularly effects on gut health. But with Perrier, you don’t have to worry about those at all.

• Perrier has no artificial colors. Many drinks on the market today have artificial colors. These dyes are controversial for safety, causing hyperactivity in some children and possibly other issues. So it’s great Perrier doesn’t have any.

• Many Perrier drinks have “Natural Flavors.” This doesn’t apply to Perrier Original but to most of the rest. But what are “natural flavors” exactly? We’ll discuss the details below, but it’s generally not anything to worry about.

• Perrier has caffeinated and non-caffeinated drinks. This is nice because you can choose the option best for you. However, the caffeinated drink (Perrier Energize) also comes with added sugar. So you can’t get the caffeine without sugar. More detail on Perrier Energize’s caffeine content below.

• Perrier doesn’t have added electrolytes. Mineral water has some natural electrolytes, but it’s not much compared to sports drinks like Gatorade or oral rehydration solutions like Pedialyte. So if you’re sweating a lot, Perrier may not be the best. See below for more on Perrier and hydration.

Overall, the listed ingredients for most Perrier drinks are pretty “clean.” There are no artificial sweeteners or colors or anything really controversial. But it depends which product you choose—Perrier Energize does have added cane sugar.

2. What Are the Minerals in Perrier?

One liter of Perrier has roughly the following mineral content:

• 155mg of calcium
• 6mg of magnesium
• 445mg of bicarbonate
• 0mg of potassium
• 11mg of sodium
• 25mg of chloride
• 46mg of sulfate

That comes out to a total of 688mg of mineral content per liter of Perrier. That is only about 70% of the total mineral content of S.Pellegrino (1,002mg) and less than one-third of the mineral content of Gerolsteiner (2,479mg) per liter. (source)

As you can see, the most plentiful minerals in Perrier are bicarbonate and calcium.

3. Is Perrier Good for Hydration?

Perrier can play a role in hydration, as it is mostly water. The only other ingredients it has are natural minerals and carbonation. Even flavored Perrier drinks only add natural flavors to that.

However, Perrier may not be optimal if you’re acutely dehydrated or at risk of dehydration. In that case, you should probably drink an oral rehydration solution (ORS) like Pedialyte or a homemade ORS—or at least a sports drinks like Gatorade (or Gatorade Zero).

If you’re seriously trying to rehydrate yourself, you’ll need added electrolytes. Perrier has some electrolytes naturally, but the sodium is very low. And there is no sugar. Both of those are typically recommended for serious rehydration.

Another thing to note: Just because Perrier can help with routine hydration, that doesn’t mean you should replace all your water with it. Read the sections below on natural flavors and whether Perrier is bad for your teeth before considering anything like that.

But yes, Perrier is hydrating. It’s mostly water. Perrier and other mineral waters can count toward your overall “water intake” for most practical purposes.

4. Is Perrier Good for Weight Loss?

One of the reasons people choose zero-calorie drinks like Perrier is to help with weight management. But this issue can sometimes get complicated.

For example, evidence shows that artificial sweeteners are surprisingly ineffective for weight loss. Some evidence even suggests they can even cause weight gain. This means some “diets drinks” may not actually be great for weight loss.

But is there any reason why Perrier wouldn’t be ideal for weight loss?

Perrier Original and Perrier flavored mineral waters can be great for weight loss. For every 12 ounces of sugary beverages that you replace with zero-calorie Perrier, you will consume about 150 fewer calories. That change alone could cause weight loss over time, even without any other diet or lifestyle changes.

Replacing high-calorie drinks with Perrier is essentially the same as replacing them with plain water. Again, the basic ingredients in most Perrier drinks—carbonated mineral water and natural flavors—don’t have calories or any known detrimental effect on weight loss.

Perrier Energize could be included in a weight-loss diet, too, but it does have added calories from sugar. Therefore, it may not be as good for weight loss as the zero-calorie Perrier drinks.

But always remember: The key to weight loss is your overall calorie balance. If you switch to Perrier but then you eat a lot more food, you could cancel out the impact and stay stuck in a weight-loss plateau.

If your goal is weight loss, you may want to consider tracking your calories as I describe in this post—or following some of these 18 tips for weight loss without counting calories.

5. Does Perrier Have Artificial Sweeteners?

Perrier does not have aspartame, sucralose, or any other artificial sweeteners. Perrier doesn’t have sugar or stevia, either—except for the sugar in Perrier Energize. Most of the flavors in Perrier drinks come only from “natural flavors.”

Many zero-calorie drinks have artificial sweeteners like aspartame or sucralose. Although those sweeteners are FDA approved, there is some controversy about their long-term impact.

Here are a few of the concerns with artificial sweeteners:

• Studies show consumption of diet drinks with artificial sweeteners was linked to three times higher risk of stroke and dementia.
• There’s evidence that rodents develop cancer when exposed to aspartame over their lifespan.
• Research has linked aspartame to weight gain and increased appetite.
• Sucralose is a migraine trigger for some people. (source, source)
• Sucralose and other artificial sweeteners may increase insulin resistance via multiple mechanisms.
• A breakdown product of acesulfame K (acetoacetamide) may damage the thyroid. (source)
• And more, which you can read about here.

Overall, the long-term health impacts of artificial sweeteners are not fully known. But it’s awesome when a product like Perrier can help us avoid all the uncertainty by not using them.

Side note: Erythritol, monk fruit, and stevia seem to be healthier zero-calorie sweeteners. But there are still uncertainties about how the body reacts to them in the longer term. I discussed that a bit in my Zevia soda review.

Related question:

• Is Perrier healthier than diet soda? Perrier is generally considered healthier than diet soda. Most diet sodas have artificial sweeteners and other controversial ingredients like artificial colors,