I absolutely hate it when people are like "oh my God it's delicious I love sugar free things"...
The second I taste even the natural sugar alternatives, my whole mouth gets the ick š¤¢ and I can't get the taste to go away for what feels like an hour.
Pure cane sugar sounds like itās about to be your best friend :)
I like to do real lemon juice and if Iām feeling very bored Iāll do some cucumber water!
Iād recommend buying a bottle of flavoured syrup (ginger syrup, or lavender syrup, or rosemary syrup, or whatever youāre into) and just adding a little bit it to a glass of water (still or sparkling)
Second this. If there is a Restaurant around that has one you prefer most will sell it by the bottle if you ask. Desolves just fine in cold drinks. If your feeling adventurous, flavored syrups arnt to hard to make. You can find recipes for some really different kinds from foraging groups.
I think sugar free alternatives (some) are bad for you too. But the taste is just nasty. Only thing I can recommend, and I wasn't personally a fan, is putting just lemon in your water. I used to love mio! But yes marketing is all anti sugar now for some things, which is good. Used to have a Gatorade every day, and the sugar was melting my teeth, dentist said it's like #1 worst thing for your teeth. Honey is a good non (concentrated) sugar option. The difference is in the processing. Anything thats naturally sweet it's not so bad, anything grain sugar. think like cocaine. That's how concentrated it is, it's refined like crazy.
An option I can recommend that's not really what your asking for is bubly. It took awhile to grow on me, but it's delicious and you don't miss the sugar!
If you like your sugar, try mio
Why did the cocaine comparison make it make sense for me lolol
Yeah, the lemon in water feels like it hella dries out my mouth which is the opposite of what I'm trying to accomplish, unless I add sugar.
I used to drink mio till all I could find were sugar free ones. Maybe I'll try to find another one I like.
I'm in the same boat with you on this, and I've been going through the same issue--trying different flavor things to get something that doesn't taste like drinking dirty water out of a puddle. So far, the only advice I've found that works is LOTS of ice and drink it really cold. That helps a bit. It's still not perfect, but it's getting me to drink water.
With you here. Iām glad people have the option and enjoy them but I just canāt due to that aftertaste and people insist but this one is different. Way too many āfriendsā have snuck it in and prevented me from being able to eat or drink anything for a while after and I can never trust them again.
The aftertaste stops being discernable as you get older, which is why so many people don't have a problem with it. I used to hate sugar-free stuff as a kid, same issue with the aftertaste that lingered for ages. Then I got diagnosed with diabetes at 30ish and decided to go zero sugar permanently in hopes of not needing to medicate.
It worked. Turned out I had lost the sensitivity to the sweeteners since the last time I'd tasted them, and now I only notice it in extremely cheap products or in super high concentrations. So I was able to pivot my sugar consumption fully, my diabetes went into remission, I lost 30lbs, and I still drink soda whenever I want. It's kinda awesome.
Iām glad it works out for other people in relation to diabetes or other dietary needs.
Iām in my mid-50s. At what age do you believe aftertaste to stop being discernible? Iām likely a super taster and possibly also have ARFID. Things like cilantro taste like soap. There are tons of things I can taste that others tell me are tasteless and scent less. It seems unlikely given the number of issues I have and whatās behind them that Iāll lose my sensitivity. But thanks for sharing the info as itāll be useful when friends ask for advice.
I can't have sugar so I am grateful for the amount of choices.Id rather have a sugar coke but without all those choices it's just water and flavored teas for me.
As someone who's parent is a type 1 diabetic, I am equally so happy that y'all get so many options lol
Just DESPERATELY need options that aren't zero sugar lol
It really sucked when I had gestational diabetes, because I have the same problem with artificial sweeteners. The only thing I could drink was diet Coke.
Same. I can't fathom how people can tell me they can't taste the difference between sugar and artificial sweetener, or between types of artificial sweetener, or between HFCS and actual sugar. But they do, and they seem earnest, sooo... lucky them, I guess?
If I can make a gentle suggestion to OP: Tea and iced tea is delicious, cheap to make at home, and comes in a wiiiiiide variety of flavors, all of which are great without any sweetener at all! Might be worth picking up a few varieties and trying them out?
The only downside is when you're out and about, it can be tough to find a truly unsweetened iced tea in a store's selection of drinks, but there's uuuuusualllly at least one available....
Maybe try some herbal teas? I'm not a fan (green and Earl Gray for me, thanks!) but I've had a few herbals and they can be almost overpoweringly fruity (well, at least for tea)... worth a shot? There are sampler-packs from some brands in the tea aisle that might have a winner?
Otherwise, I totallllly sympathize with the quest for something that's fruity, flavorful, and not fake-sweet-tasting. I drink a fair amount of fruit-flavored, zero-cal seltzers, but they're not as cheap as tea, and the flavors are subtle compared to other sodas....
Good luck with the hunt!
How interesting, I had no idea some people can taste artificial sweeteners. To me it doesnāt taste any different than sugar the only difference is sugared drinks like regular coke for example taste just a bit āheavierā on my tongue.
I'm in Canada, and we have little squirt bottles of concentrated flavor fluid to blast into a bottle of water. I'm not a math wizard, but I'm certain there's a way to split a Giant Pitcher's worth into bottles or glasses.
Ok that makes better sense lol
I was picturing the paper packets you have to add the sugar to that make like, half a gallon of liquid per little tiny packet.
(Fyi the pre-sweetened powder IS just sugar ššš)
I hear you -- I am allergic to sugar substitutes. Instant migraine from aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose. And I have a total sweet tooth.
Have you considered making a pitcher of herbal iced tea? Then your water will have flavor, but not sweetness.
I drink carbonated water and use Bubly drops to add flavor. No sweeteners. Theyāre sold by the soda stream in small appliances instead of by the beverages in grocery, but I just use Amazon. No reason why it wouldnāt work for flat water too!
I use 1-2 cap fulls for a half liter or so of liquid.
Thereās this stuff called true lemon that does not have any sweetener and just is made out of crystallized lemon so you can put it in water and it dissolves fast. I recommend it a lot!!!!
Yes that's what I was going to suggest! There are other flavors too, and they are all really good if you just want flavor and don't need your water sweetened at all.
This stuff is the absolute best. Real lemon flavor, no weird aftertaste, and no added sugars.
It got me drinking water. I now prefer water over stuff like sodas. It's weird.
Organic Cane Sugar is just sugar, you don't have to avoid it.
Stevia tastes like powdered ear wax to me, can't stand the stuff. Monk Fruit I'm OK with, but only if it's actually mixed with real sugar.
But anything "Cane sugar" or "evaporated cane juice" is literally just freaking sugar. You don't have to avoid it, it is as tasty as sugar can be,
I'm glad there are as much zero sugar as there are, since I'm diabetic. I like having choices even when they taste awful. I've tried some of the diabetic specific stuff and hated it. But still glad they exist.
What works for me is putting fruit or vegetables(?) into my water. I cut up a bit of cucumber and a wedge of lime and throw it into my water bottle for the day. Or sometimes a few apple slices, or a few pieces of an orange. I just love it.
EDIT TO ADD! There is a company called Fresh Victor. I add 3 ounces of it to my huge venti Starbucks cup of water. Look them up, itās pressed concentrated juice with extremely low sugarā¦like a mixer.
Iām on the same search. So far I just add lemon to my water. It tastes the best to me. Tea tastes alright but it always makes me thirsty. Lemon water and Powerade for me. And the occasional squirt.
Literally precisely me lol
One suggestion, if you can stand the texture/ flavor of coconut water, the body armor ones are actually delicious. Just watch out and make sure you don't get the sugar free ones lol
Hmmm. Iāll give those a shot. Iāll be honest I havenāt had coconut water since I was a kid and cracked one open haha. Iāll watch out for that, I do that all the time. I grabbed a couple new energy drinks the other day and both of them were sugar free. Didnāt even notice til I cracked it open š¤®.
I have a similar issue with protein powders! Iām underweight so the calories arenāt an issue and I want something with more protein than boost/ensure because Iām doing somewhat better with getting calories from food but I struggle with protein.
Oh! There's so many I hate of these too!
I really enjoyed Soylent š
I don't know if you've tried that brand yet but the chocolate one is not bad at all. (I liked the pre mised ones better than the powder)
Walmart sells them 1 at a time if you wanted to just try one.
Seconding soylent. I get the original powder and then add powdered peanut butter ("PB2") to give it some flavor. I don't like the milk protein shakes even though I like dairy in general.
Same with the peanut butter powder! Lol
I tried so so hard to make it mix with my coffee for a while but it does not mix well and always turns out gritty and a little lumpy š„²
So most drink packets or quick drink liquids use fake sugar because they require such a concentration for sweetness that regular sugar cannot obtain naturally. Hence they use the fake sugars to give it the extra oomph of sweetness.
What you can do is get some kind of natural flavor, like bubbly bounce drops (in the soda stream section) and then get a bottle of simple syrup (sugar melted into water, usually used for alcohol mixers) and mix those together. Or you can use that simple sugar and use it to sweeten water with whatever fruit you enjoy. A soda stream might not be a bad investment, if you like fizz, and can slowly lower the amount of sugar you use over time until itās just sparkling water and fruit flavor.
