Are there any decent UK alternatives to diet fizzy drinks?
Posted by Few_House_5201@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 653 comments
I’ve been drinking Pepsi max and 7 up Zero for years and my wife is worried about the aspartame content so has asked me to look for alternatives.
I tried Dash water this week and it was truly awful. Completely bland and flavourless, may as well have just drank a glass of flat soda water.
Anyone know of anything worth trying? Looking for no sugar, no sweeteners really.
Thanks fellow Brits.
snavej1@reddit
There are much worse problems than aspartame. After a certain age, carbohydrates become problematic. I'm having to reduce intake hugely: bread, sugar, pastry, cake, pasta, rice, potatoes, cereal, etc. I should stick to meat, eggs, dairy, nuts, fruit, seeds and veg.
MountainMuffin1980@reddit
How much are you drinking? A can a day isn't going to do you any harm. Any alternatives are going to have similar stuff in them which will be bad for you in excess
Few_House_5201@reddit (OP)
When I have it I’ll get through about 8 cans a day which is around 2.7 litres
Velocirapture_Jesus@reddit
Quite frankly, it’s time to grow up and stop relying on fizzy drinks as your primary source of hydration.
Drink tap water.
Yes, it will taste gross because you’re not used to it.
Yes, you will get used to it. Your body is literally designed to drink water, your skin, energy levels, and kidneys, will thank you for it.
MountainMuffin1980@reddit
Ah okay, yeah man. That's far too much and you're more at risk of kidney stones etc than anything Aspartame will do to you.
Few_House_5201@reddit (OP)
I should clarify that I don’t have 8 cans a day.
When I buy these drinks I’ll have 8 cans a day but I only get 2 or 3 crates a month so it works out at an average of 2 cans a day, the crates just don’t last very long and I’ll just drink tap water on the other days.
Have no teeth issues at all and caffeine seems to have no effect on me.
HollyHor28HH@reddit
Caffeine has no effect on you? Might want to look into adhd my guy
jubza@reddit
Up until Jan this year, I was drinking probably about a litre or so of fizzy drinks a day. More on days I was going out as I don't drink alcohol. I've always had shitty sleep so I decided fizzy drinks is the one area I've never tried without long enough so I'll give it a go even though I was 99% sure the caffeine or whatever doesn't affect me.
Turns out it does. Don't get me wrong, I've always had shit sleep but the caffeine made me go from needing about two hours to fall asleep to being able to fall asleep within 20 minutes. My gums and teeth also improved ridiculously. All of this was evident about four days after my last fizzy drink. I did make a rule that IF i did have a fizzy drink, it will have to take place before 6PM. I tested the theory out, one day I woke up thirsty in the middle of the night with my blood sugar low and so I downed a can and couldn't go back to sleep for hours.
As for alternatives, your tap water is crap? Get a water filter - I had one in Leeds after 1.5 years of living there and not wanting to drink tapwater. Kombucha is caffeine free but can contain a lot of sugar so just need to find brand/flavour without - best of it all is that you can make your own at home. Juices, decaf Yorkshire Tea, tapwater with ice is my go-tos now.
r0709593@reddit
How could you possibly drink 8 cans a day.. Just cut back a bit. Get some Tesco own brand diluted juice (imo the best on the market and sugar feee)
Scratchy-cat@reddit
And there's me thinking my one can of cherry tango a day is a bad addiction and you somehow manage 8 cans of fizzy drinks a day. I wonder if a part of your wife not liking it is also the gas output that must come with that much fizz
Mezcalico@reddit
8 cans a day?!
I bet your teeth look like cornflakes
Breadmash@reddit
At this volume of consumption, your aspartame intake isn’t dangerous. However there is research that suggests that sweet food and drinks can spike insulin levels, which long term can be dangerous. I’d suggest lowering your intake of the drink you prefer, rather than trying to replace it with something that doesn’t hit the spot.
Kim-Jong-Long-Dong@reddit
While that amount doesnt have any evidence its actually bad for you, just to make your wife happy, maybe just cut your consumption down rather than switching.
OiBigBoy@reddit
Yeah something tells me this isn't about the aspartame
Cool_Doubt2152@reddit
I think the caffeine consumption should be more of a concern than the aspartame with 8 cans a day
orange_fudge@reddit
Aspartame isn’t your issue… but bathing your teeth in acid isn’t great. Carbonated drinks are quite acidic.
luffychan13@reddit
Yeah I wouldn't worry about the aspartame, I'd worry about your teeth though.
External-Praline-451@reddit
Crikey dude, your wife is right. Drink some cold water or sparkling water. I know it will feel bland, but you just need to preserve with these things and soon you'll really enjoy it. Add some lemon/ lime or mint if you really need to.
balk_man@reddit
At 8 cans a day it's really not aspartame or any sweetener she should be worrying about
Undeniable-Quitter@reddit
Definitely excessive
NeonDust1999@reddit
Poppi has just started selling in Tescos and honestly it’s the best. Also we love the sarking twinings tea. Some of the CPD drinks are okay but two above I haven’t found one that’s not good they are full of flavour and low in calories with no sugar. Not sure about sweeteners but you should try them out
aemdiate@reddit
Kombucha.
Remarkable_Clue_9084@reddit
Agree - but as a non drinker the low alcohol content of kombucha makes me feel a little woo woo
aemdiate@reddit
0.5%? How much do you drink? A banana can contain the same.
cinesister@reddit
Agree with this. Bonus points is that it’s good for your gut too! I brew my own so I can add whatever fruits I like. Love it!
Imaginary-Advice-229@reddit
You'll die of water toxicity before any level of aspartame becomes harmful
No_Suspect1204@reddit
Kombucha is a nice low calorie alternative
zig131@reddit
If you drink it as much as some people drink soda, you'll strip the enamel off your teeth, but it's fine as an occasional treat.
metamongoose@reddit
Good call!
NottsCobra@reddit
Try different no sugar dilutes mixed with soda water.
ActGrouchy5018@reddit
Why’s wrong with tap water?
Banes_Addiction@reddit
It's not really a substitute for sparkling drinks. I drink a tonne of tap water but I've also always got fizzy water available.
M90Motorway@reddit
A good chunk of UK Redditors seem to think the only drink people should have is water. If you say you don’t like or are allergic to aspartame and want to drink something they’ll snarkily tell you “well water is always available and that doesn’t contain aspartame”. They are absolutely the people who only eat stuff like lentil dahl and sneer at people who enjoy the occasional kebab or fried food.
Magic_mousie@reddit
Water is boring AF. If water was the only choice then I'd dehydrate.
Doesn't help my tap water is like 50% chlorine.
I love squash, it's a low level of sugar and sweeteners but makes me actually want to drink. I think Robinsons could make a killing in the US, rather than those seltzers which taste like bitter static water saw a lemon once.
Rosetti@reddit
It's not just UK redditors, it's just redditors in general. I mean bloody hell, have you seen that "HydroHomies" subreddit? People have somehow managed to turn drinking water into a personality trait. It's literally this ProZd video from 7 years ago...
M90Motorway@reddit
I see a lot of it on UK subreddits when things like the sugar tax get brought up and they all come out the woodwork to gloat about drinking water. I drink water but don’t make it my entire personality. I’d assume someone who has must be a very bland person akin to those bodybuilders who gloat about only eating plain unseasoned chicken and rice and take themselves far to seriously.
Let’s not even get started on the food opinions with those Redditors.
Rosetti@reddit
Yeah I'm with you mate. I think some people just really get off on any chance to be "superior" to others.
antlered-god@reddit
Absolutely nothing
bacon_cake@reddit
I used to be 100% camp "it's gross where I live" fingers firmly in ears. So I switched to squash and slowly diluted it more and more and now it's fine.
I honestly think I was just conditioned to liking fizzy drinks and sweet juices etc. The water's fine.
nickdaniels92@reddit
Demonstrably not true. The TDS levels are very high where we are in Kent, it tastes bad and furs up the kettle in 24 hours. Bottled Ashbeck from Tesco is amazing in comparison, no furring at all over months, and it tastes good. We no longer get that, but spring water from M&S does pretty well as a replacement.
Also when I began making sourdough I was using tap water, and my starter failed to get going, likely due to high chlorine. Switching to spring water and no problems.
Maybe yours is fine, but there can absolutely be lots wrong with tap water.
Impossible_Theme_148@reddit
Where I used to work they had to replace the kettles in the coffee room every couple of years because the tap water basically kept destroying them
redsquizza@reddit
No one had the wit to simply descale it?
Impossible_Theme_148@reddit
No, they had the wit to understand that paying staff who were all on hefty hourly rates to descale a kettle was more expensive than just buying a new £10 kettle every couple of years
Phenomenomix@reddit
You can descale a kettle overnight when all the big earners are asleep
Impossible_Theme_148@reddit
You can descale a kettle using zero minutes of manpower?
Well done you
quantum_burp@reddit
It takes less active time than making a cup of tea lmao
zig131@reddit
Humans aren't kettles though.
Hard water isn't great for skin, but it's perfectly safe to drink.
Nameisnotmine@reddit
Years? We get through kettles in around 6 months . Admittedly those poor kettles are for the use of around a 100 people and are in use almost constantly 24/7
Diligent_Craft_1165@reddit
Depends where you live. The tap water where I live is terrible. My wife gets an upset stomach from drinking it.
ilikeyourgetup@reddit
Manchester tap water tastes like chlorine -when I visit from Yorkshire I bring a big bottle of water with me.
6637733885362995955@reddit
Interesting. I was in the Dales last week and thought I could smell chlorine/fluorine in the water, way more than I can in Herts.
jubza@reddit
Other way round for me! When I lived (and still visit weekly) in Leeds, the hardness of the water always left a weird bitter aftertaste. Whereas the Manchester (maybe more so to the north/east of it) tastes plain and cold.
bahumat42@reddit
This is the answer
Plague_Robbery@reddit
The answer if you're not a fan of flavour or any kind of slight enjoyment in life
bahumat42@reddit
I have flavour and enjoyment but I don't need it for every drink.
Makes it better when I do have it.
caristeej0@reddit
It's boring?
Shiftycatz@reddit
It's mingin'
FatherPaulStone@reddit
how/why?
Shiftycatz@reddit
I dunno if it's cos I have hard water or not but it just tastes...kinda dank
ActGrouchy5018@reddit
Not where I live
Few_House_5201@reddit (OP)
I live near the sea and our tap water has a weird taste to it. Have tried filters and it’s okay but I’d prefer something with flavour.
EssBen@reddit
There best no sugar drink is a good strong cup of tea.
pugwizzle@reddit
Poppi's are now in Tesco. Fizzy with 3g of fibre and apple cider vinegar. Can't taste any of it
Thin_Sheepherder_584@reddit
Sparkling water and add lemon or lime juice. You can also flavour it with cucumber and mint. I use ginger juice for a bit of pep. Can take a bit of getting used to, but it's nice and fresh and much cheaper than the alternatives.
Friendly_External345@reddit
Sods streams the way forward, never was one for fizzy drinks but drinks gallons of sparkling water with lemon
Terrible_Tap_4385@reddit
Sods stream???? Sounds like an anal discharge
NeighborhoodOwn3044@reddit
😂
Plastic-Location-598@reddit
Sodastream sponsors illegal occupation in the West Bank so I avoid it like the plague.
