why isn't it dangerous to take in such concentrations of carbon dioxide when drinking soda?

Question

Is it because the CO2 stays in your stomach and doesn't get into the other areas of the body? Because I know you don't want to breathe in carbon dioxide in large concentrations. So why would you want to drink them in? and what is differance? Also, does the CO2 get absorbed, or do you rely completely on gas releases?
Lastly, does anybody know how much soda is too much, as far as CO2 is concerned; or is there not a relavant limit?

Answer 1

first of all, you need to differenciate between carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2).
when you breathe in CO, it connects much more likely to your blood particles than oxygen does. therefore, the more CO you breathe in, the less oxygen your blood will contain - you suffocate.

in rooms with no fresh air, the concentration of CO2 is higher than normal and you might get sleepy, because there is less oxygen, but CO2 doesn't connect to your blood particles more likely than oxygen, like the way CO does. The reason you get sleepy is the same - lack of oxygen - but that's because the oxygen that was in the room has been used up and not because another substance (CO) is actively taking the oxygen's place in the bloodstream.

to say it simple:
CO is more dangerous than CO2, because, even if there is enough oxygen, it will actively "block" your body's ability to absorbe the oxygen.
when there is no or not enough oxygen, it doesn't really matter what else you breathe in - you suffocate anyway.


to answer your question:
CO2 or even CO in your stomach does not get absorbed and does not affect your ability to breathe in any way. and since the CO2 in sodas doesn't affect you, you will probably have very bad cavities and a nice belly from all the sugar before you find out how much is too much...

Answer 2

I'm guessing that you don't get as much CO2 in soda as you might think, not enough to harm you.

Just like when your body uses up ordinary air from breathing and you breathe out the CO2, you can breathe out any CO2 that got into you from soda. Plus, your blood naturally has other substances in it that help balance out your body chemistry, such as a type of bicarb.