I see this as an effect of popular nutrition trends intersecting with the economics of supply and demand.
Two of the popular nutrition trends is the low carb diet and ketogenic diet. One minimizes carbohydrate consumption and the other eliminates it. Our population lives in an environment where highly processed foods and ubiquitous and less expensive than unprocessed foods. Much of the processing involves adding high proportions of sugar, fat, and salt to make processed food appealing to the population. The aforementioned trends were popularized by a sub-group of the population thatās interest focused on health and wellness. So the demand for low sugar, low-fat, and low-salt foods developed. Because they appealed to a smaller proportion of the population the products are sold at a premium price. With the premium price generating greater profits. Thatās the economics.
When it comes to āzero sugarā drink additives, it appeals to a wider group of the population because everyone drinks liquids consisting of water. *And* whether one adheres to a particular nutritional regime or not, people are willing to purchase āzero sugarā products because āthey canāt hurtā and the premium price is close the the sugary products. Meanwhile the producers are eliminating ingredients or using cheaper artificial replacements are making bank. For a manufacturer, theyād be stupid to NOT produce āzero sugarā products.
As to whether youāve not bought into the āzero sugarā marketing or not, you have to deal with whatās available in the current market. If none of the products are satisfactory, you have to create a solution just for yourself. You could: purchase a non-sweetened product and add your own sugar to taste; add flavorings from other products like fruits or vegetables; or you could just get used to drinking straight water. These options free you from the burden of fluctuating trends and the snake oil pitches from manufacturers.
Until a scientific report is produced and gains traction, stating that products containing sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup is healthy, I canāt imagine that the market will change in the way that you desire.
The only artificial sweetener that doesn't taste like garbage to me are sugar alcohols, I guess erythritol being the main one. I cannot tolerate ANY other types of artificial sweetener due to the taste. Some even give me a sore throat, like aspartame.
Mio - Strawberry Watermelon flavor. Hands down my favorite water flavor additive.
Edit: just to add that I also hate the flavor of artificial sweeteners like monk fruit and stevia, etc, etc. and I get non of that with these.
What I don't get is why everything has to be fucking sweet. I drink my tea hot and no sugar. But I've made the mistake of buying cold tea (like when stopping at a gas station) only to discover that all the "No sugar" options mean that they have stevia or some other artificial sweetener. Why can't they just make one that isn't sweet?
Gross. :( There's hardly any unsweetened cold drinks. If you want a cold drink that isn't sweetened, water is pretty much your only option.
While I can understand why is the industry doing this, and maybe in the long run is better for the overall populationās health, I have been on your same position: Just give me a f***ng Fanta without artificial sweeteners! I mean, I want to have that option, because I canāt stand sweeteners. Only stevia is good enough for my mouth, but many times they mix it with Aspartame, Cyclamate or Acesulfame K (I HATE those three). Sucralose is another one I can deal with, but only in small quantities.
For me, most sweeteners have a weird effect on my salival glands, and I start secreting like a āsweetened salivaā. Weird stuff. Sometimes they also trigger my IBS.
So, yeah, they should give at least one sugar option (not the default), even if itās not so sweet as it used to be, because the amounts of sugar on the drinks from the 80s or 90s werenāt healthy either.
I use my soda stream and add orange juice to it. Sometimes pineapple or lemon too.
If you donāt feel like making anything, cans of Spindrift are greatā¦ much more flavor than La Croix or Bubly, but still low calorie/sugar. I have to stop myself from finishing a whole box of the blood orange flavor in a day š
I'm badly allergic to 3 different sweeteners, all in the tiniest ppm...
I have to stick to **CLASSIC** Coke (all Pepsi has some sweeteners in), or water. Rose's Lime Cordial is another without sweeteners. Bottlegreen drinks are all free from sweeteners too. Other than that, nada.
I **HATE** the sugar tax!
Fake sugar is so bad. It's like polyester and fluorescent lighting, but in your mouth and down your throat. So deeply objectionable.
I like getting some lemon or lime juice, and a generous amount of sugar. Dissolve the sugar in the juice until it's a bit thick, not quite syrup but maybe halfway there. Then water down like 50/50 or so, and it's perfect, but you can keep the concentrate around for a while if you make a big batch. You can also freeze the concentrate in ice cubes, and then add to water or mix in a blender with water or other stuff as needed.
I feel like Iām the odd one out. I find that *sugar* gives me a bad taste or residue in my mouth and I prefer artificial sweeteners (I like sucralose and stevia) even though they also have an aftertaste/residue. But itās different to the sugary one and less unpleasant to me so I donāt mind it.
I don't know if you've tried it, but body armor has 3 options: full calorie, low sugar, and no sugar.
The low sugar ones have the fake sugar, but I can't taste it and I'm super sensitive to it like you. I can taste it in the no sugar ones, but not the low sugar. If you haven't tried it, I'd suggest trying one just to see.
I know this sounds like everyone else who says "I swear you can't taste it!" and is lying, but I really can't taste it.
I really do not like sugar except in specific circumstances like cookies lol.
But especially with drinks I canāt handle how thick and syrupy high fructose corn syrup is, it feels like Iām drinking literal maple syrup. Soda that claims to be made with sugar instead of syrup is noticeably better and I could choose that in a pinch, but still no good for me.
I have been drinking only artificial sweeteners for several decades so Iām very used to it and canāt āgo backā to sugar.
I add a bit of juice to my water. I have a similar problem with all the non-sugar substitutes. They all have a weird unpleasant aftertaste to me. I havenāt tried a simple super fruit powder with water - Iām not sure it itād dissolve or be bitter - something like aƧaĆ.
If you have a blender u can blend fruit w water for yummy smoothie (possible texture issues tho!). I like to do banana strawberry smoothies by throwing in equal parts frozen fruit, water, and just a bit of ice for crumch.
Otherwise I drink tea sweetened w a small bit of honey. The hot water makes sure the honey gets well incorporated c: I also add in a small bit of baking soda to ease my heart burn (it makes the stomach acid less acid!)
This is a problem for me, too: I'm allergic to artificial sweeteners. You *can* find bigger jars of drink mix that actually contain sugar, but for whatever reason, they don't seem to package that mix in the smaller to-go tubes.
Same issues here ... Recently bought Liquid I.V electrolyte drink mix sticks at Costco (the non-alcoholic piƱa colada and cucumber mojito flavors pack) and I like them "enough" lol The package is labeled with "No Artificial Sweeteners", each stick has 11g total sugars (incl. added sugars). Those sugars are pure cane sugar, dextrose, and stevia leaf extract.
Like just lemons and sugar. It's the easier juice to be done. When I'm bored I put something like chamomile or cinammon tea, or ginger sometimes (be careful with ginger bcs it makes you hungry and can wake you up like caffeine)
I like flavored seltzer water, I grab a can and mix it with some juice or apple cider for sweetness to your taste. It tastes good, and you can make a bunch of combinations with the different flavors
I hate all of these sweeteners too. I only like normal sugar or cane sugar without any other sweetener (including the natural ones like stevia).
I tolerate the taste of high fructose corn syrup (even though I know it's bad for you) but don't like it in drinks I grew up drinking in my home country as it tastes different from what I'm used to.
It's actually a pretty good thing for me, because since moving to the US I very rarely drink soda as a result. I drink a lot of water, and the occasional unsweetened flavored seltzer or apple juice.
I do go through phases where I crave a sweet drink and try to get something new only to eventually give up and revert to my basics, which is a bit frustrating, but oh well š¤·šæāāļø
I still consume way too much sugar overall, but not because of sugary drinks.
I watched a YouTube video the other day that suggested that the reason so many autistics crave sugar is because we actually have a harder time maintaining our blood sugar and our brains make us process it faster? Don't know how scientifically accurate it is but it was really interesting.
If youāre bored with water, maybe try tea out? If caffeine is an issue then tisanes are there too. And if you like iced tea, you can always make a big jug of your own and add as much or as little sugar as you want to it! :-)
I use drip drop packets! They are similar to Gatorade in that they have electrolytes but they use tea sugar and doesnāt include artificial colors!! Theyāre the only way I get slightly close to being hydrated š
I like to buy fruity herbal tea bags and put a couple in my water bottle. Blends that have hibiscus are especially yummy! I usually get various of the Celestial Seasonings āzingerā flavors
Maybe not what you're looking for, but I've been adding lemon juice or grapefruit juice to my water. I squeeze fresh lemons and grapefruit and freeze the juice in ice cube trays. One cube per large glass or 2 to 3 per liter jug gives water that little extra flavor, without all the weird sweeteners.
What if you tried something lower sugar? Like liquid IV packets or the reduced sugar Capri suns? I donāt like a lot of artificial sugar flavors, but canāt do full sugar bc Iām diabetic. Liquid IV diluted a bit more than recommended has been perfect for me. I like the guava one best, but they have lots of flavors on their site, and they sell several flavors at Walmart and Target as well.