Nothing wrong with some lime juice, sparkling water, and some fresh mint! Tastes absolutely 👌🏽
Mglfll@reddit
This but I use lemon and fresh mint, so nice especially as the weather starts warming a bit
GayAttire@reddit
Sounds lovely. Finally, a use for my mint bush.
--BooBoo--@reddit
Am I the only one who now desperately wants to know the story behind the dastardly lemon stealing whores?
Can you spill the tea - I feel very invested in your lemon theft drama now?!
douxsoumis@reddit
If you were a lemon I'd put you on a shelf and cherish you like I cherish all our lemons.
_ghostfacedilla@reddit
There are plenty of uses for your mint bush
Mglfll@reddit
Lemon stealing whores got me laughing and now my colleagues all think I’ve lost the plot 🤣
lela7188@reddit
With lots of ice 🧊 delicious
Thin_Sheepherder_584@reddit
Lovely combo!
maxjesus77@reddit
Any form of cordial works really aswell
ceffyl_gwyn@reddit
Most cordials contain the sweetners or sugar that Op is looking to avoid
lamborguinea@reddit
Exactly.
I prefer smoothies/juices + sparkling water. I recommend straining super thick smoothies/juices with bits and citrusy smoothies work best, green smoothies (fibrous) form a weird froth.
thelaughingman_1991@reddit
The range of flavoured sparkling waters they do at Tesco's are great
ceffyl_gwyn@reddit
These contain added citric acid, which is more of a real thing to watch out for over consuming (for teeth) than sweetners are.
doctorace@reddit
I use a straw, even at home
Conveth@reddit
Try water plus the Robinsons sqirty pod concentrates?
Banes_Addiction@reddit
They want to avoid sweeteners. Those things are mostly sweeteners.
Conveth@reddit
Yeah, didn't see the full text.
killit@reddit
Every now and then, a pinch of chilli powder to mix things up. It doesn't mix properly though and feels a bit weird at first, so you need to have a spoon in to give it a stir.
spaceprinceps@reddit
This but in 500ml cans
TujiTV@reddit
You're looking for sparkling water.
Also, your wife needs to stop listening to tiktok.
Aspartame is the new MSG, perfectly healthy but a great scare tactic. The amount of aspartame you'd need to consume to have any negative side effects would be soo great, you'd die of a caffeine overdose or water toxicity before that.
CaliferMau@reddit
It’s been a bogeyman for years. I remember a health panel thing when I was in secondary school where there were 3 folk talking about health and nutrition. One actual expert, someone else, and what would be the 00’s equivalent of today’s health and fitness influencer.
The influencer person went on at length about the studies showing aspartame rotting holes in rodent brains. All it took to debunk it was the expert lady clearly saying the actual amount you’d need to consume to have that effect
jamesripper@reddit
High enough quantities of anything can make something toxic.
"Drink 1,000 gallons of water and you will die", this quote is true but you don't see people saying "water is bad for you, it can kill you" and posting about it frequently. Same principle essentially.
DigitalAmy0426@reddit
The poison is in the dose.
KentuckyCandy@reddit
You've not seen how many Diet Cokes I have. I'm the rat.
CaliferMau@reddit
I have a mate, who at uni would go through 3-4 2 litre bottles of sugar free Irn Bru a day. When he got cold his skin was mottled orange
lostmyselfinyourlies@reddit
That's just what happens when you're Scottish.
nat_urally@reddit
Holy crap 😂
KentuckyCandy@reddit
OK. They win.
ilikeyourgetup@reddit
The caffeine will get you way before the aspartame.
hesgotarobitbrain@reddit
I heard the same about cocaine
Trebus@reddit
That and sunset yellow. Although to be fair it's since been recognised it's one of the Southampton 6.
Sheelon666@reddit
I got the figures one day in work, fired up a spreadsheet and you'd need to drink 180 cans PER DAY (IIRC) for it to reach minimum levels of toxins.
Why_you_so_wrong_@reddit
That sounds about right. The “safe limit” is 100x less than the amount where rats started to have side effects. You would die of hyponatremia from water intoxication long before the aspartame had any effect on you.
Sugared-Lemon-Zest@reddit
100x less = 1%.
Why_you_so_wrong_@reddit
Yes, but if people have an issue with aspartame I don’t expect them to understand percentages.
Sugared-Lemon-Zest@reddit
Fair enough! :D
Interesting_Front709@reddit
The thing is we are bombarded with toxins from all kinds of things pesticides, herbicides, mould, tap water, air, soil, diet/food , environment and many people are chronically unwell - so the bucket is full for a lot of them, and adding more only because its smallest of amounts doesn’t make sense 🤷🏽♀️
ByteSizedGenius@reddit
Anything is toxic in a high enough quantity. Oxygen, water...
Unable-Ad2927@reddit
yeah from what i recall it was about 2-3 cans per day per Kg of body weight and everyone always drops off the last bit
Naughty-Stepper@reddit
You forgot the god awful after taste some of us experience. It seems old school Corona & R Whites are now but a fond and distant memory.
bdts20t@reddit
The sugar tax ruined my life. Used to fucking love a nice little Dr Pepper and now I'm homeless, begging for just one hit of my full sugar Pepper Prescription
Harlzter@reddit
I'd love to know where you are getting full sugar dr pepper from.
bdts20t@reddit
Import shops are usually the best bet but they're always flavoured versions. That and the formula just seems to be a little too different for my liking.
Stage_Party@reddit
See I agree with the sugar tax but I don't understand why these companies don't offer full sugar versions at higher prices to cover the tax. I'd happily pay now and again for the full sugar drinks and I'm sure many people would.
elchet@reddit
I miss the old San Pelegrino limonata
teeth_grinding_teeth@reddit
Same, they sold a few packs on sale at home bargains once. Wish I bought more, as I realised that’s when they were being discontinued
Ordoferrum@reddit
There's plenty of shops near me that sells the American import. It's fucking amazing compared to our sweetener laden slop.
Superspark76@reddit
How much Dr Pepper did you drink for the sugar tax to make you homeless?
bdts20t@reddit
Daddy Pepper told me not to answer this question. He takes care of me.
Most_Moose_2637@reddit
What's the worst that could happen.
Trebus@reddit
The ice lollies are still reet.
Braylien@reddit
Yeah for me it just tastes bloody awful
TujiTV@reddit
Yeah, I hate the taste of kale, doesn't mean it's unsafe for us. OP want's an alternative, not because they hate the taste, but because their wife thinks that decades of scientific research isn't enough.
Also, that's the reason we started mixing different sweeteners together. Any sweetener by itself has a strong flavour, but mixing two or three sweeteners together create a closer-to-sugar sweetening compound.
Naughty-Stepper@reddit
Agreed, like most things, taken in moderation. Pro tip, try kale mixed into a cheese sauce. It takes the metallic edge off.
orion-7@reddit
It's the most studied food ingredient on earth, and at know it's fine
Jlaw118@reddit
I’ve recently had to cut out artificial sweeteners because of my stomach and aspartame is the only sweetener I can actually somewhat tolerate and yet these internet doctors and scientists are trying to get it banned with no evidence of anything
InformationUsed300@reddit
Try Splenda instead
Dannypan@reddit
Ah the online medical influencer. Two made up anecdotes and "concern" for children's wellbeing. Just buy our NATURAL alternative instead, chemical-free!
Dry-Dragonfruit5216@reddit
The Mr Beast tactic at work. His list of why his version of lunchable is better than the brand one was so shallow.
Amazing-Heron-105@reddit
I go to Joe Rogan for all my medical advice
InformationUsed300@reddit
How did this even get this many votes it’s nonsense
MassiveClusterFuck@reddit
Sparkling water is the best choice to get away from fizzy juice. If you still want some sort of flavour get the Robinson's minis, they're concentrated enough that a couple of squirts into the fizzy water is more than enough to flavour it.
ProfessorPeabrain@reddit
I think you may need to do a bit of reading around the subject.
Researchers followed 12,772 adults from across Brazil over an average of eight years, evaluating dietary habits and cognitive performance at several time points. Participants completed regular questionnaires on their consumption of seven different low- and no-calorie sweeteners and underwent standardised tests for memory, language and thinking. Those consuming the highest amounts, about 191 milligrams per day on average, experienced a 62% faster cognitive decline compared to the lowest group, with results equivalent to 1.6 years of ageing. The middle group also declined more rapidly, by 35%. People under 60 and those with diabetes were most susceptible. The decline was strongest in memory and verbal fluency domains and was not seen in people over 60 or with tagatose, a sweetener showing no such association.
https://www.emjreviews.com/neurology/news/artificial-sweeteners-linked-to-faster-memory-loss-and-cognitive-decline/
InformationUsed300@reddit
No - I am the same re 7up/sprite free and I can’t stand the taste of sparkling water I’d rather have still
Specimen_E-351@reddit
To be fair, reducing the amount of very processed food additives you consume isn't just an idea that comes from tiktok, and she clearly wants OP to be healthy because she cares so that's a bit harsh.
mr-tap@reddit
I think it would be better to describe aspartame as ‘not definitely dangerous’ rather than ‘perfectly safe’ ;)
The official designation is ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B)’ with an ‘acceptable daily intake of 40 mg/kg body weight’ (from https://www.who.int/news/item/14-07-2023-aspartame-hazard-and-risk-assessment-results-released )
Why_you_so_wrong_@reddit
So for an average person of around 60kg you would need to consume 2400mg per day. That’s 12 cans of Diet Coke a day, or nearly 4L of liquid. That limit is also set at 100x less than the limit observed to cause any side effects in rats.
Aspartame is perfectly safe.
Outrageous-Level192@reddit
Aspartame is a made up artificial sweetener that has been around for maybe 100 years. As any other additive which our bodies have only being ingesting for far less than the lenght of any meaningful evolutionary development, to say it is perfectly safe is a bit bold.
-WADE99-@reddit
Perfectly put, thank you!
Heavy-Locksmith-3767@reddit
If you take "acceptable daily intake" literally then yes.
Why_you_so_wrong_@reddit
You would die of hyponatremia long before the aspartame had any effect on you. Biggest concern about drinking loads of sweetened drinks is the effect on your kidneys of certain energy drinks and the acidity on your teeth and gums.
Ok-Swordfish-3056@reddit
Category 2B means it's categorised to be a similar risk to cold coffee and pickled vegetables.
And it's lower risk category than drinking hot drinks, eating red meat or working as a hairdresser which are all in group 2A.
WeCanBeatTheSun@reddit
You know what else is in Group 2B? Mobile phones.
worotan@reddit
Aspartame has been talked about as a health risk since the 80s; it isn’t the new MSG, it’s just what it has been for decades.
blizeH@reddit
I think there is some unnecessary stigma around artificial sweeteners, but also don’t think it’s as clear as ‘perfectly healthy’: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11501561/
HollyHor28HH@reddit
Oh but it doesn’t cause holes in the brain so it’s perfectly safe /s
Foddley@reddit
If I drink one bottle containing aspartame, I won't shit for a week.
When 'full fat' Dr. Pepper started adding aspartame it caught me off guard. I'd already drank 2x 2Ltr bottles over the course of a week and let me tell you I did not have a good time at all.
It frustrates me that it's not being taken more seriously.
BlackStarDream@reddit
Hate to break it to you, but no. Aspartame is actually really bad.
LordSwright@reddit
Sparkling water is fecking disgusting
Illustrious-Divide95@reddit
I get a reaction from eating a lot of MSG - you never know how a. Individual will respond.
