I'm pretty sure red soda began as a fermented fruit drink, which would have provided lots of nutrients and probiotics. Since the beneficial microbes used the sugar, these original sodas would have been naturally low in sugar. The nutrients in traditional sugars are often overlooked, too. In many native medicine traditions, whole sugars have played an important role for hundreds of years.
Decades ago, the media pushed the Black community to eliminate "fermented fruits" as a category of drink. I remember seeing one article from the early 1900s that focused on the "evils of fermented fruits," so I suppose it was partly an anti-alcohol spin. At the same time, commercial alcohols and sodas were launched into the community, replacing the nutrient and probiotic-rich beverages.
I'm pretty sure red soda began as a fermented fruit drink, which would have provided lots of nutrients and probiotics. Since the beneficial microbes used the sugar, these original sodas would have been naturally low in sugar. The nutrients in traditional sugars are often overlooked, too. In many native medicine traditions, whole sugars have played an important role for hundreds of years.
Decades ago, the media pushed the Black community to eliminate "fermented fruits" as a category of drink. I remember seeing one article from the early 1900s that focused on the "evils of fermented fruits," so I suppose it was partly an anti-alcohol spin. At the same time, commercial alcohols and sodas were launched into the community, replacing the nutrient and probiotic-rich beverages.