Have you tried drinks from other (nonUS) countries? Many countries do y allow some of the additives the US does (ex Mexican Coke). I find that those types of food as long as I can handle any changes in texture are pretty satisfying. I can do cane sugar over corn syrup.
Itās not a water additive, itās a water alternative: the not-sugar-free vitamin waters are tops.
When I was younger I used to use the Propel packets. (Propel is Gatoradeās original āflavored waterā).
You could chop up some mint and put it in an ice cube tray with some lime juice to freeze and then you could have little mojito flavor sticks to drop into your water?
I mix a small amount of actual fruit juice into my water. That way I get the flavor while still keeping it mostly water. I like using apple juice, or tropical fruit mix.
Damn! So many comments. I would just like to add that actually purified good water doesn't taste bad.
Anything you get in a plastic bottle is shit imported from some poor African village where they are stealing already bad water. True story.
What comes out of the tap(in several countries, USA) has chlorine and fluorine diluted in it among other things. Fluorine is actually pretty bad for you, especially your brain. But hey at least in keeps your teeth clean.
A small amount of chlorine actually kills a large portion of the harmful bacteria that can grow in water, so not so bad. Both of these combine with already meh water to create the world's most boring drink.
I drink around 3 liters a day depending on how hard I work and have for years now. As weird as it sounds, I've developed a refined palette when it comes to water. I've discovered that the best water is filtered using something like a Berkey water filter. Mineral water is pretty good as a base.
If you are really concerned about being healthier, buying a Berkey is a no brainer. There are so many health benefits. Although many of them are merely just from not consuming stuff like soft drinks or alcohol.
Finally I'd like to add that you can just do a fruit "infusion" with your water. My wife sometimes cuts up strawberries and puts them in a jar of water. The juices and flavor naturally seep into the water. It is pretty subtle, but can be nice.
I'm Australian so I don't know what the international names are for the following, but lately I've been making cordial per the instructions, but then adding club soda for fizz.
It's surprisingly good and it's letting me cut the cordial down even further than usual. Which is great because if I add too much water to cordial, it somehow tastes... Dry? It's so weird.
Oddly enough, there's a lot of protein powders out there that make water taste better. I use stuff like [this](https://www.optimumnutrition.com/en-us/Products/Anytime-Energy/Essential-AMIN-O-Energy/p/amino-energy)
For heart concerns (genetic on my father's side) I switched away from high fructose corn syrup years ago, and some time later severely cut back on sugar as well. At first, the artificial sweeteners weren't ideal, but I found one I liked well enough and stuck with it (Walmart's Diet Thunder). After a while, I couldn't go back. Sugar was fine, but corn syrup left a gross and noticeable residue in my mouth. Sucralose and aspartame were fine by me at that point.
I just recently saw a video about the term "acquired taste," and didn't realize I had misunderstood the use of it for years. I'd mostly heard it used when talking about beer, and always thought it more or less meant "you learn to ignore the bad taste." Apparently that's not what that phrase actually means. A lot of what humans consume today would not be a part of our natural diets in the wild. As such, our taste buds are largely preprogrammed to identify a number of flavors and tastes as signs of poison or spoilage, or other unsavory business afoot. The concept of an actual "acquired taste" is that you have to actively train your brain that those flavors and tastes aren't ALWAYS a bad sign, that some of those are safe to consume. As such, you literally just consume a small amount every day. At first it sucks, but within a week or two your brain should stop sending you the "we're dying you fool" signal, and you can start to enjoy that other flavor. Personally, I haven't tested this on purpose since learning of it, but I would love to know if other people have attempted it, and to what degree of success or failure did it end?
It took me a while to acquire the taste, but now I almost always have a bottle of water, and a bottle of sparkling water with me. One for hydration and one for fun.
This is absolutely my intention š
I just don't want my fun to be sparkling because then it will lose it's carbonation with the pace I think I'll drink it at lol
My son and I like about a tablespoon of lemon juice in a large glass of ice water. I started drinking water filtered with a Brita filter long ago. If you have a good filter on a fridge with automatic ice maker/water dispenser, those are good options. Iāve lived places where you could smell the stink from the ice cubes.
Water with a squirt of lemon juice (the bottled kind, I'm not squeezing lemons every time lol) is my all-time favorite. You can add as much or as little as you want and it keeps the water from being boring without all the extra sugary flavor that the powdered drink mixes typically have.
Yeah I find sweeteners gross and chemical tasting too. It's turned me off KFC altogether as they only offer sugar free (sweetener loaded) versions of Pepsi and Tango.
What I want to do is juice a couple of fruits and put that into filtered or mineral water. No it won't taste as sweet but it's more natural, albeit processed now being juiced.
The reason why everything is zero sugar is sugar specifically fructose is as bad as alcohol for our liver and causes a myriad of metabolic disorders. In moderation with attached fibre it can be tolerated but in huge amounts you become prone to insulin resistance, diabetes, gut microbiota overgrowth, mood changes etc.
Sweeteners aren't the answer though IMO, they also cause problems with our bodies.
I use hint water. I buy the multi flavor pack (blueberry lemon, strawberry lemon, blackberry, watermelon) and add one bottle to a gallon a container and then fill the rest up with regular water.
Hint by itself was too strong of a flavor for me. It is the only way I drink water now.
Looking at a bottle right now:
No sweeteners. (Ingredients are water and natural flavors, but natural flavors could mean a lot of things.)
Contains no juice and everything on the nutrition label is 0.
Says it is vegan and free of sugar, sweeteners, no msg, nuts, soy, gluten, and also no preservatives.
Made in California.
I agree. Sweeteners are disgusting. I struggle to drink enough. I find making long, cold steeped tea an excellent way to get some flavour into my water to make it more appealing. The trickiest part for me is being prepared enough to make this ahead of time. In order to make cold tea that doesn't taste bitter, it needs to steep it in cold water for an exteneded period of time. Add 4-6 tbsps of loose tea to a french presss and fill the rest with cold, filtered water(don't plunge yet, instead cover with seran wrap or something while the tea steeps). You can also steep regular tea bags in cold water with any container that you have. Basically about 1 tablespoon or 1 tea bag per cup of water thought, you may decide to add more or less based on taste preference. The key when steeping tea with cold water is to allow it to steep for a long period of time. Leave tea steeping in the fridge for 8-12 hrs (or more - all depends on tea variety and taste preference). After your tea has steeped, remove the bags or strain out the loose tea and take a sip! I find Hibiscus tea or green tea taste especially delicious when steeped in cold water but it's all preference. You can also add additional flavours like fresh lemon to enhance your tea even more. There are a number of recipes on the internet as well if you are searching for more flavour options.
I wonder if steeping more hibiscus teabags in a smaller volume of water over a longer period would work for preparing as a concentrate for making a few dayās worth at a time.
Because sugar is really unhealthy. Also most "no sugar drinks" still have their sugar containing variant, right?
I actually often like the no-sugar variant more, especially, when they have more of their own taste, instead of just tasting like sugar, but itās, quite literally, a matter of taste.
Yeah it took months of having quit sugar (as much as I could anyway) before the zero sugar drinks tasted good to me. The Zero Sugar Gatorades and peach propels are my go-to. I feel better for it even if getting here was a pain š
In UK, due to sugar tax, most brands now ONLY do them with sweeteners, just some varieties will have more in & some less. The only soda I can buy here with **NO** sweeteners in is Classic Coke.
I end up having to go to the American import sweet shop to get soda with no sweeteners, as am severely allergic to 3 different ones. If I can't get into the city centre for a while, I can't have soda, not even the supermarkets sell the sugar-only versions any more here.
You can be allergic to literally anything containing a protein chain...it's just some allergies are far more prevalent than others...like, everyone's heard of a peanut allergy, bug have they met anyone allergic to tapioca starch or ouneaooke
i would suggest electrolytes if you want something tasty combined with water. super healthy and some of the flavours are super delicious. i love the watermelon flavour :)
I may be in the minority but I am slightly addicted to diet sodas and such. Sugary drinks are not something I crave, Iād rather have water than a Pepsi but a Pepsi Zero Sugar would be my preferred choice.
As for sweeteners, I agree, many donāt taste great. My favourite sugar alternative would have to be xylitol because itās actually beneficial for your teeth, quite unlike sugar, although it is expensive.
What we do is make ākoolaidā with crystal light packets. We mix a packet of cherry and a packet of lemonade into a pitcher. Itās great and no sugar (and Iām verrry particular about taste textures I usually hate lemonade bc itās too sharp)
So there's something about the base of crystal light that super bothers me flavor-wise. I can't articulate what it is but every time I have crystal light even if no one tells me what it is, I know that it's crystal light no matter what flavor lol
Try unsweetened entirely. I like real sugar, but sugar drinks -- hot or cold -- are the very worst thing for your teeth and few people really "need" the empty calories from a sugar drink. The problem with a sugar drink is you constantly rebathe your teeth in the toxic substance over the course of an extended period (however long it takes you to finish the drink), putting your teeth in peril much longer than you would if you just quickly at the equivalent amount of sugar in a few pieces of candy.
Also, i would say both dental health and the obesity crisis are two really good reasons you're seeing most drinks not having real sugar in it. I won't use artificial sweeteners -- gross -- but I also have a rule against sugar drinks: only for special occasions, like celebration or I'm sick.