Aspartame has a limited risk (class 2B carcinogen) as there was limited evidence and the amount needed for the risk is 40mg/kg of body weight daily. (Diet drinks have about 2-300g per 330 ml can)
"Source -W.H.O.
You would indeed need a lot (~ 10 cans a day) to enter in to this limited risk zone. I'm sure some people manage this amount but i seriously doubt many do!
However everyone responds differently, we're not all "average"
ThisIsMyRedditAcct20@reddit
Aark in our home. Make your own sparkling water, and with a splash of lime, it’s sublime
WeCanBeatTheSun@reddit
The amount of people I see that say aspartame causes cancer, yet have beer or wine every night
seasonaldiamond@reddit
Aspartame is a migraine trigger for me, so it’s for sure to be avoided by some of us
Gibber_jab@reddit
Unless your drinking 20+ cans a day you don’t have to worry about aspartame. But if you want an alternative use sparkling water and mix with cordial.
daz1987@reddit
Exactly. It's not "cancer" you need to worry about, it's your teeth rotting that should be on your mind. Carbonated drinks are terrible for your teeth.
GreenFaceSlimeMan@reddit
Just to clarify, are you saying anything carbonated is bad for your teeth regardless of sugar content? I'm a fella who loves Sparkling water.
AutomaticInitiative@reddit
Yes, carbonation is hard on your teeth
Spid1@reddit
Even with a straw?
venys001@reddit
And apparently depletes you of the minerals you are consuming. So even healthier carbonated drinks aren't good for you (this is from our nutritionist).
daz1987@reddit
That's what my dentist tells me. I told my dentist that I drink sugar free fizzy drinks thinking I'd get a pat on the back and ended up getting told off just as bad.
GreenFaceSlimeMan@reddit
Oh that's crazy. Other than a couple of beers on the odd night out, I only really drink sparkling water.
LJ161@reddit
Yeah carbonation causes an acid called carbonic acid that can strip your enamel. Using a straw will lessen the risk though.
Ahhhhrg@reddit
A quick google says you’re incorrect: https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/tooth-sensitivity/is-sparkling-water-bad-for-your-teeth
LJ161@reddit
It says its just not as bad as soda drinks in moderation. If its your main source of hydration then youre not drinking it in moderation.
Ahhhhrg@reddit
Quote:
GreenFaceSlimeMan@reddit
What if I shove the entire bottle in my mouth and gulp it down like a big dumb bear so it doesn't touch my teeth, would that help?
LJ161@reddit
I imagine it more like if a seagull was given a bottle of fizzy water?
GreenFaceSlimeMan@reddit
Yeah okay so as long as I trap the bottle in my little beak so harm will come to my precious chompers?
I'm just concerned because I drink a lot of sparkling water and I need my teeth for eating, biting etc
LJ161@reddit
I also drink a lot of sparkling water because I like to live on the edge. But I do use a straw now to protect my enamel. Theres a fizzy water machine at work that you can add flavour, vitamins and electrolytes to so like... I cant exactly stop drinking it can I.
abyssal-isopod86@reddit
Get some litmus paper and test the pH
ameliappx@reddit
Id be interested to know the answer to this, I drink a fair bit of sparkling water too!
cateml@reddit
Yes, carbonation = acidic. Therefore risk of increased tooth erosion.
I’m not sure it’s as bad though - many fizzy drinks eg. Coke/Diet Coke/lemonade also contain citric acid and other things, it’s not just the carbonation.
I’m not a dentist and therefore obviously people should defer to what their dentist says, but I’m also going by what I’ve been told be actual dentists.
Which is that while basically anything that isn’t water or milk could theoretically be a problem, it’s not like all other drinks are equal. Eg. Dilute squash will erode your teeth, but not nearly as much as drinking fresh orange juice in the same way would.
Also I’ve believe (told by actual dentist) that using a drinking straw can lower the impact (though you can still develop issues despite this as well).
GreatChaosFudge@reddit
My dentist complains that middle class kids are taught to sip their apple juice politely rather than gulp it down. He says that leaves it in contact with your teeth for longer, whereas knocking it back at least gets it clear of the inside of the mouth. He says apple juice is worse than Coke anyway. I think there may be some hyperbole here but it was interesting to hear his take on apple juice, egregiously classist though it was.
tothecatmobile@reddit
Sparkling water by itself is fine.
Carbonation does produce carbonic acid, but that is far less damaging than sugar, citric acid or phosphoric acid that's found in flavored drinks.
Flaruwu@reddit
Carbon dioxide (what makes sparkling drinks sparkling) is acidic when dissolved in water.
thecxsmonaut@reddit
Whether or not it's diet, too. People focus a lot on the sugar and not on the acidity.
bacon_cake@reddit
For real?
My wife and I are constantly having this debate, I switched to water, she's still spending £00s a year on Diet Coke. I have this feeling that it's bad for you, but she's always saying it's zero calories, zero sugar etc.
ceffyl_gwyn@reddit
And then in threads like this, people are recommending squeezes of lemon in fizzy water which is probably just as acidic (depending on how much lemon) as the soft drinks in the first place.
WitchyRedhead86@reddit
A small squeeze of lemon juice diluted in water is not going to be as bad as a full carbonated sugary drink.
ceffyl_gwyn@reddit
We're comparing to diet soft drinks, so no sugar to worry about.
Yes, a small squeeze of lemon is not going to be as bad, a mid squeeze of lemon is going to be about the same, and a large squeeze of lemon is probably going to be more acidic.
It's not about avoiding lemon in water or soft drinks. It's about not overdrinking either.
WitchyRedhead86@reddit
I think if you’re switching to water from soft drinks that’s a good thing all around imho.
Williamishere69@reddit
Fizzy water is already more acidic than still water
nickdaniels92@reddit
Things are very interrelated. High sugar intake is indirectly associated with cancer in multiple ways, such as the impact on apoptosis (programmed cell death), obesity and other factor. It typically impacts oral hygiene as you alude to (which is poor for a significant amount of the UK population), and that also impacts cancer risk and many other potential conditions via inflammation, as well as having a significant impact on gut health, which is crucial to overall wellbeing. Sugar substitutes are also problematic. Basically it's best to optimise for low sugar intake.
dinoduckasaur@reddit
Kidneys as well, with the diet sodas.
Phenomenomix@reddit
What do diet drinks do to your kidneys?
doctorace@reddit
Get some straws for home drinking. Really helps avoid the teeth all together.
Amazing-Heron-105@reddit
Also when you drink out of a straw it feels like you're on holiday
teeth_grinding_teeth@reddit
I have a whole set of straws. I’ve Frankensteined some together - cut a silicone one and wrap around a steel one so the steel doesn’t bash against the steel cup. Also cut the silicone up diagonally if it’s long, it’s so it isn’t flat against the bottom of the cup.
Amazing-Heron-105@reddit
You what mate?
Few_House_5201@reddit (OP)
I got through a crate of Pepsi max in 3 days - so 8 cans a day - which is why she’s started being so concerned.
YQB123@reddit
Why not have a pint of water for every can of Pepsi?
Half your intake immediately and still get hydrated and feeling 'full'.
ilikeyourgetup@reddit
This is what i do as someone with a very sweet tooth - if i want a sweet drink i down a pint of water first then get my sugary drink which will inevitably take at least twice as long to drink now my thirst has been quenched.
ilikeyourgetup@reddit
There are no health concerns with drinking Aspartame, it’s just one of the many chemicals = bad myths propagated on social media usually by people trying to sell you on their diet plan or nutritional supplements.
If you’re looking for no sugar and no sweeteners, and no chemicals then your option is water. You can drink water, but if you want flavour and sweetness and no sugar then that means chemicals, which are fine and safe to consume despite what some crunchy health influencer told you.
FinalEdit@reddit
I read a study back in 2003, way before social media, and written by the FDA that said aspartame was dangerous in large quantities. If my memory serves me correctly it put the limit 14 cans of diet coke a day.
This isn't a new thing.
ilikeyourgetup@reddit
The limit is set at 100x less than the dose at which no side effects were observed, so you could drink 140 cans a day and still be fine (also I think it’s 18 cans, but let’s not split hairs).
Did you know you can also die from water poisoning by drinking too much H2O? And peaches contain cyanide? Just one of many examples of “the dose makes the poison”.
FinalEdit@reddit
The only point I was making was that it proceeds social media. Ffs.
OkFlow1178@reddit
Who cares that the scare mongering precedes social media? Whats the point of your point?
FinalEdit@reddit
Well blaming everything on some boomer social media outrage when its a concern that fat proceeds it gives weight to the point that not everyone is a fucking looney. But I guess that doesn't matter when you're trying to score internet points does it
ilikeyourgetup@reddit
You sound like you’re redirecting your frustration at being called out onto the fact i specifically mentioned social media as a source of this misinformation.
Yes, misinformation existed before social media and you believed it at the time. I’ve given you more facts around aspartame, you’re free to believe them or not but don’t pretend this is because I mentioned social media specifically.
OkFlow1178@reddit
I still don’t get what you’re so wound up about, go outside and touch the grass ffs
ilikeyourgetup@reddit
It was still wrong then, there are scaremongering stories about MSG dating back to the 80’s. My point wasn’t that it was wrong because it was in social media, it’s wrong because it’s bad science, just like your wall of half remembered text.
Why “Ffs”? Are you frustrated that you’re repeating easily discounted pseudoscience?
_Yalan@reddit
Tbh if you are drinking 14 cans of coke a day you've probably got bigger problems than Aspartame to try and sort!
FinalEdit@reddit
Haha yeah indeed. Thats why i felt relieved when I heard that statistic from the FSA. No way I could drink that much!
TheClnl@reddit
Another thing to consider is the amount of sweeteners that get added to other foods. It's not just zero drinks, anything 'low sugar' likely has it too, things like beans or ketchup spring to mind but it'll also be in places you wouldn't expect where it's simply cheaper to use a sweetener than sugar.
Munchkinpea@reddit
I mean, if we're being pedantic, water is no good if you want to avoid chemicals 😜
deHaga@reddit
What about Ace-k? That's also in Pepsi Max
FinalEdit@reddit
This thread is being brigaded
ilikeyourgetup@reddit
People disagree with me = I’m being brigaded. No, people are more informed and have easier access to facts now.
OkFlow1178@reddit
Do you not know how to fucking google for yourself? Enough knowledge to know it’s in Pepsi max yet completely incapable of closing Reddit, opening your browser, and researching it
ilikeyourgetup@reddit
What about it?
deHaga@reddit
Seems like there is emerging data that chronic consumption like OP is doing mighty have negative effects
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11501561/
JFJF48@reddit
Bruh... That's a lot.
MrJones-@reddit
But it’s only the aspartame that is the concern…🫠
Why_you_so_wrong_@reddit
That’s just a random picture of teeth. Yes carbonated drinks are acidic which isn’t great for your teeth but that looks like a much more serious issue.
Lance_Operazole@reddit
If you go cold turkey on Pepsi max you'll get a crazy headache from caffeine withdrawal.
ScumBucket33@reddit
If you’re drinking 8 cans a day of any juice you should really be looking at drinking a lot more water instead.
