Sweetener-Free Drinks

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WorzelGummidge

WorzelGummidge

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I suspect that sweeteners are at least partly to blame for my chronic headaches, and I want to get away from them but I don't know what I could drink that doesn't have sweeteners. :confused:

1. Full sugar drinks - I don't want to have to inject every time I want a drink, and I don't want the extra calories. This includes fruit juice.

2. Mineral water - I like it but I drink at least 2 - 3 litres of liquid a day and I think I'd get bored of plain water pretty quickly.

3. Rice/oat milk - low in sugar but a bit 'heavy' to have in large quantities. On the other hand very nutritious and tasty.

4. Tea & coffee - It's a lot of caffeine, and I don't like them unsweetened anyway.

Everything else I can think of has sweeteners - flavoured water, tonic water, squash, all non-sugar fizzy drinks...

Is there anything I've missed? I think I'm doomed to mineral water and green tea to be honest but thought it was worth asking all you wonderful people first. 🙂
 
Given you mention green teas, can you drink fruit/herb teas without sweeteners? I've found that if you make them fairly strong then allow to cool and add ice they can be quite refreshing. Other than that I add loads of lemon or lime juice to mineral water to give a variation plus things like fresh mint in the summer and, as I was rootling through my kitchen cupboards this morning (trying to find something I've put away and can't remember where!) did have a thought about whether a few drops of food essence might vary the taste a bit with no ill effects

Hope these suggestions help



Vanessa
 
Have you tried making your own fruit juice? Or even your own smoothies? I know fruit contains a certain ammount of sugar, but it is at least natural. Fruit teas are great.

My mum for as long as I can remember has had saccharine in hre tea and coffee and was advised not to when she started getting very sever headaches. It is bcause the mouth tastes something sweet, so the body expects a sugar hit and when the hit doesn't happen the body reacts. SOme folks get headaches some are sick and I have known a couple of people who passed out.
 
different types of sweeteners

Just to add that there are several types of sweeteners - it is possible that there my be one or two which don't affect you as much as the others. You'll need to consult the ingredients list, rather than just the front of the bottle saying "contains sweeteners".

There are non-caffeinated versions of coffee (instant and ground) and tea (loose leaf and tea bags). I find that a fruit teabag left in a thermos flask is ideal for days on the hills or long car journeys - it's brewed by the time I drink it some hours later. I do take the paper label off, though.
 
I haven't tried it myself, but I'm told cocoa made with water is quite nice, and sugar free too.
 
Hi Worzel

I stopped taking sugar or sweeteners. It only takes a short time to get used to it, and now I find if anyone puts sugar in my tea, it is quite unpleasant.

I don't know whats in those sweeteners, but I find drinks like diet coke very sweet and too sweet for me.

JOHN
 
I am finding things like honey too sweet too. Had some on my porridge this morning and it was just too too sweet. I h aven't had sugar in my tea for over 40 years and avoid coffee because it is impossible to drink without sugar and I don't like artificial sweetners.
 
Caroline said:
Have you tried making your own fruit juice? Or even your own smoothies? I know fruit contains a certain ammount of sugar, but it is at least natural. Fruit teas are great.
Click to expand...

I have smoothies for breakfast quite often, but with so many calories I would treat them as a meal rather than a drink. If I drank one each time I was thirsty I could easily reach 1,000 calories a day just in drinks!

Copepod said:
Just to add that there are several types of sweeteners - it is possible that there my be one or two which don't affect you as much as the others. You'll need to consult the ingredients list, rather than just the front of the bottle saying "contains sweeteners".
Click to expand...

This is very true, so far I have noticed that aspartame is the biggest culprit, and I think saccharine also sets my headaches off. I want to get away from all sweeteners though, I'm not at all convinced that they're neutral/good for you.

JohnForster said:
Hi Worzel

I stopped taking sugar or sweeteners. It only takes a short time to get used to it, and now I find if anyone puts sugar in my tea, it is quite unpleasant.

I don't know whats in those sweeteners, but I find drinks like diet coke very sweet and too sweet for me.

JOHN
Click to expand...

Good to know! Do you tend to drink unsweetened tea or have you found something else?
 
I was discussing flavoured waters with some one today I find them moreish and they don't refresh so i avoid.
 
did you ever try lactofree milk or cranberry juice with sucralose as sweetener ?
 
grahams mum said:
did you ever try lactofree milk or cranberry juice with sucralose as sweetener ?
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I don't drink/eat dairy products, lactose-free or not. 🙂 I don't think I've ever tried cranberry juice with sweetener. It's probably my favourite fruit juice though, I have it every now and then as a treat.
 
Hi
Pre diagnosis I used to have a large glass of grapefruit juice for breakfast (I rarely ate anything until lunchtime), which I now can't have due to being on statins.

After first test of the day (if it's not low) I now have a 150ml glass of Cranberry "with no added sugar" available at my local Tesco and Asda.

I then drive to work (I start at 7.30) and have a light breakfast with my insulin.
 
Hi Worzel

Yes, I drink my tea unsweetened with just a touch of milk. I am a bit of a tea enthusiast, with everything from Earl Grey to Lapsang in my kitchen.

Oddly, I can't stand herbal teas, fruit flavoured or green teas.

JOHN
 
If you like coffee you might like this caffeine free alternative which you should not need sugar with as it is not bitter http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi...l/492920_Whole_Earth_Organic_NoCaf__100g.html. I've never shopped at the site - I bought it at my local health food shop.

Have you tried using fruit juice as a squash, to dilute the sugar? I do this sometimes with hot water to make a warm drink.

Some non-sweetner squashes can still be OK. Bottlegreen cordials do one we buy - a winter special that tastes like mulled wine, v yummy - which has 8.5g of sugar per 100g, which seems not to cause problems for my husband - although he has the odd mug of it several times a week, not several mugs per day! You can experiment with diluting a good squash more than the 1 part concentrate to 8 parts water or whatever, as I find they are still tasty when weaker.
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When I was diagnosed with type 2 eight years ago, I was able to lose three stone and get my sky-high levels (Hba1c 15.4, triglycerides 42.8, cholesterol 13.8) back to normal in a short period and a large part of that success was due to my reliance on sugar-free drinks. Unfortunately, I have not been able to lose my sweet tooth and, fortunately, I have never had headaches from sweeteners.

I still rely on diet and exercise to control my diabetes and I still rely heavily on diet soda and 'no sugar added' squashes.
 
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