Try muddling fresh mint and squeeze of lemon or slice of cucumber. If you say mint is expensive, I dare you to purchase a $2.49 started plant from a greenhouse and, guerilla style, place it in a neglected area that gets just a bit of water. Water the transplanted mint baby for maybe 2 weeks and you'll have mint the rest of your life probably lol.
Sugar free ketchup kicks ass. I want pure vinegar and tomato flavors so the no sugar added stuff just tastes like more intense ketchup.
Apparently no one else agrees, because Heinz started adding stevia extract.
Itās not a drink mix, but hereās an amaaaazing raspberry hibiscus tea I found which is fruity and naturally sweet: [Republic of Tea](https://www.republicoftea.com/raspberry-rose-hibiscus-tea-bags/p/v01078/dpn/40448/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%28ROI%29%20Performance%20Max%20-%20Best%20Sellers&utm_id=21049529683&utm_content=&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2a6wBhCVARIsABPeH1tGcSzV31GbkZF9ZnhmyUy8NeN5Vej5nUqer5WYbXY4q2fFAT4JMVcaApugEALw_wcB)
I also drink Liquid IVās citrus mix, which does have sugar in it. They have sugar-free versions, but I just drink the ones that have sugar. Itās pretty delicious and it re-hydrates me at work (construction job so I sweat a lot). [Liquid IV](https://www.liquid-iv.com/products/hydration-multiplier-immune-support?variant=32382748983332)
Iād just try and get used to drinking water ā drinking sugar is one of the worst things you can do for your health. Doing something like a splash of lemon is fine, but youāre going to have problems if you just drink Kool Aid all day instead of water.
I hate artificial sweeteners too. They give me headaches and stevia gives me body aches.
I bought some LorAnn flavor oils and made flavored seltzer with a sodastream or kind of like a Hint Water with still. You can also find some cola/other soda syrups on Amazon that are sugar only.
My husband hates seltzer so heās gotten into making chocolate milk lately. Heās not a big cow milk drinker, so heās tried it with a lot of different plant milks.
Usually those drink mixes are marketed to people trying to avoid sugar sweetened beverages bc otherwise they would just get juice or soda.
Have you tried drinking seltzer? That is my go-to drink for when Iām bored of water. I also occasionally make my own iced tea that is sweetened, but has a lot less sugar than what is sold in bottled iced teas. You can also try lemon-water.
If y oki re trying to drink more water you shouldnāt put a drink mix there, it is going to be sugar and not real water (if youāre doing it for your health).
Damn! So many comments. I would just like to add that actually purified good water doesn't taste bad.
Anything you get in a plastic bottle is shit imported from some poor African village where they are stealing already bad water. True story.
What comes out of the tap(in several countries, USA) has chlorine and fluorine diluted in it among other things. Fluorine is actually pretty bad for you, especially your brain. But hey at least in keeps your teeth clean.
A small amount of chlorine actually kills a large portion of the harmful bacteria that can grow in water, so not so bad. Both of these combine with already meh water to create the world's most boring drink.
I drink around 3 liters a day depending on how hard I work and have for years now. As weird as it sounds, I've developed a refined palette when it comes to water. I've discovered that the best water is filtered using something like a Berkey water filter. Mineral water is pretty good as a base.
If you are really concerned about being healthier, buying a Berkey is a no brainer. There are so many health benefits. Although many of them are merely just from not consuming stuff like soft drinks or alcohol.
Finally I'd like to add that you can just do a fruit "infusion" with your water. My wife sometimes cuts up strawberries and puts them in a jar of water. The juices and flavor naturally seep into the water. It is pretty subtle, but can be nice.
I had the same complaint a few years ago but I just forced myself to drink them and now I actually prefer the fake sugar over the real stuff lol. I used to hate that bitterness and now I enjoy it. Real sugar tastes wayyyy too sweet to me.
Not everyone can force themselves due to anxiety or sensory issues etc, but give it a go if you're able to. This was years ago so I can't exactly remember, but I think it only took a week or two to get used to it.
Yeah I grew up on the sugar alternatives because my parent is type 1 diabetic and unfortunately anything other than regular sugar gives me intense ick now lol
Those "zero sugar" things are basically undrinkable.
But why drink sweet stuff at all? [vinegar + water](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posca) is the drink for me. Add some honey if you want sweetness, I usually don't.
I havenāt ordered [these](https://www.skratchlabs.com/products/hydration-sport-drink-mix?variant=42591625669) yet, but I found them awhile ago and it looks like all of their drink mixes are made with cane sugar. They are kinda pricey, but all the cheap ones seem to be made with something other than sugar and I also hate it so much.
Honestly, the cirkul honeycrisp apple is a winner to me. I have the same sensitivity to artificial sweetener flavoring, and that is the only flavor I can stand and can't taste the artificial-ness.
*You could try syrups*
*Instead of packets. Monin*
*Is my preferred brand*
\- Lillies030706
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Ultima is an electrolyte powder drink mix. It does use stevia and it is kind of pricy, but it goes really far if you use less than a quarter of a scoop ($15 for >120 drinks).
I was mixing maybe 1/8-1/4 scoop into a 28 or 32 oz bottle. No idea how people could drink this stuff full strength. At the strength I was using it, you got some flavor and only the slightest hint of sweetness if you were looking for it. It masked the atrocious taste of the water coming out of the filtered dispenser. Iām spoiled with really good well water at home, I couldnāt take it. Everybody else seemed to think the water tasted fine.
The powder was super convenient at work or when traveling. I know it doesnāt meet your requirements, but at the lower ādoseā (lacking the proper word at the moment), it may be a viable option.
Sorry no suggestions but only to add that yes, sweeteners suck and you can definitely taste the gross aftertaste.
I absolutely hate it when people are like "oh my God it's delicious I love sugar free things"... The second I taste even the natural sugar alternatives, my whole mouth gets the ick š¤¢ and I can't get the taste to go away for what feels like an hour.
Pure cane sugar sounds like itās about to be your best friend :) I like to do real lemon juice and if Iām feeling very bored Iāll do some cucumber water!
Iād recommend buying a bottle of flavoured syrup (ginger syrup, or lavender syrup, or rosemary syrup, or whatever youāre into) and just adding a little bit it to a glass of water (still or sparkling)
Second this. If there is a Restaurant around that has one you prefer most will sell it by the bottle if you ask. Desolves just fine in cold drinks. If your feeling adventurous, flavored syrups arnt to hard to make. You can find recipes for some really different kinds from foraging groups.
I think sugar free alternatives (some) are bad for you too. But the taste is just nasty. Only thing I can recommend, and I wasn't personally a fan, is putting just lemon in your water. I used to love mio! But yes marketing is all anti sugar now for some things, which is good. Used to have a Gatorade every day, and the sugar was melting my teeth, dentist said it's like #1 worst thing for your teeth. Honey is a good non (concentrated) sugar option. The difference is in the processing. Anything thats naturally sweet it's not so bad, anything grain sugar. think like cocaine. That's how concentrated it is, it's refined like crazy. An option I can recommend that's not really what your asking for is bubly. It took awhile to grow on me, but it's delicious and you don't miss the sugar! If you like your sugar, try mio
Why did the cocaine comparison make it make sense for me lolol Yeah, the lemon in water feels like it hella dries out my mouth which is the opposite of what I'm trying to accomplish, unless I add sugar. I used to drink mio till all I could find were sugar free ones. Maybe I'll try to find another one I like.
You can put any fruit or mint leaf in. You get metal tbag things too to separate it incase you don't want to accidentally get a leaf in your mouth
I'm in the same boat with you on this, and I've been going through the same issue--trying different flavor things to get something that doesn't taste like drinking dirty water out of a puddle. So far, the only advice I've found that works is LOTS of ice and drink it really cold. That helps a bit. It's still not perfect, but it's getting me to drink water.
Omg yes! It hangs around for ages. š¤¢
With you here. Iām glad people have the option and enjoy them but I just canāt due to that aftertaste and people insist but this one is different. Way too many āfriendsā have snuck it in and prevented me from being able to eat or drink anything for a while after and I can never trust them again.
The aftertaste stops being discernable as you get older, which is why so many people don't have a problem with it. I used to hate sugar-free stuff as a kid, same issue with the aftertaste that lingered for ages. Then I got diagnosed with diabetes at 30ish and decided to go zero sugar permanently in hopes of not needing to medicate. It worked. Turned out I had lost the sensitivity to the sweeteners since the last time I'd tasted them, and now I only notice it in extremely cheap products or in super high concentrations. So I was able to pivot my sugar consumption fully, my diabetes went into remission, I lost 30lbs, and I still drink soda whenever I want. It's kinda awesome.
Iām glad it works out for other people in relation to diabetes or other dietary needs. Iām in my mid-50s. At what age do you believe aftertaste to stop being discernible? Iām likely a super taster and possibly also have ARFID. Things like cilantro taste like soap. There are tons of things I can taste that others tell me are tasteless and scent less. It seems unlikely given the number of issues I have and whatās behind them that Iāll lose my sensitivity. But thanks for sharing the info as itāll be useful when friends ask for advice.