Gibber_jab@reddit
Was gonna say the same.
matomo23@reddit
What sweetener do cordial drinks use though? Because they almost *all* do.
fords42@reddit
I do that because artificial sweeteners give me headaches.
indigo_pirate@reddit
Underrated mix
Cordial orange squash with Costco / or other cheap online retailer megapack of sparkling bottles . Is great
pxl8d@reddit
He's drinking 2.7 litres a day apparently ive jsut seen?! I no longer think his wife is over reacting lol
West_Pin_1578@reddit
I just read and heard that the fake sugars in this drink is considered pretty unhealthy, adds to the whole sugar/salt intake escalator and causes problems with insulin production long term just because it fools the body. But 8 don't touch he dhit anyway.
But other than that.
Normal-Height-8577@reddit
Yeah, if I'm going to have a fizzy drink (or a squash/cordial), I'd actually rather it had real sugar that isn't trying to bait-and-switch my brain, and just...try not to drink too much of it.
seklas1@reddit
There’s some expensive options I’ve had at some restaurants that have low sugar content and no sweeteners, I think it was rhubarb flavoured. But realistically, could just make a lemonade out of lemons and if you want it sparkling, get a soda-stream.
Nameisnotmine@reddit
Don’t get a soda stream. They are a closed system meaning the refills for the CO2 are extortionate. Find a dupe
The_Right_Mistake@reddit
It’s irritating because when I lived in Sweden quite a few shops had unbranded refills that you could buy then bring back and replace for like £3. It was great. But in the UK they can’t really do that. I have read that there are some postal services though... but haven’t tried that route yet here.
seklas1@reddit
It’s £25 for two soda-stream canisters, hardly end of the world. It’s not “cheap” per se, but you return your old ones via in-post and receive new ones. It still works out pretty cheap compared to buying bottles from the supermarket, also doesn’t take up much space.
iMac_Hunt@reddit
I find sparkling water with a slice of fresh lemon very refreshing and nicer than cordial
DavidinDK@reddit
Or lime or lemon juice. We buy sparking water with a hint of lemon, it is so cheap.
boof_the_floof@reddit
*you're
WhalingSmithers00@reddit
Think it's closer to 400 cans
Mortiis07@reddit
So drink 19 a day
MesoamericanMorrigan@reddit
Speak for yourself I get horrible GI and neurological symptoms within minutes
Pingushagger@reddit
Lightweight
OkFlow1178@reddit
Neurological symptoms 🤣 thanks for the laugh
Primary_Wear7434@reddit
No you don't 😂😂😂
Consistent_Umpire443@reddit
Its reddit of course they do.
Nice-Masterpiece1661@reddit
Aspartame is not harmful
Novel_Entertainer_92@reddit
Not seeing anyone recommending Trip or G Spot which are both very tasty but with all natural sugars/flavours etc 🤷🏻♀️ but also second just adding stuff to your water a bit of lemon, cucumber, lemon balm, herbal teas etc. even infusing berries in water overnight makes for a pleasant fruity something
Wooden_Lab6781@reddit
kombucha
zig131@reddit
Sugar and artificial sweeteners in moderation are not bad.
I'd be more worried about the caffeine content of Pepsi Max IMHO.
However if you want to avoid both, and just drinking tap water does not work for you, then my local bar had cans called "Dalstons Cherry" that were really nice.
https://dalstons.com/products/cherry-soda
chiefgareth@reddit
Orange Mango Rubicon Sparkling Spring Water is the best thing I’ve found that fulfils my desire for fizzy drinks and tastes good. I still have an Orange Tango every now and again, but much less.
metamongoose@reddit
So many people saying aspartame is harmless, it's not a toxin or anything but artificial sweetness tricks much more than just your taste buds. Sweet is a signal and your body responds to that signal with insulin, if there isn't a corresponding rise in blood sugar from what you've consumed then your blood sugar can go right down, causing a rebound effect as cells cry out for more fuel. A cascade of physiologic stress that can have consequences on your insulin sensitivity, cortisol levels and adrenals.
So cutting out artificial sweeteners is a good way to reduce the stress your body experiences just from having a drink. A worthwhile thing to do.
nahnahnahthatsnotme@reddit
loving things soda
Sea-Check-9062@reddit
Water.
bubblechog@reddit
No there’s not. I would kill for genuine full sugar drinks with zero added sweetener or flavoured fizzy water.
SeaworthinessNeat516@reddit
Kombucha is nice but expensive
BadMachine@reddit
water?
callardo@reddit
Getting older is more of a risk than drinking a fizzy unless you’re downing a pack of 24 daily then it might start becoming an issue
chronicglitter35@reddit
Water Drop
Fantastic-Dingo-5806@reddit
Sparkling water. Put a dash of a syrup in like rose syrup. Very tasty and refreshing.
Upstairs-Quail5709@reddit
Council pop - AKA tap water.
Shouldn't buy bottled water bad for the environment.
JP091404@reddit
TL;DR: You should be more worried about bacon, UPFs, and alcohol than aspartame (which is equivalent to gherkins and aloe vera) as a carcinogen.
A 60kg adult would need to drink 12-36 cans (Cancer Research UK) every day for a sustained period of time for there to even be a relevant statistical increase in your chances of getting cancer due to aspartame. It is in the same carcinogenic category as Aloe Vera and gherkins.
If you drink alcohol and eat processed meats and food you should be more worried about them.
Bacon and Alcohol are type 1 carcinogens, aspartame (aloe vera and gherkins) are type 2B (possible carcinogens) which is the lowest rating of carcinogen after 3 (no evidence of being a carcinogens) (WHO).
(WHO) Aspartame can be consumed safely in moderation. There is no safe consumption amount of alcohol.
RBisoldandtired@reddit
There’s fuck all wrong with artificial sweeteners.
Prob easier getting her to read
TujiTV@reddit
Yep, it's the same fearmongering as MSG causing headaches (No, it doesn't), Vaccines cause autism (No, they don't) and sweeteners are carcinogenic (No in the quantity you'd need to consume them, and if you did, you'd die from something else WAY sooner).
justitia_@reddit
Its not fearmongering. Are you gonna go ahead and say processed meat is not unhealthy and does not contribute to cancer too? Just because you love to eat bacon everyday and dont just drop dead doesnt mean its healthy.
Just like everything, it is all context dependant. If you're obese or diabetic, potential risks of aspartame wont mean much because cutting sugar is way more important. If you're IBS, aspartame will make you shit yourself. If you get migraines, its very likely to get side effects from aspartame.
And yes, there are tons of studies for aspartame's cognitive side effects to read about. Its so disingenuine to say its the same calibre as vaccines cause autism. Its just not
RBisoldandtired@reddit
The way people spread disinformation about it and just believe what the daily mail told you in 1994 it is very similar to vaccine disinformation. It’s spread the same way. Misinterpretation and downright lying to spread a false narrative that somehow we are all being poisoned.
No one said artificial sweeteners are healthy. No one said that. So why are you making a daft argument about processed meat?
Aspartame poses no risk to those who are obese or diabetic, when not ingested in inhuman amounts.
Where are the people bathing in aspartame?
“People with IBS”… that isn’t the fault of aspartame. They’ll also shit themselves if they drink full fat coke.
justitia_@reddit
I don't read daily mail. I've read it from primary scientific resources found in pubmed. You can read it from Harvard Health or WHO as well if you wish. These studies are not done with people consuming liters of aspartame. How is it misinformation if it is reputable places saying that? Vaccine autism link was only done by ONE study not multiple studies like aspartame.
To give you an example, titanium dioxide used to be a food additive until EU banned it in 2022. Its still debated how bad TiO2 is. It was consumed by millions in small amounts and yet is banned from food. Are you going to call this ban daily mail disinformation too?
So it was okay when you were making the analogy about autism caused by vaccination but not okay when I do it for processed meat? I gave you that example because you seem to think there is no possible health issues linked to artificial sweeteners.
I told you if a diabetic will be choosing either aspartame or sugar, better to choose aspartame than sugar. Because sugar will cause direct damage to these people. Aspartame may or may not. Benefit from not consuming sugar outweighs any potential risk that comes with aspartame for these people. I said that perviously as well.
Do you think aspartame is only used in coke? IBS people will react to aspartame used flavoured water too.
RBisoldandtired@reddit
Almost all studies linking aspartame to ill effects are in such large volumes to be almost impossible for a human to consume naturally. You would have to be cutting yourself lines of the shit like pablo Escobar to reach any level of toxicity.
Again, showing your inability to perform any form of critical or lateral thinking.
Someone having an underlying medical condition and reacting to a food additive (or food in general) ≠ that additive is the cause.
The fact you misunderstand even the most basic of scientific thought and also don’t understand a basic analogy and took my “Daily Mail” comment as a literal comment, tells me you’re also incapable of understanding the simplest of basic conversation skills.
You are on Reddit after all. So I’m sure you’ll share your self diagnosed autism with me in due course. Probably caused by dihydrogen monoxide in your diet.
MesoamericanMorrigan@reddit
As someone who ends up having symptoms similar to a stroke when companies change their recipe I’d rethink that comment
It’s also well known that they mess up your insulin response
The only sweetener I can handle a little of is stevia or small amounts of xylitol but aspartame is pure poison.
txteva@reddit
You might have an allergy or intolerance of it, but that hardly makes it poison.
nancy-p@reddit
your alleged incredibly rare reaction doesn’t make it ‘poison’. gluten is perfectly healthy and digestible for the majority of the population but it’s very harmful to a small minority. doesn’t make it a poisonous substance.
the vast, vast majority of people will have no adverse affects from a small amount of aspartame
RBisoldandtired@reddit
Breaking news: lactose is poison. Pollen is poison. Soya is poison etc etc
nancy-p@reddit
frankly it’s a miracle we’re still alive with all the poison we’ve been consuming
RBisoldandtired@reddit
From everything the daily mail has published in the last 41 years of my existence, i should have every form of cancer
I was having a well fired roll (might be a Scottish thing) and someone interrupted me to tell me “they give you cancer yknow”. Aye thanks, so?
BugBottleBlue@reddit
It's almost like if yours was a common experience, it wouldnt be possible for billions of gallons of artificially sweetened drinks to be sold, lest everyone was having stroke-like syanptoms
futuresonic@reddit
Point to the evidence that backs any of that up. ‘Well known’ 😅
RBisoldandtired@reddit
Can’t wait to read your peer reviewed study
Snoodini@reddit
Absolutely this! I personally strongly dislike the flavour of the artifical sweetners the point that even non-diet drinks have been ruined by sugar reduction in the recipes, with some replacement with artificial sweetners. But nothing wrong with them in terms of health.
RBisoldandtired@reddit
And taste wise is totally fair. I find artificial sweeteners when combined with sugar to have a weird after taste which is probably just through decades of knowing how a drink should taste. But I’m fine with a Coke Zero or diet irn bru cos I’m not getting a different taste to what I expect.
Health wise. I’m not going back to full fat Coke even if it’s heavenly tasting (especially as the last full sugar drink left)
RaspberryJammm@reddit
They trigger my nerve pains, I really don't trust them at all. Ticking time bomb.
Plus they taste revolting with the exception of stevia.
TheBristolBulk@reddit
This. And also, make you own health decisions !
Ok_Pool8937@reddit
Rubicon sparkling water
420Journey@reddit
Right in order for you to get even a slightly risky dose of aspartame you would need to drink 38 cans of Diet Coke in 12 hours. At which point, the caffeine and simply the amount of water will be far more dangerous. Aspartame is safe.
albert-bierstadt@reddit
Have a look at this
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWwjuVmkbxX/?igsh=MXhlMGh4N2JtNnRoZw==
Less-Sympathy3778@reddit
Holland and Barrett have a good drinks range.
manic47@reddit
I quite like Mother Root with soda water.
