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Drinks that Help You Quit Diet Soda

February 16, 2020   30 Comments

Do you drink a lot of diet soda and want to quit? I am not against diet soda except for one thing.

Drinks that Help You Quit Diet Soda

Diet soda tends to be extremely sweet. Some experts think that drinking diet soda can make it hard for people to taste the natural sweetness in food - such as the sugar content of a strawberry.

I like my taste buds attuned to the sweetness of fruit, vegetables, and caramelized onions so I limit all of my soda intake. I am not the only one.

As of 2016, more Americans drank more bottled water than they did carbonated soft drinks. Of course, there is an environmental impact to all that packaging but at least people are cutting down on sugary drinks - hurray!!

What if you want to cut back on soda or diet soda? I have written two posts on water - how to drink more water and best fruit infused water bottle.

I decided to peruse the soda aisle to see the latest in diet soda and regular soda alternatives.

Flavored Seltzer and Mineral & Spring Water

The first category is the Perrier up at the top of the post. Manufacturers are adding the essence of lemon, lime, orange, etc. to bubbly water.

That bubbly water can be seltzer such as the Poland Seltzer below:

This is also true of Dasani - which has no sucralose or artificial sweetener (even Stevia) and is sparkling water with essence of fruit.

Poland Spring is spring water with flavor added (and no artificial sweetners). It is the same as the Perrier at the top of the post. If you like to know that your water came from a spring - this is your choice.

I really like these little cans and bottles when I am traveling. They are an easy way to have a cold, fizzy drink and they do not taste sweet.

Water with Zero Calorie Sweeteners Added

I’m not sure how this next category isn’t just another form of diet soda. I believe that these drinks have a health halo because they have a little fruit juice in them - but they still have some form of artificial sweetener or Stevia in them.

Sparkling Ice has 1% juice and added antioxidants and vitamins, and no caffeine - which is different than a Diet Coke - BUT it also has sucralose which is the same as Diet Coke.

I did give these a try and found them quite refreshing. The juice flavoring covered the cloying flavor of the sucralose and I think it is a nice treat. It did not taste super sweet to me so maybe they use less sucralose than your regular diet soda.

I also tried bai - which is very strange to say the least. This drink has 1% juice and has erythritol added as a sweetener - which is a sugar alcohol and it may cause digestive issues. It is not my favorite sweetener.

I was sucked in by the packaging which is pretty adorable.

This drink has 45 mg of caffeine!! No wonder it is going to kick my mouthpants. 45 mg is the same as you would get in a diet soda.

It tasted a bit like soap and I’m not sure who would like this drink. It wasn’t super sweet - it was strange.

What have you found as a good alternative to diet soda or regular soda? What do you think of all the flavored waters?

Other posts you might like:

How to Drink More Water

How to Drink More Water

How do you drink more water? I know there are some water haters out there.....

Best Fruit Infused Water Bottle Review

The Best Fruit Infused Water Bottle: Review

I am prone to hyperbole when it is warranted and this is the best fruit infused water bottle....

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First 20 Comments: ( See all 30 )

I gave up soda in 1985 & never looked back. I switched to flavored seltzer back then when there wasn't the selection of brands as there are today. But it also was a whole lot cheaper. I can't even take a sip of soda, yuck!

on February 24, 2019

I drink Diet Coke instead of coffee or black tea, both of which I loathe. I'm an Insomniac, and caffeine is pretty much necessary to function on days when I've had less than six hours of sleep. I love and drink a lot of seltzer water, but to me a seltzer and a Diet Coke aren't equivalent drinks.

on February 24, 2019

I regularly make hot fruit teas (think Celestial Teas) that I allow to cool and drink iced with a splash of diet cranberry juice.

on February 24, 2019

I want flavor in my drinks. I tried the flavored seltzer and to me had no taste. There is another one put out by the cranberry people it has erithyol and Stevia but it's not overpowering. If a flavored water is suppose to taste like a fruit I expect to taste it!

on February 24, 2019

I put a cup of frozen cherries in a tall glass and add one can of diet cherry coke. As the cherries thaw, they give the drink a flavor boost. Then you can eat the cherries when the drink is finished. I also add half a teaspoon of ground ginger to diet ginger ale. I am not a fan of seltzer water.

on February 24, 2019

This article couldn’t have come at a better time! As of February 1 I gave up all artificial sweeteners. Perhaps TMI, but as a middle aged mother I was have bladder control issues and I really thought they were the culprit. The difference has been amazing. I love the “burn” is carbonated beverages so La Croix has been my go to. It has saved me. Three-plus weeks in, it’s not the same but it is an adequate replacement. No complaints! Thanks for the tips and reviews, and for this post, get out of my head!

on February 24, 2019

I gave up diet soda 8 years ago. I never drank a lot of it, 1-2 cans daily. I tapered off of it, first eliminating it on the weekends and just having one/day at work. I've been drinking selzer like LaCroix, Bubly, Canada Dry. I don't miss the caffeine and I love the fizz. I think I crave the fizz more than the caffeine.