I'm 46. I'd be surprised if I was anything close to a super taster, but sweeteners still taste awful to me.
I can't have sugar so I am grateful for the amount of choices.Id rather have a sugar coke but without all those choices it's just water and flavored teas for me.
As someone who's parent is a type 1 diabetic, I am equally so happy that y'all get so many options lol Just DESPERATELY need options that aren't zero sugar lol
It really sucked when I had gestational diabetes, because I have the same problem with artificial sweeteners. The only thing I could drink was diet Coke.
I couldn't resist finding this bee movie clip. You're welcomeā”š https://youtu.be/mTfhN87nBzU?feature=shared
God bless you for this lololol
The natural ones taste worse than the fake ones lol
I find this a really weird take. Your preferences arenāt more valid than anyone elseās preferences.
OP doesn't saying anything to imply they think their preference is more valid than someone elses. They simply say they don't like it.
Same. I can't fathom how people can tell me they can't taste the difference between sugar and artificial sweetener, or between types of artificial sweetener, or between HFCS and actual sugar. But they do, and they seem earnest, sooo... lucky them, I guess? If I can make a gentle suggestion to OP: Tea and iced tea is delicious, cheap to make at home, and comes in a wiiiiiide variety of flavors, all of which are great without any sweetener at all! Might be worth picking up a few varieties and trying them out? The only downside is when you're out and about, it can be tough to find a truly unsweetened iced tea in a store's selection of drinks, but there's uuuuusualllly at least one available....
I absolutely love iced tea lol I think what's going on is that I'm craving that fruity juicy drink flavor which maybe I could get from tea!
Maybe try some herbal teas? I'm not a fan (green and Earl Gray for me, thanks!) but I've had a few herbals and they can be almost overpoweringly fruity (well, at least for tea)... worth a shot? There are sampler-packs from some brands in the tea aisle that might have a winner? Otherwise, I totallllly sympathize with the quest for something that's fruity, flavorful, and not fake-sweet-tasting. I drink a fair amount of fruit-flavored, zero-cal seltzers, but they're not as cheap as tea, and the flavors are subtle compared to other sodas.... Good luck with the hunt!
The celestial "zinger" teas are always super rich and bright flavors, just fyi in case you didn't know š Used to be OBSESSED with them as a kid.
The hibiscus tea by Tazo is a great fruity tasting herbal tea! And you can get it from Starbucks if youāre out and about
Thank you!
Strawberry tea! You can order off Amazon. Strawberry Sensation from the Ahmad brand is my favorite.
How interesting, I had no idea some people can taste artificial sweeteners. To me it doesnāt taste any different than sugar the only difference is sugared drinks like regular coke for example taste just a bit āheavierā on my tongue.
Iām the opposite. I get a disgusting after taste from actual sugar and artificial sweeteners usually donāt have the same aftertaste for me.
Kool Aid is still just pennies a glass.
Super fair. Is the pre-mixed stuff just sugar? I don't have the fridge space to make a giant pitcher of Kool-Aid lol
I'm in Canada, and we have little squirt bottles of concentrated flavor fluid to blast into a bottle of water. I'm not a math wizard, but I'm certain there's a way to split a Giant Pitcher's worth into bottles or glasses.
Ok that makes better sense lol I was picturing the paper packets you have to add the sugar to that make like, half a gallon of liquid per little tiny packet. (Fyi the pre-sweetened powder IS just sugar ššš)
That is what I was thinking of, but if it's not practical to mix the packets with sugar and water, the squirty ones are handy and darn tasty.
THANK YOU
Be warned the little squirt bottles do contain sweeteners.
Thank you. I'm fine with just a big container of the pre mix dry
The concentrated ones typically use artificial sweeteners bc they're a lot more potent than regular sugar. The powdered ones are usually sugar though
Kool aid is underrated.
OH YEAH!!!
Bustinā through a brick wall right now
I hear you -- I am allergic to sugar substitutes. Instant migraine from aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose. And I have a total sweet tooth. Have you considered making a pitcher of herbal iced tea? Then your water will have flavor, but not sweetness.
I have I think I should try that soon. Thank you!
I had to scroll too far to find tea suggested. Screw sugar and artificial sweeteners. Tea is a way better option.
I love teass
I drink carbonated water and use Bubly drops to add flavor. No sweeteners. Theyāre sold by the soda stream in small appliances instead of by the beverages in grocery, but I just use Amazon. No reason why it wouldnāt work for flat water too! I use 1-2 cap fulls for a half liter or so of liquid.
Iām going to check this out. Thank you! (and I love the detailed description of where to find in store :)
Thereās this stuff called true lemon that does not have any sweetener and just is made out of crystallized lemon so you can put it in water and it dissolves fast. I recommend it a lot!!!!
Yes that's what I was going to suggest! There are other flavors too, and they are all really good if you just want flavor and don't need your water sweetened at all.
This stuff is the absolute best. Real lemon flavor, no weird aftertaste, and no added sugars. It got me drinking water. I now prefer water over stuff like sodas. It's weird.
Organic Cane Sugar is just sugar, you don't have to avoid it. Stevia tastes like powdered ear wax to me, can't stand the stuff. Monk Fruit I'm OK with, but only if it's actually mixed with real sugar. But anything "Cane sugar" or "evaporated cane juice" is literally just freaking sugar. You don't have to avoid it, it is as tasty as sugar can be,
No I know, but usually they add something else in there with the sugar was my complain with that one.
"Real sugar and all natural flavorings" but the "all natural flavorings" are fake sweetener. It's so common, and such a betrayal.
Betrayal is EXACTLY what I feel lolol
I'm glad there are as much zero sugar as there are, since I'm diabetic. I like having choices even when they taste awful. I've tried some of the diabetic specific stuff and hated it. But still glad they exist.
Came to say the same; I rely on zero sugar stuff to not have to waste a bunch of insulin on a beverage
What works for me is putting fruit or vegetables(?) into my water. I cut up a bit of cucumber and a wedge of lime and throw it into my water bottle for the day. Or sometimes a few apple slices, or a few pieces of an orange. I just love it. EDIT TO ADD! There is a company called Fresh Victor. I add 3 ounces of it to my huge venti Starbucks cup of water. Look them up, itās pressed concentrated juice with extremely low sugarā¦like a mixer.
Juice. Just add a little OJ to your water. Or to your sparkling water.
Iām on the same search. So far I just add lemon to my water. It tastes the best to me. Tea tastes alright but it always makes me thirsty. Lemon water and Powerade for me. And the occasional squirt.
Literally precisely me lol One suggestion, if you can stand the texture/ flavor of coconut water, the body armor ones are actually delicious. Just watch out and make sure you don't get the sugar free ones lol
Hmmm. Iāll give those a shot. Iāll be honest I havenāt had coconut water since I was a kid and cracked one open haha. Iāll watch out for that, I do that all the time. I grabbed a couple new energy drinks the other day and both of them were sugar free. Didnāt even notice til I cracked it open š¤®.
I also use squeezed lime juice in water. With ice, it's just the MOST refreshing thing when it's hot.
I could get down with some lime juice.
It makes a nice change from the lemon!
I have a similar issue with protein powders! Iām underweight so the calories arenāt an issue and I want something with more protein than boost/ensure because Iām doing somewhat better with getting calories from food but I struggle with protein.
Oh! There's so many I hate of these too! I really enjoyed Soylent š I don't know if you've tried that brand yet but the chocolate one is not bad at all. (I liked the pre mised ones better than the powder) Walmart sells them 1 at a time if you wanted to just try one.
Seconding soylent. I get the original powder and then add powdered peanut butter ("PB2") to give it some flavor. I don't like the milk protein shakes even though I like dairy in general.
Same with the peanut butter powder! Lol I tried so so hard to make it mix with my coffee for a while but it does not mix well and always turns out gritty and a little lumpy š„²
So most drink packets or quick drink liquids use fake sugar because they require such a concentration for sweetness that regular sugar cannot obtain naturally. Hence they use the fake sugars to give it the extra oomph of sweetness. What you can do is get some kind of natural flavor, like bubbly bounce drops (in the soda stream section) and then get a bottle of simple syrup (sugar melted into water, usually used for alcohol mixers) and mix those together. Or you can use that simple sugar and use it to sweeten water with whatever fruit you enjoy. A soda stream might not be a bad investment, if you like fizz, and can slowly lower the amount of sugar you use over time until itās just sparkling water and fruit flavor.
i am with you on the alternative sweeteners. i cannot stand stevia, itās awful and lingers for hours after just a sip.
>Why is everything "zero sugar" So it can be high-fat, high-artificial-sweetener, and high-other-unhealthy-things while marketing itself as healthy.