It's pretty unusual though, and my wife gagged when she tried it...
kholekardashian12@reddit
I dunno about aspartame but I lome adding squash to sparkling water when I need something fizzy
doepfersdungeon@reddit
Cawston press or most supermarkets now do their own carbonated sugar free fruit flavoured water. M&s Juicy for example.
Dash as well.
https://dash-water.com/products/bestseller-96?variant=43221679571014&country=GB¤cy=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=12312303082&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIm7X7jaDykwMVzaNQBh2Wiw3sEAQYBCABEgKV6fD_BwE
TheBobbyMan9@reddit
Karma Cola has all natural ingredients so aspartame or anything like that. Only downside is it’s a bit pricey but their cola, orange and lemonade drinks are amazing.
crispycat40@reddit
Aspartame is the most researched food product of all time, with no evidence of it causing any harm.
arabidopsis@reddit
Yeah but my tiktok says otherwise, and they have 1.2m followers.
Icy_Attention3413@reddit
Tell that to my friend’s widow. He was killed by a crate of it in a warehouse.
jaynoj@reddit
I had a mate who drowned at the Guinness brewery. Poor bloke fell into the vat.
His wife asked if it was quick but he had to get out twice for a piss.
culturerush@reddit
My mate was killed by a man gakked up on aspartame
He had taken bath salts too but I think it's the aspartame that told him to do it
tiorzol@reddit
Your joke but much worse territory there
futuresonic@reddit
It was the Aspartame that got him. Run over by a coke truck 🤣
New_Mindset1@reddit
👏🏻
InformationUsed300@reddit
Try the elderflower pressé - I am in the exact same boat - I abhor sparkling water aftertaste
Remarkable_Clue_9084@reddit
I quite like the tenzing range - it’s got about a coffees worth of caffeine as well
EUskeptik@reddit
Look for drinks that are sweetened with stevia and/or sucralose.
Stevia is a completely natural extract from a leaf. Sucralose is made from sugar, tastes like sugar but has no calories. Both appear to be completely safe and healthy.
Green Cola is one such drink. It contains both stevia and sucralose sweeteners and tastes great. It’s available from Amazon and comes in orange and lemon flavours too.
-oo-
Expensive_Profit_106@reddit
You can order lacroix online for not too horrible of a price and I’ve found it’s the best out of all the flavoured water drinks. Also poppi in Tesco and Pret is pretty nice. Honestly though aspartame is nowhere near as bad as all the fear mongering makes it out to be. Sure if you’re downing 20 cans a day it’s not going to be great but it’s not bad.
thatshimoverthere@reddit
I really enjoy lidl's lemon flavoured ice tea with lots of ice.
guzusan@reddit
I can’t believe I’m suggesting this but kombucha has been replacing some of the regular Coca Cola I’ve been drinking. I get a ginger and lemon one and it actually hits that spot like coke does.
msmoth@reddit
Green cola company do so nice drinks with non-aspartame sweeteners but there isn't anything massively wrong with aspartame. The dose level at which harm would be caused by it is so high it would be nigh on impossible for one person to drink that much Pepsi Max.
With Dash, it depends on the flavours. The citrus ones are better than the other fruits.
innocuous_nub@reddit
Try home made kombucha with some natural flavourings added at bottling.
Calm-Homework3161@reddit
Soda water. Tesco do a lime flavour one. Schweppes do a pink one that tastes like grapefruit to me
AmILukeQuestionMark@reddit
Reverse osmosis filtered water remineralised and then carbonated is the healthiest option
amanset@reddit
Nowt wrong with Aspartame unless you drink half your bodyweight of the stuff on a regular basis.
Stop listening to "health influencers" whose only job is to stir up fear to both create content but also boost engagement.
Redderz27@reddit
Dalstons. They do a great range of flavoured sparkling water, flavoured with fruit juice. 45 cals a can and bloody lovely
twirling_daemon@reddit
I have different flavoured squashes in and make them up with fizzy water
FinanceBloke99@reddit
Vimto cordial and sparkling water
Special-Audience-426@reddit
The Polish Raspberry and Cherry cordials are epic in sparkling water.
bbgun24@reddit
Any ones or a specific brand??
Anonymousopotamus@reddit
The stuff in the little glass bottles with a white label? I put it in prosecco and it's AMAZING! Dangerous stuff.
Hefty_Tackle@reddit
Nooo don’t tell anyone. Delete your comment 🥲
spffngly@reddit
Too late! Heading down to the local polski sklep as we speak.
DarthSynx@reddit
In some foreign shops (not sure which) they sell a glass bottle of vimto, it has sugar but no sweetness and it's like a syrup. Best stuff ever.
jlangue@reddit
Vimto has artificial sweeteners as do most British drinks.
ceffyl_gwyn@reddit
Vimto (the no sugar version) also contains aspartame, though.
I agree with the folk who say aspartame isn't a genuine concern, but vimto won't satisfy someone looking to avoid it.
discoveredunknown@reddit
Posh squash!!
CryptoRoast_@reddit
Vimtovsquash is great.
batch1972@reddit
iron bru?
littlenymphy@reddit
Why is it you need no sugar?
You could switch to kombucha which does have sugar in but usually not very much as most of it is used up during fermentation.
Outrageous-Level192@reddit
People here are getting caught into the aspartame thing, but the reality is that drinking those things for years is the health equivalent of crossing the road regardless if the light is green or red.
sphinctaltickle@reddit
AF beer is good!
Obvious-Water569@reddit
Sparkling water with a bit of lemon.
I gave up all soft drinks, even sugar-free ones, at the start of the year and I've not felt this good since I was in my 20s.
I now just drink sparkling water and lemon with maybe 3 cups of coffee a week.
Familiar-Woodpecker5@reddit
Look for products that contain sucralose instead of aspartame. Soda water with squash?
ace_parsnip@reddit
Nothing hits harder after a hard day at work then sparkling water and squash. Get an apple squash and it's basically cider..
Various-Advice-9768@reddit
Celsius have some really nice flavours. I also like purdeys although disappointed the glass bottle has been replaced with a can. Celsius is also sold in pharmacies in other countries so your wife should be impressed. How anyone can like dash is beyond me.
Hiskankles@reddit
Lidl does a good range of sparkling water flavours but they come in 750ml bottles. They are like 59p unusually buy 5 and put them in the fridge for the week.
SnooStories7893@reddit
Green cola! Tastes great, above all.
Realistic-Muffin-165@reddit
Erdinger Alkohol Frei
bidsebastian@reddit
Tried switching too and ngl most of the "healthy" alternatives taste like someone whispered fruit at a glass of water, but sparkling water with a squeeze of real lemon or lime is actually decent once you get used to it
Prole1979@reddit
Get used to unsweetened drinks, sparkling water is the one! Can add lemon/lime or a dash of apple juice if you really want some sweetness
ThatThingInTheCorner@reddit
Just buy supermarket own brands. I've never seen an own brand lemonade contain aspartame. And it's much cheaper than 7up.
Own brand cola usually doesn't taste great though, except M&S sugar free cola and also doesn't contain aspartame, and still cheaper than Pepsi max.
peterchekhov@reddit
Nice cup of tea bruv
Outrageous_Mode3220@reddit
I really like the aqua libra flavoured fizzy waters, no sweetners. I will also dilute fruit juices with fizzy water.
hellyfrosty@reddit
Mr Fitzgerald’s cordials and sparkling water
ProfessorMiserable76@reddit
Why is your wife concerned about aspartame?
AbsoluteBingo@reddit
If you can hack an energy drink, I'm partial to Monster Strawberry Dreams. Just tastes like Strawberry soda to me.
Stopped sugar a while back, and can't hack 'zero' replacements
RBisoldandtired@reddit
The monster ultra strawberry dreams which is itself a “zero” version of monster? 😂
AbsoluteBingo@reddit
Oops I missed the bit where it said no sweeteners. Bit tired 😴
RBisoldandtired@reddit
Well you know what you need to combat that lol
AbsoluteBingo@reddit
I limit myself to a can each week. But that time is fast coming up 🥳
RBisoldandtired@reddit
Since they stopped doing the ultra Rosa in single cans and multipacks only, I have cut down but some days the white ultra calls my name. It’s a bastard having a shop 10 seconds from your front door sometimes 😂
DiscussionOk1098@reddit
Mine at the moment is the Redbull winter edition, I’m not normally a red bull fan, mainly monster, but it tastes like cherryade! And it’s so nice 😩😩😩
AccomplishedRice7427@reddit
Mint leaves and cucumber with fizzy water, or a dash of fruit juice with fizzy water.
charmstrong70@reddit
The answer is Kombucha.
It's fermented, cold tea which, when I put it like that, sounds fucking awful but is surprisingly gorgeous.
Qub3rrt@reddit
Tango
Whoosholliander@reddit
I get Hip Pop. It's a really healthy pop and it's very nice. Sainsbury's sell it. They have more flavours on their website.
IamJamm@reddit
For the aspartame content in a diet coke to be a problem you'd need to be consuming 3800 cans a day. You'd have problems with caffeine and water intake a long time before you do aspartame.
TrackNinetyOne@reddit
I'm guessing your wife's against aspertame because of the conspiracy theory which is based on nonsense, it started in far right circles in the 80s touted as way for the government to bring down the IQ of the population to make them less resistant and spread cancers and other illnesses just FYI
Supermarkets flavoured sparkling water is my go to, they generally have sucralose and asulfame as sweeteners
If you can convince her that there's no basis for the aspertame conspiracy, Lilds tropical crush and orange fizzy drinks are really good, not far off Lilt and Fanta and only 60p
Foddley@reddit
Through a bad game of trial-and-error I've found that anything containing aspartame will give me awful constipation.
My favorite alternatives are Tesco Xero coke and Asda lemonade. They're incredibly cheap and taste great.
Plenty-Anteater4695@reddit
I like bitter Lemon
PaymentVast9884@reddit
Kombucha
Kalliban27@reddit
Soda stream and whatever squash you like
Chance-Bread-315@reddit
I'm with you on Dash tasting like shite. There are some other brands like Hip Pop and Living Things that are quite good but I can't say I've ever checked properly what kind of sweeteners/additives are in them. I think Cawston press fizzy drinks are pretty much no sweeteners.
I'm also a fan of kombucha but the biggest brand in supermarkets seems to be Remedy which is too sweet for me so wouldn't be surprised if they use a lot of sugar or sweeteners.
My preferred kombucha brands are Fix8, Equinox and Holos.
Dry-Dragonfruit5216@reddit
Aspartame has no risk unless you’re drinking 20 cans daily. That rumour was debunked years ago. Your wife needs to stop listening to hacks.
I actually love the peach Dash but I can only find it at Ocado online.
Heisenberg200099@reddit
Twinnings sparkling tea is good as a soft drink or non alcoholic beverage
Bocadillodeldia@reddit
Cawston Press are good - no added sweeteners
bringandbuysale@reddit
The alternative to artificial sweetener is sugar and sugar syrup. Artificial sweeteners MAY cause some health issues if consumed excessively... Sugar WILL cause diabetes, heart disease and a range of other terrible ailments if consumed regularly, even at the higher end of moderate.
