Alternative to Soda drinks?

[Mike]

I'm cutting off soda. So, besides aqua, what can I drink? It just has to be a healthy(-ish) alternative that can be drunk preferably with food, which is mainly the only time I drink Soda. I dislike water becuase... well it's water. It's bland.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

white tea with a cinnamon stick.

[pennarguy]

~Ren~ の投稿を引用：

Milk. I love the stuff, ice cold straight from the fridge. It has health benefits as well and I currently drink around 12 pints a week

Same here and if I run out of milk, freshed squeezed orange juice with ice cubes.

If I run out of both, I just get drunk as a skunk on beer. :)

[76561198034396398]

soft drinks now are so full of sugar they make you more thirsty just by drinking them,either water or herbal teas, those sports drinks are a con,if your doing heavy labour drink something like Staminade or Hydralyte even fresh orange juice as it contains natural sugars,not that rat sack ♥♥♥♥

[76561198034396398]

straying off topic but there's a sugar tax that will really hurt the soft drink industry,also most GP's are against Red Bull, V etc as it's like using speed.Milk is great but as you get older you won't tolarate it....genererally just plain old mineral/water seems to be the best way to go

[Amberbaum]

Tea....avoid Aspartame or Sugar. You can get used to drinking sugar free herb-tea very easily. Black Tea is a different matter and I wouldn't recommend drinking it as to appease your thirst. If you want to find some nice herb-tea then try out teas first that only contain one plant and not tea mixes. Verbena tastes really good and can be even drunk cold with a dash of apple juice or whatever you like.

Juice and smoothies aren't really an alternative to quench your thirst and is considered a small meal if you look at the amount of sugar these drinks contain (drinking large amounts of juice for vitamins is also a no-brainer. Your body will take what it needs and not more. We don't have a vitamin reservoir in our body). Smoothies are slightly better then juices because they still retain a certain amount of fibres that the fruit has.

Yet you can drink a smoothie much more easily then eating an apple, so there is a danger of just drinking too much. It doesn't sate the the way an apple does and unlike eating an apple, you don't chew a smoothie. (The digestion already starts in your mouth and not in your stomach ) It feels like a drink so we drink it unlike eating which is more associated to sating your hunger in your brain. Dietary fibre is important for your digestion and juice/smoothies are just lacking in that department when they contain so much calories that you can classify them as a meal.

So, either you drink juice(which will sate you less then eating something) or you eat breakfast + drink water/sugar free tea. Another downside to using juice or smoothies as an energy intake is that fructose is not a good form of sugar for our body. We generally eat too much of it and the way our body processes it is different from other sugar forms. Your liver is generally not a fan of it and given that we should give it a few hours rest before letting it work again should be a given.

https://authoritynutrition.com/fruit-juice-is-just-as-bad-as-soda/
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/06/09/319230765/fruit-juice-vs-soda-both-beverages-pack-in-sugar-and-health-risk

[Washell]

I tried about 10 to 15 different teas (black tea blends with and without addition of herbs and fruits, green teas, rooibos and herbal) until I found a couple I liked without sugar, and switched to those, in addition to water and the occasional soda.

Pixelpusher の投稿を引用：

Traror の投稿を引用：

Tea is a huge part of European and American culture, and now, so is Coffee.

I just don't like the taste same goes for alcohol all just too nasty for me

There are literally thousands of different flavors of tea, there are at least some you will like.

[Amberbaum]

Washell の投稿を引用：

I tried about 10 to 15 different teas (black tea blends with and without addition of herbs and fruits, green teas, rooibos and herbal) until I found a couple I liked without sugar, and switched to those, in addition to water and the occasional soda.

Pixelpusher の投稿を引用：

I just don't like the taste same goes for alcohol all just too nasty for me

There are literally thousands of different flavors of tea, there are at least some you will like.

I generally avoid the tea mixes from the convenient stores. Your average camomile, 7-herb or peppermint tea can taste good, but the majority of those weird "Arabian night" or "Fly in the air" mixes just taste like crap. They put in too much sweet blackberry leaves as filler and often use a lot of apple concentrate or hibiscus to simulate the taste they want to sell you. I can taste it and it sucks.

Loose leaves are still a really good option and finding a tea house or a tea shop that sells good tea is a much better option to me. They advertise what is in the the tea and not what taste they want to emulate with cheap tricks. If there is cinnamon in the description then you bet that there is cinnamon in the tea. I can only advise people to read the description on the bag when buying tea. You can get a much better understanding on how it could taste and if it's something for you.