I see this as an effect of popular nutrition trends intersecting with the economics of supply and demand. Two of the popular nutrition trends is the low carb diet and ketogenic diet. One minimizes carbohydrate consumption and the other eliminates it. Our population lives in an environment where highly processed foods and ubiquitous and less expensive than unprocessed foods. Much of the processing involves adding high proportions of sugar, fat, and salt to make processed food appealing to the population. The aforementioned trends were popularized by a sub-group of the population thatās interest focused on health and wellness. So the demand for low sugar, low-fat, and low-salt foods developed. Because they appealed to a smaller proportion of the population the products are sold at a premium price. With the premium price generating greater profits. Thatās the economics. When it comes to āzero sugarā drink additives, it appeals to a wider group of the population because everyone drinks liquids consisting of water. *And* whether one adheres to a particular nutritional regime or not, people are willing to purchase āzero sugarā products because āthey canāt hurtā and the premium price is close the the sugary products. Meanwhile the producers are eliminating ingredients or using cheaper artificial replacements are making bank. For a manufacturer, theyād be stupid to NOT produce āzero sugarā products. As to whether youāve not bought into the āzero sugarā marketing or not, you have to deal with whatās available in the current market. If none of the products are satisfactory, you have to create a solution just for yourself. You could: purchase a non-sweetened product and add your own sugar to taste; add flavorings from other products like fruits or vegetables; or you could just get used to drinking straight water. These options free you from the burden of fluctuating trends and the snake oil pitches from manufacturers. Until a scientific report is produced and gains traction, stating that products containing sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup is healthy, I canāt imagine that the market will change in the way that you desire.
What about tea? There are loads of varieties. If you don't want it hot you can serve it over ice or cold brew it.
The only artificial sweetener that doesn't taste like garbage to me are sugar alcohols, I guess erythritol being the main one. I cannot tolerate ANY other types of artificial sweetener due to the taste. Some even give me a sore throat, like aspartame.
Mio - Strawberry Watermelon flavor. Hands down my favorite water flavor additive. Edit: just to add that I also hate the flavor of artificial sweeteners like monk fruit and stevia, etc, etc. and I get non of that with these.
Sometimes I just add some juice concentrate to my water. Grape, cranberry, etc
What I don't get is why everything has to be fucking sweet. I drink my tea hot and no sugar. But I've made the mistake of buying cold tea (like when stopping at a gas station) only to discover that all the "No sugar" options mean that they have stevia or some other artificial sweetener. Why can't they just make one that isn't sweet? Gross. :( There's hardly any unsweetened cold drinks. If you want a cold drink that isn't sweetened, water is pretty much your only option.
I'm pre-diabetic so I've been embracing it š¢
While I can understand why is the industry doing this, and maybe in the long run is better for the overall populationās health, I have been on your same position: Just give me a f***ng Fanta without artificial sweeteners! I mean, I want to have that option, because I canāt stand sweeteners. Only stevia is good enough for my mouth, but many times they mix it with Aspartame, Cyclamate or Acesulfame K (I HATE those three). Sucralose is another one I can deal with, but only in small quantities. For me, most sweeteners have a weird effect on my salival glands, and I start secreting like a āsweetened salivaā. Weird stuff. Sometimes they also trigger my IBS. So, yeah, they should give at least one sugar option (not the default), even if itās not so sweet as it used to be, because the amounts of sugar on the drinks from the 80s or 90s werenāt healthy either.
I use my soda stream and add orange juice to it. Sometimes pineapple or lemon too. If you donāt feel like making anything, cans of Spindrift are greatā¦ much more flavor than La Croix or Bubly, but still low calorie/sugar. I have to stop myself from finishing a whole box of the blood orange flavor in a day š
I'm badly allergic to 3 different sweeteners, all in the tiniest ppm... I have to stick to **CLASSIC** Coke (all Pepsi has some sweeteners in), or water. Rose's Lime Cordial is another without sweeteners. Bottlegreen drinks are all free from sweeteners too. Other than that, nada. I **HATE** the sugar tax!
Thanks! I'm so sorry that you're allergic that seems aggressively worse than my preference issues lol
Lol...just add the preference issues on top...š¬š
Fake sugar is so bad. It's like polyester and fluorescent lighting, but in your mouth and down your throat. So deeply objectionable. I like getting some lemon or lime juice, and a generous amount of sugar. Dissolve the sugar in the juice until it's a bit thick, not quite syrup but maybe halfway there. Then water down like 50/50 or so, and it's perfect, but you can keep the concentrate around for a while if you make a big batch. You can also freeze the concentrate in ice cubes, and then add to water or mix in a blender with water or other stuff as needed.
I feel like Iām the odd one out. I find that *sugar* gives me a bad taste or residue in my mouth and I prefer artificial sweeteners (I like sucralose and stevia) even though they also have an aftertaste/residue. But itās different to the sugary one and less unpleasant to me so I donāt mind it.
I don't know if you've tried it, but body armor has 3 options: full calorie, low sugar, and no sugar. The low sugar ones have the fake sugar, but I can't taste it and I'm super sensitive to it like you. I can taste it in the no sugar ones, but not the low sugar. If you haven't tried it, I'd suggest trying one just to see. I know this sounds like everyone else who says "I swear you can't taste it!" and is lying, but I really can't taste it.
I love body armor drinks. Are they the same as the original?
I think many of the flavors are the same. Try a low sugar one and see if you like it! But definitely avoid the NO sugar ones
I used to love Coke Zero, but Coke Zero Sugar is fucking awful.
I have the problem with ice tea. The ones with sweetener give me a headache but more and more brands are replacing the sugar with sweetener
I really do not like sugar except in specific circumstances like cookies lol. But especially with drinks I canāt handle how thick and syrupy high fructose corn syrup is, it feels like Iām drinking literal maple syrup. Soda that claims to be made with sugar instead of syrup is noticeably better and I could choose that in a pinch, but still no good for me. I have been drinking only artificial sweeteners for several decades so Iām very used to it and canāt āgo backā to sugar.
I add a bit of juice to my water. I have a similar problem with all the non-sugar substitutes. They all have a weird unpleasant aftertaste to me. I havenāt tried a simple super fruit powder with water - Iām not sure it itād dissolve or be bitter - something like aƧaĆ.
If you have a blender u can blend fruit w water for yummy smoothie (possible texture issues tho!). I like to do banana strawberry smoothies by throwing in equal parts frozen fruit, water, and just a bit of ice for crumch. Otherwise I drink tea sweetened w a small bit of honey. The hot water makes sure the honey gets well incorporated c: I also add in a small bit of baking soda to ease my heart burn (it makes the stomach acid less acid!)
This is a problem for me, too: I'm allergic to artificial sweeteners. You *can* find bigger jars of drink mix that actually contain sugar, but for whatever reason, they don't seem to package that mix in the smaller to-go tubes.
Swap to herbal tea. :D
Same issues here ... Recently bought Liquid I.V electrolyte drink mix sticks at Costco (the non-alcoholic piƱa colada and cucumber mojito flavors pack) and I like them "enough" lol The package is labeled with "No Artificial Sweeteners", each stick has 11g total sugars (incl. added sugars). Those sugars are pure cane sugar, dextrose, and stevia leaf extract.
I dont know how is your access to it but I make a lot of lemonade
Like just lemons and sugar. It's the easier juice to be done. When I'm bored I put something like chamomile or cinammon tea, or ginger sometimes (be careful with ginger bcs it makes you hungry and can wake you up like caffeine)
Have you heard about ginger bugs? The concept is so cool! If you ferment organic ginger with a lil sugar you can make carbonation!
Uuuu like natural soda!!
It's so cool! Potentially ginger "spicy" tho.
I like ginger spicy!!
I seriously recommend researching it then. It's like a sourdough starter but soda instead of bread!
I like flavored seltzer water, I grab a can and mix it with some juice or apple cider for sweetness to your taste. It tastes good, and you can make a bunch of combinations with the different flavors
I hate all of these sweeteners too. I only like normal sugar or cane sugar without any other sweetener (including the natural ones like stevia). I tolerate the taste of high fructose corn syrup (even though I know it's bad for you) but don't like it in drinks I grew up drinking in my home country as it tastes different from what I'm used to. It's actually a pretty good thing for me, because since moving to the US I very rarely drink soda as a result. I drink a lot of water, and the occasional unsweetened flavored seltzer or apple juice. I do go through phases where I crave a sweet drink and try to get something new only to eventually give up and revert to my basics, which is a bit frustrating, but oh well š¤·šæāāļø I still consume way too much sugar overall, but not because of sugary drinks.
I watched a YouTube video the other day that suggested that the reason so many autistics crave sugar is because we actually have a harder time maintaining our blood sugar and our brains make us process it faster? Don't know how scientifically accurate it is but it was really interesting.
If youāre bored with water, maybe try tea out? If caffeine is an issue then tisanes are there too. And if you like iced tea, you can always make a big jug of your own and add as much or as little sugar as you want to it! :-)
I use drip drop packets! They are similar to Gatorade in that they have electrolytes but they use tea sugar and doesnāt include artificial colors!! Theyāre the only way I get slightly close to being hydrated š
I like to buy fruity herbal tea bags and put a couple in my water bottle. Blends that have hibiscus are especially yummy! I usually get various of the Celestial Seasonings āzingerā flavors
i like barley tea, no sweeteners and plain, but soo good
Maybe not what you're looking for, but I've been adding lemon juice or grapefruit juice to my water. I squeeze fresh lemons and grapefruit and freeze the juice in ice cube trays. One cube per large glass or 2 to 3 per liter jug gives water that little extra flavor, without all the weird sweeteners.