If you want a sweet fizzy drink, drink one with artificial sweetener. The other alternative is to stop drinking anything sweet, which would be fucking shit.
thereisalwaysrescue@reddit
I really Poppi at the moment.
Remote-Pool7787@reddit
Aspartame isn’t dangerous. Some people, like me, have sensitivity to it. I get a skin rash if I have it, but I’m fine with other sweeteners. The thing about diet/zero drinks is that people tend to think they can drink an unlimited amount of them, or at least a lot more than they would of the full sugar variety and that really isn’t a good idea. I probably have around 3 cans of fizzy drinks per week and I’m not a particularly health conscious person!
Plum_Tea@reddit
What you are looking for is WATER. That should be your main source of hydration, second best is herbal tea, normal tea/coffee without sugar. You can drink any sort of drink (sugary or diet) as a treat, not as ways to keep hydrated.
As for pepsi/coke - It's not the aspartame, it's the other ingredients that are bad - known to affect bone and teeth health.
Lastly - other "diet" sweeteners - known to be healtier alternatives to aspartame - mostly sugar alcohols that taste closer to the real thing - such as maltilol or xylitol -can give you the shizits of the century after even moderate consumption. I once drunk a 350ml of japanese plum wine, that I hadn't noticed contained xylitol & I felt my bowels turn inside out for the next couple of days.
Frustib@reddit
Aspartame is one of the most researched chemicals in the world. There’s no official (world health organisation type official, not random-unofficial-wannabe-health website) documentation purporting adverse effects to health.
sjcyork@reddit
I went old school and bought a sodastream. Surprisingly decent sparkling water and you can add your own flavours. No plastic waste, no storage of bulky bottles. The cost was paid for pretty quickly when compared to disposable bottles.
Double_Field9835@reddit
Soda water with a squeeze of lime.
Seededbatchloaf@reddit
Tap water, it's all your body needs and will flush out your system.
Nigelb72@reddit
You need to drink around 14 cans of diet soda a day, every day for aspartame to become dangerous and if you're drinking that much fizzy pop you've got bigger issues. There's nothing wrong with the occasional can as a treat.
c19isdeadly@reddit
Kombucha! Research brands - some contain sweeteners but the good ones are low sugar and no sweeteners. Assuming it has love cultures, you will want to ease into drinking it - if you start drinking 2 litres a day you will experience gastrointestinal distress.
-Not-Today-Satan@reddit
Poppi is great! Natural Ingredients, low sugar, high fibre. Really tasty.
Vodkaboris@reddit
Try tap water. At least in my corner of Scotland our water is very good.
Sadly, I did note during a recent visit through parts of England that their water was rank.
WarSuspicious8164@reddit
Following this for suggestions
ReefNixon@reddit
Buy a sodastream (or one of the cheap knock offs from the range) and then just make any liquid you want fizzy. If you decide you want Pepsi max or 7up again when your OH’s algorithm switches to something else, you can just buy the syrups and still save a bit of money.
jubza@reddit
SodaStream are now an Israeli company, owned by American parent company Pepsi, so morals aside(!!), it isn't a UK alternative.
ReefNixon@reddit
No problem
81misfit@reddit
Sparkling water was the itch scratcher for me. Switched to sparkling water and black coffee.
It also helped dramatically reduce my sweet tooth
mrafinch@reddit
Buy a sodastream and a few bottles, fill the bottles with tap water, put them in the fridge, fizz them up as required
I cut out buying fizzy drinks overnight that way
symbister@reddit
or better still buy an Aarke fizzy water machine and stop supporting Israeli industry.
mrafinch@reddit
Sure mate, I’ll still call all “water fizzer uppers” sodastream
blackpuddingstan@reddit
What worked for me to wean myself off fizzy drinks (more for my teeth than anything) was to switch to flavoured water first as a stopgap for a few months, and then I've now switched fully to only tea, coffee and plain water.
It's insane how much your taste buds change too after a while. I tried a Pepsi Max the other day (I'd previously regularly drank 3+ cans per day!) and I HATED it, it was so gratuitously sweet.
jingleballs088@reddit
If you go visit a Reno ward the patients tend to have 1 thing in common and that's diet fizzy drinks.
alstroemeriaXopuntia@reddit
Depends how much you want to spend. You can order La Croix off Amazon but they're about £1/can
THE-HOARE@reddit
I’m a huge Diet Coke fiend could drink it all day everyday I did at some points! But I’ll be honest Iv felt so much better lately having given up fizzy drinks and just drinking water with a bit of squash in it just enough to add a hint of flavour. I’m not gunna preach and shit i had “ withdrawal’s “ from the caffeine and stuff but I’m actually hydrated now and it gasping for another drink. I would just say use this opportunity to cut down on the amount you drink.
SeditiousPocket@reddit
I can't bear the aftertaste of most sweeteners, aspartame is particularly bad for me though I know some people don't get the intense chemically weird aftertaste that lingers for hours and ruins everything else I try to eat or drink.
I really like Nix&Kix, though it is difficult to get hold of. The orange and turmeric is particularly good. Ingredient are: Carbonated water, fruit juices from concentrate 45% (apple, watermelon 3%), natural flavouring including hibiscus, purple carrot extract, citric acid, chilli extract.
It's suprisingly sweet and has a really nice kick to it. Unfortunately it is not cheap!
ProfessorExact2446@reddit
'diet' 0 sugar drinks contributed to a lot of my weight gain, may not be aspartame but definitely something in them that's not great. There's a Japanese recipe called 'herbal cola' where you brew your own syrup then add it to sparkling water. If you've got spare bottles it will be good to batch prep and you can add what you prefer for sweetener
Or quicker idea some fruit juice in sparkling water
ComfortAdvanced3612@reddit
dalston soda or Cawston Press !!
amzlrr@reddit
Which dash did you try? The cucumber one is awful, but that’s just personal preference, but I find them to be pretty flavourful. I like the grapefruit best, and find them to be helping with my fizzy pop cravings
Few_House_5201@reddit (OP)
I tried four, peach, lime, lemon and orange and found all four equally tasteless.
crumpetsandchai@reddit
Sparkling water with Ribena. I was shocked at how much something so simple satisfied my fizz craving
mrbarg@reddit
Soda stream fizzy water and your favourite squash. Mine is the lemon sugar free
Outrageous-Arm1945@reddit
Try some kombucha drinks? Pretty sure there are both unsweetened and Stevia only ones
BuBBles_the_pyro@reddit
The big green triangle cordials are amazing with fizzy water. Especially cold
kartoffeln44752@reddit
Aspartame is probably one of the most studied substances on earth- it’s fine
fuzzerino@reddit
Just drink water, if you don’t like the taste of tap, get bottled from the supermarket.
sc00022@reddit
The M&S flavoured sparkling waters hit the spot for me. Some sparkling waters are so bland but these actually taste like what they say they do.
Gary_BBGames@reddit
Have you asked her what she’s concerned about, and if it’s actually factual? You have years of exposure, do you have an ill effects from it?
Mammoth-Passion-413@reddit
I don’t want to be insulting, but I guess I’m going to come across that way, Stop with the Phones givs you cancer shit and come up with some actual evidence. Good luck! They have been trying since 1998 and still going!
Few_House_5201@reddit (OP)
Our microwave blew up and we’ve never bothered replacing it. But only because we didn’t use it enough and don’t miss it.
Gary_BBGames@reddit
… they don’t give you cancer… that was the point.
Mammoth-Passion-413@reddit
Well you made it sound like they did
Watsonmolly@reddit
You’d need to be drinking in excess of 40 diet cokes a day before you’re even anywhere near the safe limit. This is pure fear scare mongering.
Gary_BBGames@reddit
Absolutely. OP is drinking a reasonable amount. But it really doesn’t matter.
Watsonmolly@reddit
Exactly.
iketoure@reddit
/r/cordials
--BooBoo--@reddit
Put a jug of water in your fridge and add stuff like cut lemons, limes, oranges or cucumber (I think the cucumber works best when it's cut into long strips with a potato peeler rather than just sliced - might be in my head but it definitely tastes more cucumbery that way to me!) and leave it to infuse for a little while.
Went on holiday last year and the hotel had a big jug of this on the reception desk every day and I was amazed how nice it was!
rtrs_bastiat@reddit
No sugar and no sweeteners? What you're looking for is water.
Consistent-Pirate-23@reddit
I’m allergic to aspartame, I don’t have good news. I live on vimto
st2404@reddit
Try Hip Pop sodas or kombucha instead
jael001@reddit
Maybe look into Waterdrop, you add them to water (fizzy or still). I personally didn't like them but lots of people do.
kettlejuices@reddit
I'm not sure you'll ever really get what you're asking for. There's always going to be either sugar or sweeteners (whether naturally occurring or man-made) in any sweet-tasting drink. Someone correct me if I have this wrong, but a drink can't really be sweet without either one of these in some form, otherwise it's just water.
Amonette2012@reddit
Sparkling water with elderflower cordial and mint. Add vodka to taste.
Enough_Telephone@reddit
Radnor fizz apple juice tastes better than appletiser and very low sugar
Slothjitzu@reddit
Bro just drink water.
If you’re attempting to be healthy-conscious in what you drink then this is literally the only option.
Everything else is just degrees of bad.
serotonin0@reddit
I'm a 100kg man, I'd have to drink around 40 cans a day to even enter the threshold for unsafe aspartame levels, you'll be fine mate. Although it's worth mentioning I have the gene that makes aspartame taste bitter to me and therefore diet soda is disgusting unless it's fruity, pepsi max cherry is a good one and the new tropical flavour was a game changer.
ReynoldsHouseOfShred@reddit
Head to aldi for the crushes. They are zero and they just brought out 2 new flavours. Cheap and really nice
Pretend_Ad4147@reddit
Cawston Press
DinkyPrincess@reddit
How much are you drinking a day.
You’d need to be consuming ridiculously high unattainable amounts to be considered harmful.
For example, with a can of diet soft drink containing 200 or 300 mg of aspartame, an adult weighing 70kg would need to consume more than 9–14 cans per day to exceed the acceptable daily intake, assuming no other intake from other food sources.
WHO is keeping the acceptable daily threshold for aspartame consumption at 40 mg per kilogram (kg) (1 kg equals 2.2 pounds) of body weight. The FDA's threshold is higher at 50 mg per kg body weight.
Loxnaka@reddit
tell your wife that theres literally nothing wrong with aspartame
sunnyspells822@reddit
CBD drinks? They taste delicious
Bufger@reddit
I had a similar habit to you so now I have a giant water bottle (1.2l) I can sip from and I still treat myself to a can of Pepsi max per day (or Lipton peach ice tea). In my mind ive separated thirst vs treat.
Fast_Assumption_118@reddit
Do with this what you want but it worked for me. I disliked water (sorry hydrohomies) so used to drink a lot of soft drinks. I got a soda stream to make my own. I then started being a cheap bastard so slowly reduced the amount of flavour mix I was adding each time. Now my favourite drink is sparkling water. I used to think it tasted like TV static and could not understand how humans drank it. Now I would choose it over most things. Maybe it will work for you. Maybe it won't but I hope you try it.
Fast_Assumption_118@reddit
Ps I do not work for soda stream but if anyone does I would be happy to receive some free stuff for this advert!
gazzargh@reddit
OMG, there's been decades of research into aspartame and guess what... its harmless. You'd be to snort lines of the stuff for it to be harmful. Just ignore your wife and keep drinking your drinks.
cinesister@reddit
G Spot. Good luck finding it though.