on February 24, 2019

What do you know about Hint? It’s very refreshing and non-carbonated “flavor infused water with 0 calories and 0 sweeteners.” Ingredients: purified water and natural flavors. “Contains no juice” I find it hard to believe there are no sweeteners in it.

on February 24, 2019

I just gave up Diet Coke 6 weeks ago and found Spindrift! It has juice in it so not calorie free but 17 is the highest calorie count of all flavors. I love this water!!!!

on February 24, 2019

I enjoy a LaCroix or Adirondack Seltzer on the rare occasion of having pizza, my remaining guilty pleasure (I say guilty because of the cheese). I prefer the mandarin orange flavor. Everything, it seems, is changing for our health. It's been years since I had a real soda. My first job was serving soda fountain drinks. My favorite was a chocolate coke but luckily I never felt addicted.

on February 24, 2019

I prefer a fizz to my water. I bought a package of round ice ball makers and fill them with either orange juice or cranberry juice then I add a bit of frozen fruit (pre-packaged). I put these frozen fruit balls in club Soda for a hint of fruity flavour.

on February 24, 2019

I love my diet coke but am trying to cut down my intake.It's the kick from carbonation that I really like. My son bought me a soda stream and I crank it up to the highest level of carbonation so it's pretty good - for water that is. I don't like the flavoured water so am still having a hard time giving up mu diet coke totally but I have cut down a lot.

on February 24, 2019

I stopped drinking soda of all kinds a long time ago, but my son and husband still like them. So, as a rare treat - usually for the holidays or if we eat out, they indulge. My husband has tried the Ice brand drinks, and really hates the sparkling version, but there are actually two versions of them - I forget the difference but one is like "Sparkling Ice" and the other is like Sparkling "Ice" if that makes sense? He also does not care for Seltzer in any form, so we have been experimenting with those flavorings for water like for instance Mio. Does anyone have thoughts on those?

on February 24, 2019

MIO and water. It has citric acid (Vit. C).

on February 24, 2019

The only way I could get my husband off of his 1-2 ginger ale a night habit was LaCroix. The tangerine one is extremely refreshing, as is the grapefruit. None of us drink diet soda so this works for us. I am not even a carbonated drink lover but somehow, maybe bc of the added flavor interest, this feels more like a treat so I savor it more & then I get the added benefit of temporarily forgetting about eating everything in sight lol, plus we stay hydrated! Also, I read (I think in Better Homes & Gardens) an interesting ‘factoid’ that eating an apple is a better thirst quencher than most drinks; something about how the water is in a different form in the apple vs in a drink...fascinating! So we figured that eating the apple and then drinking a tall glass of LaCroix is not a bad thing to do! :)

on February 24, 2019

Hardly ever drink diet soda anymore, but I do love sparkling water. The caffeine in soda bothers me, and most restaurants do not stock caffeine free soda, so water it is. Like LaCroix, Sam’s sparkling flavored water and Lidl’s generic.

on February 24, 2019

My husband & I were never soda drinkers, but we did drink coffee and gave it up 1/1/18, replacing it with herbal teas (lemongrass, peppermint, spearmint, habiscus, chamomile = yummm!). Brew 3 herbal tea bags in acoffee maker and sweeten with stevia or honey and splash of milk. We grow our own stevia, which is easy! It took about 3 days of headaches to kick coffee, but afterwards, we have more energy, sleep soundly and don't 'bonk' at 2pm. We were shocked at the transformation.

We also grow mint and fennel. Both brew into wonderful 'green water' drinks, replacing soda and coffee. To brew, add water in a Proctor Silex electric kettle to the 1.7L max line, then shove a big bunch of washed fennel or mint or both and turn the kettle on. Enjoy hot, warm or chilled. If you like black licorice or anise, you'll enjoy fennel. P.S. Mint & fennel are under-miners, so grown them in a pot or they will overtake your entire yard, neighborhood... county! ;-)

on February 24, 2019

I fill my large drink container at work with ice from our cafeteria, add cold tap water and plunk in an herbal tea bag or any flavor tea bag. It adds a subtle flavor even if it's not hot brewed. Simple and low cost.

on February 25, 2019

I have SodaStreams - one at home, one at work. I never use the syrups they sell for these - I just squeeze fresh citrus fruit and add it in (grapefruit is amazing!). I control the fizz, and there is zero sugar/sweetener/sugar alcohols. Also minimized the environmental impact you alluded to with all the bottles/cans. Just one bottle per family member (my 8 and 14 year olds love it too).

on February 25, 2019

The Bai drinks not in a can (plastic bottles) are pretty good, especially the Watermelon, Pomegranate and Mandarin flavors (all separate). There is also Zevia, if you like the fizz. It has Stevia, and it comes in a cola flavor, Black Cherry (my favorite), Grape, Dr. Zevia, and a few others.

on March 7, 2019

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