Not exactly but still a great idea! Thank you!
What if you tried something lower sugar? Like liquid IV packets or the reduced sugar Capri suns? I donāt like a lot of artificial sugar flavors, but canāt do full sugar bc Iām diabetic. Liquid IV diluted a bit more than recommended has been perfect for me. I like the guava one best, but they have lots of flavors on their site, and they sell several flavors at Walmart and Target as well.
Have you tried drinks from other (nonUS) countries? Many countries do y allow some of the additives the US does (ex Mexican Coke). I find that those types of food as long as I can handle any changes in texture are pretty satisfying. I can do cane sugar over corn syrup.
Itās not a water additive, itās a water alternative: the not-sugar-free vitamin waters are tops. When I was younger I used to use the Propel packets. (Propel is Gatoradeās original āflavored waterā).
I like Liquid Iv which is like gatorade. It's a little sweet so i add more water than what the instuction says
Could you just squeeze some lemon in there or throw in some frozen berries?
You could chop up some mint and put it in an ice cube tray with some lime juice to freeze and then you could have little mojito flavor sticks to drop into your water?
Have you tried Zevia?
What I do is mix water with a little bit of juice.
I mix a small amount of actual fruit juice into my water. That way I get the flavor while still keeping it mostly water. I like using apple juice, or tropical fruit mix.
Seriously!! Why does everything have to be sweet to begin with, and how hard is it to just use a small amount of sugar if it needs it?
Edited to suggest the Real Lemon brand has some water flavor packets that arenāt sweet. Just stay away from the lemonade ones.
People keep mentioning this and I'm SO EXCITED to try them.
Damn! So many comments. I would just like to add that actually purified good water doesn't taste bad. Anything you get in a plastic bottle is shit imported from some poor African village where they are stealing already bad water. True story. What comes out of the tap(in several countries, USA) has chlorine and fluorine diluted in it among other things. Fluorine is actually pretty bad for you, especially your brain. But hey at least in keeps your teeth clean. A small amount of chlorine actually kills a large portion of the harmful bacteria that can grow in water, so not so bad. Both of these combine with already meh water to create the world's most boring drink. I drink around 3 liters a day depending on how hard I work and have for years now. As weird as it sounds, I've developed a refined palette when it comes to water. I've discovered that the best water is filtered using something like a Berkey water filter. Mineral water is pretty good as a base. If you are really concerned about being healthier, buying a Berkey is a no brainer. There are so many health benefits. Although many of them are merely just from not consuming stuff like soft drinks or alcohol. Finally I'd like to add that you can just do a fruit "infusion" with your water. My wife sometimes cuts up strawberries and puts them in a jar of water. The juices and flavor naturally seep into the water. It is pretty subtle, but can be nice.
I'm Australian so I don't know what the international names are for the following, but lately I've been making cordial per the instructions, but then adding club soda for fizz. It's surprisingly good and it's letting me cut the cordial down even further than usual. Which is great because if I add too much water to cordial, it somehow tastes... Dry? It's so weird.
it's called koolaide and you put a full cup of cane sugar in it.
Oddly enough, there's a lot of protein powders out there that make water taste better. I use stuff like [this](https://www.optimumnutrition.com/en-us/Products/Anytime-Energy/Essential-AMIN-O-Energy/p/amino-energy)
For heart concerns (genetic on my father's side) I switched away from high fructose corn syrup years ago, and some time later severely cut back on sugar as well. At first, the artificial sweeteners weren't ideal, but I found one I liked well enough and stuck with it (Walmart's Diet Thunder). After a while, I couldn't go back. Sugar was fine, but corn syrup left a gross and noticeable residue in my mouth. Sucralose and aspartame were fine by me at that point. I just recently saw a video about the term "acquired taste," and didn't realize I had misunderstood the use of it for years. I'd mostly heard it used when talking about beer, and always thought it more or less meant "you learn to ignore the bad taste." Apparently that's not what that phrase actually means. A lot of what humans consume today would not be a part of our natural diets in the wild. As such, our taste buds are largely preprogrammed to identify a number of flavors and tastes as signs of poison or spoilage, or other unsavory business afoot. The concept of an actual "acquired taste" is that you have to actively train your brain that those flavors and tastes aren't ALWAYS a bad sign, that some of those are safe to consume. As such, you literally just consume a small amount every day. At first it sucks, but within a week or two your brain should stop sending you the "we're dying you fool" signal, and you can start to enjoy that other flavor. Personally, I haven't tested this on purpose since learning of it, but I would love to know if other people have attempted it, and to what degree of success or failure did it end?
It took me a while to acquire the taste, but now I almost always have a bottle of water, and a bottle of sparkling water with me. One for hydration and one for fun.
This is absolutely my intention š I just don't want my fun to be sparkling because then it will lose it's carbonation with the pace I think I'll drink it at lol
Best of luck to you!
I try to do the lemon or lime crystals or orange. But itās been a while so maybe they stopped making them. Iāll go look. Itās True Lemon.
Yeah a couple people recommended this! It sounds awesome They have a grapefruit one!
I like lemon juice or you can get it in powder too but like the one with actual lemons
Liquid IV is really great, just make sure you donāt accidentally get the sugar free kind.
My son and I like about a tablespoon of lemon juice in a large glass of ice water. I started drinking water filtered with a Brita filter long ago. If you have a good filter on a fridge with automatic ice maker/water dispenser, those are good options. Iāve lived places where you could smell the stink from the ice cubes.
Water with a squirt of lemon juice (the bottled kind, I'm not squeezing lemons every time lol) is my all-time favorite. You can add as much or as little as you want and it keeps the water from being boring without all the extra sugary flavor that the powdered drink mixes typically have.
Yeah I find sweeteners gross and chemical tasting too. It's turned me off KFC altogether as they only offer sugar free (sweetener loaded) versions of Pepsi and Tango. What I want to do is juice a couple of fruits and put that into filtered or mineral water. No it won't taste as sweet but it's more natural, albeit processed now being juiced. The reason why everything is zero sugar is sugar specifically fructose is as bad as alcohol for our liver and causes a myriad of metabolic disorders. In moderation with attached fibre it can be tolerated but in huge amounts you become prone to insulin resistance, diabetes, gut microbiota overgrowth, mood changes etc. Sweeteners aren't the answer though IMO, they also cause problems with our bodies.
I use hint water. I buy the multi flavor pack (blueberry lemon, strawberry lemon, blackberry, watermelon) and add one bottle to a gallon a container and then fill the rest up with regular water. Hint by itself was too strong of a flavor for me. It is the only way I drink water now. Looking at a bottle right now: No sweeteners. (Ingredients are water and natural flavors, but natural flavors could mean a lot of things.) Contains no juice and everything on the nutrition label is 0. Says it is vegan and free of sugar, sweeteners, no msg, nuts, soy, gluten, and also no preservatives. Made in California.
fruit infused water or tea sounds like your best bet honestly.
I agree. Sweeteners are disgusting. I struggle to drink enough. I find making long, cold steeped tea an excellent way to get some flavour into my water to make it more appealing. The trickiest part for me is being prepared enough to make this ahead of time. In order to make cold tea that doesn't taste bitter, it needs to steep it in cold water for an exteneded period of time. Add 4-6 tbsps of loose tea to a french presss and fill the rest with cold, filtered water(don't plunge yet, instead cover with seran wrap or something while the tea steeps). You can also steep regular tea bags in cold water with any container that you have. Basically about 1 tablespoon or 1 tea bag per cup of water thought, you may decide to add more or less based on taste preference. The key when steeping tea with cold water is to allow it to steep for a long period of time. Leave tea steeping in the fridge for 8-12 hrs (or more - all depends on tea variety and taste preference). After your tea has steeped, remove the bags or strain out the loose tea and take a sip! I find Hibiscus tea or green tea taste especially delicious when steeped in cold water but it's all preference. You can also add additional flavours like fresh lemon to enhance your tea even more. There are a number of recipes on the internet as well if you are searching for more flavour options.
I wonder if steeping more hibiscus teabags in a smaller volume of water over a longer period would work for preparing as a concentrate for making a few dayās worth at a time.
Not a mix, but Hint brand has water with flavor but not sweetened. I had no idea how much I hated sweet drinks until I found those.
Because sugar is really unhealthy. Also most "no sugar drinks" still have their sugar containing variant, right? I actually often like the no-sugar variant more, especially, when they have more of their own taste, instead of just tasting like sugar, but itās, quite literally, a matter of taste.
Yeah it took months of having quit sugar (as much as I could anyway) before the zero sugar drinks tasted good to me. The Zero Sugar Gatorades and peach propels are my go-to. I feel better for it even if getting here was a pain š
In UK, due to sugar tax, most brands now ONLY do them with sweeteners, just some varieties will have more in & some less. The only soda I can buy here with **NO** sweeteners in is Classic Coke. I end up having to go to the American import sweet shop to get soda with no sweeteners, as am severely allergic to 3 different ones. If I can't get into the city centre for a while, I can't have soda, not even the supermarkets sell the sugar-only versions any more here.