Miss_Adelie@reddit
You could try Rubicon, they do a range of sparkling fruit flavoured water, that are quite good. It does contains sweeteners, I'm not sure specifically what kind, so you might want to check that.
barrybreslau@reddit
Yes, there's a drink called tea.
NinjaTeaDrinker@reddit
This is the tea comment
becpuss@reddit
Your wife needs to do some more research because she’s clearly got herself confused people have post ed lots of evidence for you soda stream ? Fruit juice
Fabulous-Eagle-8612@reddit
Water
ll56yammy@reddit
We have water out of the tap. Oh and alcohol free beer
Ok-Rain6295@reddit
As a big Pepsi max drinker I’ve accepted it’s by vice. As far as vices go, it’s pretty tame. Maybe switch to caffeine free or a mixture of normal/caffeine free though. Caffeine can make it harder to hydrate properly.
futuresonic@reddit
Pretty Aspar-tame 😅
CantaloupeThis1217@reddit
The aspartame fear is definitely overblown, but I get wanting to cut down on sweeteners anyway. A good quality sparkling water with a splash of real fruit cordial is a solid shout. It gives you the fizz and flavour without the stuff you're trying to avoid.
SylviaMarsh@reddit
Serious question: what makes a "good quality sparkling water"?
I totally assumed that sparkling water was just your usual run of the mill bottled water that's been carbonated.
Sazzle_Mcnazzle@reddit
I love a Cawston Press, Rhubarb is my favourite. You can get them at most supermarkets!
95VR6@reddit
I like a Hip Pop too.
TheFirstGlugOfWine@reddit
I had the passion fruit and something one for the first time last night and it was really good. Definitely doesn’t hit the spot like a cold Pepsi Max, but it does taste good.
Admirable_Star9086@reddit
Yes exactly. The ginger beer is great as a much lower sugar alternative to normal ginger beer
Alarming-Menu-7410@reddit
This is the answer!
ChocolateLoud6749@reddit
Huel Daily A-Z is 👌
creamandchivedip@reddit
The level of aspartame is nothing to worry about. Unless you're drinking 80+ a day or so.
eg. - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UY74PoCMYo0
Terrible_Tap_4385@reddit
Robinsons squash and try growing up? You are not a teenager anymore?
JumpyBoi@reddit
The guy just asked for recommendations, I think you can keep the pissy comments
bigbadjimb@reddit
This, post a stroke I switched from several cans of diet pop a day to no added sugar squash
Prior-Software-6356@reddit
Rubicon is nice. Sell it in Morrisons. Kids love it
vitriolicheart@reddit
There's a few Kombuchas without sweeteners. You'd have to look and see which ones you have locally.
Other than that, you're either looking at herbal tea or putting fruit in sparkling water.
CharacterEye3775@reddit
Why can't she find her own alternatives?
Master_Sympathy_754@reddit
hip pop is quite nice
higgledy-pickle@reddit
Could consider getting a soda stream or equivalent?
Deep-Log-1775@reddit
Sodastream are on the bds list
SoilNecessary6270@reddit
So?
jubza@reddit
So it's immoral when you have such a wide alternative of choices, and OP specifically requested UK alternatives
mr-tap@reddit
In case people were wondering why, although SodaStream started in the UK in 1903 they got bought out by their Israeli distributor in 1998 & then HQ was relocated to Israel. Until 2015, the main manufacturing site was at Mishor Adumim (industrial park inside the occupied West Bank)
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SodaStream
higgledy-pickle@reddit
It’s why I mentioned *or equivalent
LittleMissAbigail@reddit
Just to add an actual recommendation of an equivalent, I have a Bibo which I've been very happy with!
suchaborimirthing@reddit
From the WHO:
JECFA concluded that the data evaluated indicated no sufficient reason to change the previously established acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 0–40 mg/kg body weight for aspartame. The committee therefore reaffirmed that it is safe for a person to consume within this limit per day. For example, with a can of diet soft drink containing 200 or 300 mg of aspartame, an adult weighing 70kg would need to consume more than 9–14 cans per day to exceed the acceptable daily intake, assuming no other intake from other food sources.
I'm sure you'll be fine man, crack on with the drinks, as will I.
cityruss@reddit
Any negative effects of aspartame, found in in-vivo animal studies, were in such hyperdosed experiments that it would require you to drink so much diet soda that the caffeine or even bubbles would kill you first.
It's just another internet scare story.
soupinabasket@reddit
Get a soda stream, make your own carbonated water and add a decent aspartame free cordial of your choice
danblez@reddit
You are right to be concerned although it’s not just the aspartame. When the WHO organisation was asked if people would be better off drinking diet over standard their answer was “they would be better drinking neither”
Buy a soda stream and find a nice quality cordial with no crap in it.
AttitudeSimilar9347@reddit
Check out r/Cordials
Simsimius@reddit
I drink Robinson Orange Squash (with water obvs) my entire life. So does my partner, and now our son. It might have some sweetener but gosh is it refreshing! And better than anything fizz as fizz usually can increase bloating and gas.
Braylien@reddit
Stuff like Dash or Aqua Libra might seem bland to begin with, but that’s just because you are used to super sweet drinks. If you want no sugar or sweeteners, it’s not gonna be sweet. Sorry to say, you just have to give your taste buds chance to get used to it. Doesn’t seem bland at all after a while, and when you go back and try a normal fizzy drink it seems insane how sweet it is.
doughnuts444@reddit
Kombucha
nickhvs@reddit
Dalston’s is my go-to.
Swimbearuk@reddit
I'm not sure there's a good answer, because if there was then I would be drinking it.
I like soft drinks. I don't like "diet" soft drinks (they dry my mouth and make me thirsty), but "zero"/"max" versions are usually ok. Almost every squash now is "no added sugar", which for me means that it has that horrible sweetener flavour that ruins it.
Usually the only squash with a choice of sugar is Vimto or Ribena, so you could add those for flavour, but that's extra calories if you're worried about that. I would add them to lemonade anyway, which doesn't solve anything here.
Do you really have a good reason to switch, apart from complying with your wife? If you have a drink that you like, and it's not actually doing you any harm (which it isn't), then keep drinking it.
pleasedontwearthat@reddit
big fan of punchy drinks if you can get them, not cheap though.
yoga202@reddit
Water! Plain old water! After a few weeks you won’t look back.
JOEGUARD1990@reddit
After a few weeks you’ll realise life’s too short to drink just plain water. I tried it for a few months, didn’t notice any difference health wise and missed the taste of actual flavoured drinks.
Stratix@reddit
Use sparkling water to dilute your low sugar squash of choice.
pm_me_your_amphibian@reddit
Is there a specific reason for avoiding sugar?
My answer contains sugar, but may be of help to someone else. I made a similar post here a while back asking for suggestions with real sugar as everything seems to contain some nasty sweeteners these days.
Now I buy Mr Fitzpatricks cordials and add sparkling water.
Few_House_5201@reddit (OP)
Well, it’s more that a can of 7up is 60+ calories which will add up quite quickly if I drink a few cans a day and I’ve recently lost a lot of weight that I don’t want to regain.
pm_me_your_amphibian@reddit
That’s a lot of fizzy drink! (Carbonation itself is really bad for your teeth, independent of sugar). You’re clearly capable of digging in (well done for losing the weight!) - is switching mostly to water an option for you?
Few_House_5201@reddit (OP)
It is, but I get bored of flavourless drinks.
No_Base4946@reddit
You're drinking too much fizzy juice, whether it's sugar-free or not.
Drink water.
Depress-Mode@reddit
Sparkling water, lemon juice and crushed mint.
DASH is essentially what everything tastes like without sugar and sweeteners.
No_Weakness8999@reddit
I buy a product called Green Cola and its very tasty. Its a stevia-based cola and tastes much better than Coke Zero.
They also do a low sugar range of fruit juice cola drinks and the sour cherry is honestly amazing.
You can find them on Amazon.
JOEGUARD1990@reddit
There’s lots of fizzy drinks out now that use Stevia (extracted from plants) as a sweetener instead of Aspartame. My personal fav is the “Green” sour cherry cans. The problem though is that the cost is ridiculous compared to the ones you mentioned.
megan99katie@reddit
Tesco apple and raspberry sparkling water is helping me move away from Pepsi max😂 it doesn’t taste like sparkling water and is still a nice fizzy alternative. The 500ml bottles are nicer than the 1L bottle for some reason though!
Ok-Tangerine-6705@reddit
It’s not a UK brand to my knowledge, but Green Cola is good, uses stevia instead, they also do some fruit flavour carbonated drinks as well. They used to sell in Sainsbury’s, but we tend to order 24packs online.
PomPomBumblebee@reddit
Honestly id just cut down to having it on weekends and try and encourage more water/ sparkling if that's how you choose your life.
I genuinely feel way healthier since I've cut down on my fizz to the point when we get a big bottle for the weekend I rarely drink it, just when I eat/ drink out only.
charlytune@reddit
Twinings and Cawston both make canned sparkling juice drinks that are really nice, no added sugar or sweeteners. Or just mix fruit juice and soda water, half and half is refreshing.
OverpricedMoleskine@reddit
I'm in the same boat as you - was drinking 4-5 pints of Pepsi Max a day (it was my last vice!). Went cold turkey, and fuck me, the headaches were insane for the first week or so.
Only things I've been able to replace it with are soda streams (cold bottle of water in fridge, always) combined with a cordial, and the occasional Dash-type drink.
Mediocre_Hat_@reddit
I am OBSESSED with the flavoured sparkling waters most supermarkets sell as own brand. They’re about 60p I think, lots of flavours! Asda tends to be my go to but Tesco and Aldi have some great options too (Morrisons is probably my least favourite)
Flashy-Nectarine1675@reddit
Just get out of the habit of sweet fizzy drinks.
LordSideQuest@reddit
I buy those packs of 6x 2 litre bottles of fizzy water from Lidl, then go to the Eastern European shop and buy that Lowicz syrup (google it, its awesome, put it in your life) - they sell it at some supermarkets too, lidl occasionally have a few flavours in... but the Eastern European shop near me (Albany Road, Cardiff) has about 10 flavours and is 20-40p cheaper per bottle than everywhere else. You can buy it online too.
They're also great for cocktails, or just add a bit of vodka, or make a shandy with a cool Madri and a bit of lemon syrup... though tbf I've started to enjoy a shandy with most/any of the lowicz flavours - except cherry, I don't like that one - thats good in cola though, if I'm having a rum and coke a bit of that is lush. Hmm, is 11am too early to start drinking? I've talked myself into wanting a drink now somehow...
Amarita_Sen@reddit
Mint tea
Menyana@reddit
I tasted a sample of Green Cola at Sainsburys the other day. Its a aspartane free alternative recently launched and on offer for £3.
SkipsH@reddit
You'd need to drink something like 36 cans of diet drinks for the aspartamene to be a problem.
lewis4man@reddit
In what period of time?
Spottyjamie@reddit
Tap water
AssistantDue5817@reddit
Just had a cadburys fruit & nut chocolate bar. WHATS HAPPENED TO THE TASTE? felt slimey and tasteless......won't buy again. Have they messed with the gorgeous recipe from years ago?