[Washell]

Amberbaum の投稿を引用：

I generally avoid the tea mixes from the convenient stores. Your average camomile, 7-herb or peppermint tea can taste good, but the majority of those weird "Arabian night" or "Fly in the air" mixes just taste like crap. They put in too much sweet blackberry leaves as filler and often use a lot of apple concentrate or hibiscus to simulate the taste they want to sell you. I can taste it and it sucks.

I was replacing a 3 liter a day coke habit, it tastes fine to me, and losing weight without effort now.

Maybe I'll grow into that over the years. ;)

[Amberbaum]

Washell の投稿を引用：

Amberbaum の投稿を引用：

I generally avoid the tea mixes from the convenient stores. Your average camomile, 7-herb or peppermint tea can taste good, but the majority of those weird "Arabian night" or "Fly in the air" mixes just taste like crap. They put in too much sweet blackberry leaves as filler and often use a lot of apple concentrate or hibiscus to simulate the taste they want to sell you. I can taste it and it sucks.

I was replacing a 3 liter a day coke habit, it tastes fine to me, and losing weight without effort now.

Maybe I'll grow into that over the years. ;)

Wow, getting away from a 3 litre a day coke diet? Much respect. I guess I am more of a tea lover so I often get pissy if you brew it too hot or too cold and if you forget to take it out right on time. That's why I brew the tea myself.

Which by the way is much easier with herb tea, since you brew herb tea with boiling water and most herbs can stay in longer without giving you an unpleasant taste. Now green, oolong or black tea on the other hand is a different matter.

[Mike]

Amberbaum の投稿を引用：

Washell の投稿を引用：

I tried about 10 to 15 different teas (black tea blends with and without addition of herbs and fruits, green teas, rooibos and herbal) until I found a couple I liked without sugar, and switched to those, in addition to water and the occasional soda.

There are literally thousands of different flavors of tea, there are at least some you will like.

I generally avoid the tea mixes from the convenient stores. Your average camomile, 7-herb or peppermint tea can taste good, but the majority of those weird "Arabian night" or "Fly in the air" mixes just taste like crap. They put in too much sweet blackberry leaves as filler and often use a lot of apple concentrate or hibiscus to simulate the taste they want to sell you. I can taste it and it sucks.

Loose leaves are still a really good option and finding a tea house or a tea shop that sells good tea is a much better option to me. They advertise what is in the the tea and not what taste they want to emulate with cheap tricks. If there is cinnamon in the description then you bet that there is cinnamon in the tea. I can only advise people to read the description on the bag when buying tea. You can get a much better understanding on how it could taste and if it's something for you.

Well I guess I'm going to have to drink tea from now on.

Feck

For one thing, I dislike the taste, but again, as stated, you get a variety of flavours.

My biggest problem is I hate hot drinks. I want to pour and drink then and there. Not have it cool down and reach optimum temperature so that I don't burn my moog.

So if I do switch over to Tea, I'd have to either make it and refrigerate it and drink later, or... man up.

[Amberbaum]

You can also put ice cubes in your tea if you don't like hot drinks. That helps. Try to experiment with different flavours. You can easily make yourself some healthy ice tea variant as to the sugared ice teas you can buy.

Or can look for flavoured water receipts on the internet.
e.g
http://www.52kitchenadventures.com/2012/09/17/fifty-awesome-flavored-water-recipes/
http://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-make-tap-water-taste-better-article

Hope it helps and good luck finding something that suits your taste :)

[Zubenelgenubi]

Some facts about coffee. The reason it perks you up in the morning is because you're going through caffeine withdrawl. You don't feel bad in the first place if you aren't addicted.

Studies show it causes neurons to misfire rather than making people more alert.

Studies also show caffeine restricts blood flow to the brain.

All the benefits are just the power of suggestion.

Enjoy your morning coffee

[Amberbaum]

Zubenelgenubi の投稿を引用：

Studies show it causes neurons to misfire rather than making people more alert.

Studies also show caffeine restricts blood flow to the brain.

Huh, what kind of studies are that and who paid for that?

[Washell]

The Grand Parsifal の投稿を引用：

My biggest problem is I hate hot drinks. I want to pour and drink then and there. Not have it cool down and reach optimum temperature so that I don't burn my moog.

Make it a little strong, then add cold water to dlilute it and cool it down. But I get it, I was the same way. I just reached the point where I had to pick between tasty food or cola, because moderation just wasn't working for me. And I really like tasty food.

[Katy Pear]

I haven't read every post, but what you're probably looking for is La Croix. It's carbonated water, so it's not a difficult transition from soda. There's no sweetener of any kind, just the water and a little natural flavor. I do intermittent fasting since I have a desk job, and it really helps. Might not taste great at first since it's not sweetened at all, but eventually you get used to it.