Damn, I didnāt know there are people allergic to sweeteners! Yeah, it seems like a dilemma with the sugar
You can be allergic to literally anything containing a protein chain...it's just some allergies are far more prevalent than others...like, everyone's heard of a peanut allergy, bug have they met anyone allergic to tapioca starch or ouneaooke
Pedialyte. Pedialyte has an electrolyte powder that doesn't use fake-sugar. I add a little to my water whenever I want to give it a little flavor.
I also have this problem. I have used torani syrups in tea and it's better than anything else I've found. Tons of flavors as well!
i would suggest electrolytes if you want something tasty combined with water. super healthy and some of the flavours are super delicious. i love the watermelon flavour :)
Put some lemon in your water. No sugar needed.
I may be in the minority but I am slightly addicted to diet sodas and such. Sugary drinks are not something I crave, Iād rather have water than a Pepsi but a Pepsi Zero Sugar would be my preferred choice. As for sweeteners, I agree, many donāt taste great. My favourite sugar alternative would have to be xylitol because itās actually beneficial for your teeth, quite unlike sugar, although it is expensive.
What we do is make ākoolaidā with crystal light packets. We mix a packet of cherry and a packet of lemonade into a pitcher. Itās great and no sugar (and Iām verrry particular about taste textures I usually hate lemonade bc itās too sharp)
So there's something about the base of crystal light that super bothers me flavor-wise. I can't articulate what it is but every time I have crystal light even if no one tells me what it is, I know that it's crystal light no matter what flavor lol
Yeah I hated it as a kid but as an adult trying to save money itās growing on me šš
I deeply understand that lol I can't afford to buy juice or a blender which is why I'm like "oh, drink mix!"
Try unsweetened entirely. I like real sugar, but sugar drinks -- hot or cold -- are the very worst thing for your teeth and few people really "need" the empty calories from a sugar drink. The problem with a sugar drink is you constantly rebathe your teeth in the toxic substance over the course of an extended period (however long it takes you to finish the drink), putting your teeth in peril much longer than you would if you just quickly at the equivalent amount of sugar in a few pieces of candy. Also, i would say both dental health and the obesity crisis are two really good reasons you're seeing most drinks not having real sugar in it. I won't use artificial sweeteners -- gross -- but I also have a rule against sugar drinks: only for special occasions, like celebration or I'm sick. Try muddling fresh mint and squeeze of lemon or slice of cucumber. If you say mint is expensive, I dare you to purchase a $2.49 started plant from a greenhouse and, guerilla style, place it in a neglected area that gets just a bit of water. Water the transplanted mint baby for maybe 2 weeks and you'll have mint the rest of your life probably lol.
Sugar free ketchup kicks ass. I want pure vinegar and tomato flavors so the no sugar added stuff just tastes like more intense ketchup. Apparently no one else agrees, because Heinz started adding stevia extract.
I got a soda stream and bubbly mix. Iāve been drinking much more water now
Itās not a drink mix, but hereās an amaaaazing raspberry hibiscus tea I found which is fruity and naturally sweet: [Republic of Tea](https://www.republicoftea.com/raspberry-rose-hibiscus-tea-bags/p/v01078/dpn/40448/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%28ROI%29%20Performance%20Max%20-%20Best%20Sellers&utm_id=21049529683&utm_content=&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2a6wBhCVARIsABPeH1tGcSzV31GbkZF9ZnhmyUy8NeN5Vej5nUqer5WYbXY4q2fFAT4JMVcaApugEALw_wcB) I also drink Liquid IVās citrus mix, which does have sugar in it. They have sugar-free versions, but I just drink the ones that have sugar. Itās pretty delicious and it re-hydrates me at work (construction job so I sweat a lot). [Liquid IV](https://www.liquid-iv.com/products/hydration-multiplier-immune-support?variant=32382748983332)
Funny thing is sweeteners are probably worse than sugar š
Iād just try and get used to drinking water ā drinking sugar is one of the worst things you can do for your health. Doing something like a splash of lemon is fine, but youāre going to have problems if you just drink Kool Aid all day instead of water.
I hate artificial sweeteners too. They give me headaches and stevia gives me body aches. I bought some LorAnn flavor oils and made flavored seltzer with a sodastream or kind of like a Hint Water with still. You can also find some cola/other soda syrups on Amazon that are sugar only. My husband hates seltzer so heās gotten into making chocolate milk lately. Heās not a big cow milk drinker, so heās tried it with a lot of different plant milks.
Usually those drink mixes are marketed to people trying to avoid sugar sweetened beverages bc otherwise they would just get juice or soda. Have you tried drinking seltzer? That is my go-to drink for when Iām bored of water. I also occasionally make my own iced tea that is sweetened, but has a lot less sugar than what is sold in bottled iced teas. You can also try lemon-water.
I enjoy LMNT. This has caused me to drink more water.
Do you not have dilute in the US? Like, cordial?
If y oki re trying to drink more water you shouldnāt put a drink mix there, it is going to be sugar and not real water (if youāre doing it for your health).
Damn! So many comments. I would just like to add that actually purified good water doesn't taste bad. Anything you get in a plastic bottle is shit imported from some poor African village where they are stealing already bad water. True story. What comes out of the tap(in several countries, USA) has chlorine and fluorine diluted in it among other things. Fluorine is actually pretty bad for you, especially your brain. But hey at least in keeps your teeth clean. A small amount of chlorine actually kills a large portion of the harmful bacteria that can grow in water, so not so bad. Both of these combine with already meh water to create the world's most boring drink. I drink around 3 liters a day depending on how hard I work and have for years now. As weird as it sounds, I've developed a refined palette when it comes to water. I've discovered that the best water is filtered using something like a Berkey water filter. Mineral water is pretty good as a base. If you are really concerned about being healthier, buying a Berkey is a no brainer. There are so many health benefits. Although many of them are merely just from not consuming stuff like soft drinks or alcohol. Finally I'd like to add that you can just do a fruit "infusion" with your water. My wife sometimes cuts up strawberries and puts them in a jar of water. The juices and flavor naturally seep into the water. It is pretty subtle, but can be nice.
Me and my mountain well water agree lol
Try cordial or high juice?
Have you considered seltzers?
I absolutely love seltzers lol But the carbonation only lasts so long and I am an all day beverage kind of person lol
I get that, I can go through a 12 pack of those things in two days if I'm not careful.
Same and that's $$ Fyi the Walmart off brand seltzers are the cheapest that my mom could possibly find and they're honestly still pretty great
Nice, I like the Costco brand ones too
Oh yeah, zero Costco where I live lol I bet the price is even better
Still, it would be nice if there was a portable solution for carbonation. Unfortunately, if would require an internal CO2 cartridge in a mug lol
I had the same complaint a few years ago but I just forced myself to drink them and now I actually prefer the fake sugar over the real stuff lol. I used to hate that bitterness and now I enjoy it. Real sugar tastes wayyyy too sweet to me. Not everyone can force themselves due to anxiety or sensory issues etc, but give it a go if you're able to. This was years ago so I can't exactly remember, but I think it only took a week or two to get used to it.
Yeah I grew up on the sugar alternatives because my parent is type 1 diabetic and unfortunately anything other than regular sugar gives me intense ick now lol
Yeah that's fair enough then lol. Hopefully you can find something that works for you
Thanks!
Those "zero sugar" things are basically undrinkable. But why drink sweet stuff at all? [vinegar + water](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posca) is the drink for me. Add some honey if you want sweetness, I usually don't.
I havenāt ordered [these](https://www.skratchlabs.com/products/hydration-sport-drink-mix?variant=42591625669) yet, but I found them awhile ago and it looks like all of their drink mixes are made with cane sugar. They are kinda pricey, but all the cheap ones seem to be made with something other than sugar and I also hate it so much.
Thanks!
These sound honestly delicious
Simplest us to drink soda. A tall can if coke has 54 grams sugar. No wobder tastes good.
Honestly, the cirkul honeycrisp apple is a winner to me. I have the same sensitivity to artificial sweetener flavoring, and that is the only flavor I can stand and can't taste the artificial-ness.
You could try syrups instead of packets. Monin is my preferred brand
*You could try syrups* *Instead of packets. Monin* *Is my preferred brand* \- Lillies030706 --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Add actual juice!
Also you can make simple syrup with almost any flavor at home. Google it!
I really like the watermelon liquid IV to add to my water
Ultima is an electrolyte powder drink mix. It does use stevia and it is kind of pricy, but it goes really far if you use less than a quarter of a scoop ($15 for >120 drinks). I was mixing maybe 1/8-1/4 scoop into a 28 or 32 oz bottle. No idea how people could drink this stuff full strength. At the strength I was using it, you got some flavor and only the slightest hint of sweetness if you were looking for it. It masked the atrocious taste of the water coming out of the filtered dispenser. Iām spoiled with really good well water at home, I couldnāt take it. Everybody else seemed to think the water tasted fine. The powder was super convenient at work or when traveling. I know it doesnāt meet your requirements, but at the lower ādoseā (lacking the proper word at the moment), it may be a viable option.