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A sweet new drink craze is bubbling up online - and dentists are cringing.
The latest fountain option, dubbed heavy soda, promises an extra blast of syrup for maximum sweetness and a flavor strong enough to withstand melting ice.
According to Reddit threads and viral TikTok videos, some gas stations in Southern Missouri have begun offering the concoction, with machines labeled "heavy" for popular sodas like Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Dr Pepper.
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The internet is fizzing with chatter over the trend, leaving some people shocked and others curious.
"Not going to lie - that sounds gross," one person said on the subreddit r/Soda. "Already sweet enough."
"This would take me out, I fear," someone else said.
Some Midwesterners said the trend was new to them - but they weren't necessarily opposed to it.
"Must be very southern MO," one person commented, adding, "I've lived in Missouri 43 years and never seen it."
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"Never even heard of this … I want to find it though," another person wrote. "I've never tried heavy soda, but I'd give it a chance," someone else agreed.
However, some Missourians claimed they were aware of the syrupy secret, and it evoked nostalgia for others.
"For everyone asking, heavy Pepsi is a Missouri thing," one person confirmed.
Someone else said, "In my memory, movie theaters growing up had that heavy Cherry Coke. I miss it."
Another explained, "It's for people who buy a big soda in the morning; as the ice melts all day, heavy ends up tasting normal instead of watery."
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The idea mirrors why McDonald's Coke is famous for tasting better. Syrup to carbonated water ratios are boosted to account for melting ice. Unlike the popular new dirty soda trend, which dresses up soft drinks with creamers, fruit purées and syrups, heavy soda is all about maximum sweetness and flavor.
Dr. Jeremy Manuele, a Las Vegas orthodontist and author, admitted that, as a fan of an occasional soda, he understands why the trend is catching on, but he said it does raise several red flags.
"The extra syrup gives it extra flavor, and it feels like even more of a little treat," Manuele told Fox News Digital.
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But all that sugar means a higher risk of cavities, gum inflammation and enamel erosion, he said, adding that some of the problems can spread to other parts of the body. "Some of the same bacteria linked to gum disease have also been connected to heart disease and other health issues," he said.
There is also the unavoidable sugar crash, he added.
The trend reminds him of the super-sized soda era of the 1980s and 1990s.
"It seems we are always trying to find new ways to make getting our soda fix exciting," Manuele said. "It might appear fun and innocent in the moment, but if it sticks around, it could lead to health issues that people are not thinking about yet."
Peter Earley, a chef and content creator from Nova Scotia, Canada known on TikTok as @earlypete, has been tracking the trend online and sees it as part of a broader category he calls "stunt food" - over-the-top creations that pack as much shock value as they do flavor. (See the video at the top of this article.)
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For every 100 people who had no idea about the trend online, there was one person confirming, "Yup, that's in my hometown," Earley told Fox News Digital. Even some residents of neighboring southern and Midwestern states said, "That's been a thing here forever."
The trend has been bubbling up online for years, he said, and is just finding new life now.
"It comes at a time when these sorts of food trends are becoming more and more permissible," he added. "There's all this talk about eating healthier, but at the same time there's the kickback, which is people making crazy, over-the-top food, you know, pouring pepperoni grease into ranch dressing and dumping it on top of a slice of pizza or whatever."
And rural gas stations are not immune to that. "People want their soda syrup cranked up because everyone wants a sweeter soda at the end of the day, right?" Earley said. "It's never quite enough - we always take it to the next level."