StrollingByTheStream@reddit
Fever Tree - Pink Grapefruit, Mexican Lime & Sicilian Lemonade my favourites. Really low calorie.
fiveofspades94@reddit
You could definitely try cutting down from 8 cans a day to 4, replacing the other 4 with sparkling water and sugar free squash. My fave combo is summer fruits squash and lemon and lime sparkling. Keep cutting over the weeks until you can go without the fizzy cans.
Dash water is vile AT FIRST. My office bought a load once and we hated them at first, but after having one a day for a week (drank them out of spite because why turn down free things) we all weirdly liked them and started craving them. Your tastebuds may need time to adjust to such a strong habit but give it time.
Mammoth-Passion-413@reddit
I drink 2-3 2ltr Coke zero bottles a day - and I still struggle to get over 9 stone!
fiveofspades94@reddit
Is that the caffeine free one? If isn't then your little heart is a hummingbird!
That's another thing to consider, cutting out diet drinks immediately may mean caffeine withdrawal symptoms. Not pretty at all.
Mammoth-Passion-413@reddit
Does not say Caffine anywhere on the label
fiveofspades94@reddit
I trust you! You must be halfway through bottle one by now. Bottoms up!
PhysicsForeign1634@reddit
The issue with Aspartame was blown up from ONE study and involved MASSIVE overdoses given to lab mice or rats, I forget which. TLDR, it's BS.
Daggadaggapuffpuff@reddit
Have a look at Holy. I haven’t tried it but heard good things about
Weird_Scallion_1595@reddit
You just have to wean yourself off. Your taste buds need to readjust. Sparkling water with lemon will be good for you and cheaper.
Grey_Belkin@reddit
Kombucha. I love the Nexba Elderflower and Lemon one as it's a bit sour, but if that's not what you want then the peach or berry ones are much sweeter.
It's made with sugar, but that gets eaten up during the fermentation process so it's naturally sugar free, and because it's fermented it's good for your gut.
bars_and_plates@reddit
Not exactly a substitute but I would say herbal tea.
I generally don't really 'get' fizzy drinks other than as an occasional treat when out with a meal.
Ajsmonaco@reddit
Have a look for Ferment Fizz - 100% natural and prebiotic!
lmbrs@reddit
Just educate yourself on the aspartame content. 1-2 cans a day is going to do nothing
Pingu-was-a-penguin@reddit
Fairly sure it's the most studied/tested additive in the entire food and drinks industry and there's still no concrete proof that it does anything bad unless you drink 10+ cans worth a day for years.
hoopheid@reddit
Years ago I was hooked on diet fizzy drinks too. Sparkling water is what helped me ditch them. Started buying that and realised it wasn’t so much the taste of the diet juice I liked, but the carbonation. I can’t drink a can of diet juice now, which is amazing to me considering how much I used to love them. Now they all just taste terrible. Bonus also, with all the water I drink now I’m super hydrated all the time! :)
breakfastduck@reddit
I love those dash waters.
What about normal sparkling water?
Few_House_5201@reddit (OP)
Na. Don’t like plain sparkling water. Which I think is why I hated dash. So little flavour so it was just like drinking soda water.
OiBigBoy@reddit
Have you tried the own-brand flavoured fizzy water? Is that Aspartame-free?
https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsbury-s-bottled-sparkling-flavoured-water-lemon-lime-1l
justitia_@reddit
What about getting some stevia or monk fruit sweetener to sweeten dash water yourself? You could also make your own ice tea and use natural sweeteners.
breakfastduck@reddit
Could drink gallons of the stuff, first flavoured sparkling water I’ve had that still tastes like sparkling water! But yeah, that would explain it!
SydneyTeacake@reddit
I buy Dash (I had to break my Diet Coke habit). I like them now but I didn't like the "waved at by a slice of lemon at some point" barely there flavour. So I buy the lime and lemon cans, along with a bag of limes and lemons. With some ice and the juice of one lemon they hit the spot..
The Karma drinks brand doesn't have aspartame from what I remember. They seem to have moved into the major supermarkets now. They have cola, diet cola, ginger ale, and fruit flavours. But they're also a bit pricey.
Disastrous_Wait_6611@reddit
I love dash, I think it’s delicious. It’s always been fizzy and flavourful, so I guess you got a dud. They’re probably the best in my opinion, so good luck. I liked ugly but haven’t seen them in a while.
Few_House_5201@reddit (OP)
I got 4 different flavours. All equally bland and tasteless. Just really disappointed.
TheKnightsRider@reddit
I think youre confusing flavoured soda water with a flavoured fizzy drinks.
Its not meant to be appletiser.
Try a soda stream and fresh squeeze fruit.
Willeth@reddit
Kombucha is the answer. Most of them are sugar free with no additives, but some brands like Lipton's do add sugar, so double check.
Ok-Bench9164@reddit
Elderflower or ginger cordial and sparkling water
Pingu-was-a-penguin@reddit
Damn sugary though. My missus started drinking elderflower and tonic water instead of wine and she didn't even realise how much was in it
YouSayWotNow@reddit
Do you need to go zero sugar or just massively reduce sugar compared to full sugar drinks?
I am the latter and I've been really like Dalston's fizzy drinks for the last several months. They do have sugar but it's about 9-10 grams per can compared to well over 30 in coca cola, as an example. And it's fruit sugar. Still sugar from calories and diabetes perspective but thought to be better for us than refined sugar.
I've not found many zero calorie soft drinks I like which don't have sweeteners, I'm afraid.
theyst0lemyname@reddit
I was a big pepsi max drinker (at least 2l a day) but stopped a while back and swapped to shop brand flavoured water. Sparkling when I'm missing a fizzy drink but mostly the still ones.
I do still pick up a Cherry Pepsi Max with my meal deals though, I can't give it up for good.
uselesstosser@reddit
Tymbark range of drinks are delicious - get mine from Tesco.
symbister@reddit
Kombucha, now sold in most supermarkets with lemon or ginger flavours, a boost for your gut microbes. It is actually fermented tea, so the sparkling effect is from fermentation and sugars are low, no alcohol involved, to taste it is just like a very good lemonade or ginger beer.
Salty-Staff-612@reddit
I drink sparkling water, specifically san pellegrino. It’s also really good for you as it has really high vitamins & minerals
elmachow@reddit
Sp orange is amazing, not sure how good or bad it is for you tho
MillyMcMophead@reddit
Iced peach tea is my addiction since I gave up Pepsi Max. I also drink flavoured water sometimes, either sparkling or sometimes still but these have artificial sweeteners in.
Willeth@reddit
Careful with what you're getting here. Lipton's is loaded with sugar.
oljomo@reddit
The range of squash is pretty large, and it changes drinking water to a much nicer experience (especially if you are somewhere with hard/not very nice water)
And a lot of it is very low on sugar as well.
Eggrolls1990@reddit
Hip Pop Soda. Around £1 a can but very nice
Emyr42@reddit
By the time you're drinking enough for the aspartame to be a problem, you'd already be in much bigger trouble from the caffeine.
vordh0sbn-@reddit
Sodastream
BigEntertainer8430@reddit
Get a Soda Stream and just add squash to your sparkling water. Also pretty good is Bottlegreen cordials. Quite spenny but you don't need a lot so you can make it go a fairly long way.
tjb_87@reddit
came here to say this, Soda Stream is great
not-suspicious@reddit
As good as bottlegreen cordials are, their bottles are infuriating. Too tall for many shelves and storage spaces, and it dribbles when poured. Every. Fucking. Time.
Lopsided-Web-6606@reddit
Yes water. Stop drinking crap and make your body more sick.
Mammoth-Constant3005@reddit
Appletizer
cybertonto72@reddit
If you are driving njing diet drinks and stick to less than 30 cans a day you will be fine.
Upper-Flatworm8784@reddit
Honestly if you stick to tap water the first 3 days would be hard and then you’d start enjoying it.
rlyfckd@reddit
Try aqua libra. It is sparkling flavoured water but I think it's lovely. No sugar or aspartame and the flavouring is nice. I've not tried Dash so cannot compare.
Mikey463@reddit
Sparkling water with lemon and cucumber. It takes like a gin and tonic in a way.
Th3-Sh1kar1@reddit
Sparkling water with fresh lemon and lime + ice cubes = Greatest soft drink with little to no sugar
LongjumpingLunch5036@reddit
This is not a very practical solution as it take a fair bit of time and attention, but I make my own kombucha, then sweeten with a bit of juice and bottle for it to get fizzy. It isn't zero sugar but it is nothing compared to a can of coke and it's very tasty!
andonebelow@reddit
I find diet coke to be very addictive, but after two or three weeks without it the cravings fade.
Whatever you drink will taste boring or unpleasant until you get used to it, but put up with tap water for a few weeks and you’ll adjust.
Banes_Addiction@reddit
Start with chilled sparkling water and add stuff.
Lemon or lime juice are good. They make it taste, unsurprisingly, like those juices. Cucumber infusing water is popular, don't fucking ask me why.
You can also add cocktail bitters (eg angostura) - these are alcoholic but since you only add a few drops the mixed drink has a negligible alcohol content (less than orange juice).
ObiJohnQuinnobi@reddit
Whoa whoa whoa…Orange juice has an alcohol content??
paddp@reddit
Wait till you hear about bread and bananas
Banes_Addiction@reddit
Any fresh fruit juice will have undergone some fermentation.
spinningdice@reddit
Most juices ferment slightly in the carton/bottle. Possibly up to 0.5% ABV, though it's not really monitored. That's why 0.5% beer is considered by many to be non-alcoholic.
PositiveTurnover8923@reddit
I've heard multiple times than a banana is more alcoholic than the small alcohol content in 0 alcohol beers. Not sure on the exact details.
99Tori99@reddit
I think I would be more worried about teeth and kidney stones than aspartame consumption
Time-Mode-9@reddit
Tea or coffee at home.
Bet in a pub
Espresso-Newbie@reddit
Dalston do great drinks which tastes between a flavoured water and a fizzy drink. Low calorie low sugar etc
For some posh options
1) REAL sparkling tea
2) JUKE’S cordials
3) MOMO Kombucha
spaceprinceps@reddit
is REAL a brand or are you suggesting doing your own tea infusion
Espresso-Newbie@reddit
Sorry ! It’s a brand.REAL Link
MrMotorcycle94@reddit
Explain to her how it's only an issue if you drink a a ridiculous amount of diet soda a day and the caffeine or amount of liquid you'd have would kill you before the sweetener does.
https://youtu.be/XdqRQzMu27s?is=oOLyLRTZjp7DA7Gd
killit@reddit
M&S sell own-brand fizzy drinks and cordials that use sucralose as a sweetener; if you're trying to avoid the more questionable sweeteners like aspartame and acesulfame-k, it can be very difficult to find something like sucralose only.
ServerLost@reddit
The aspartame thing turned out to be misleading, you'd need to drink 14 cans a day to exceed safety limits.
WhalingSmithers00@reddit
If you like 7 up and Pepsi Max then drink it. I mean if your only vice is the odd diet pop then I really don't know what to say.
I'm not sure why people are indulging quite controlling behaviour over a harmless soft drink. He's an adult he can have a 7 up
SuperDamnZen@reddit
Trip drinks are really nice!
cdh79@reddit
Water. It's not acidic like carbonated drinks and there are no forms of sugar either. Both of which damage your teeth.
Existing_Doughnut985@reddit
Can you not just cut your intake down? I used to be bad but now I only allow myself 1 fizzy can a day with my tea and it’s such a treat, I really look forward to the nice cold can, it hits so well
Failing that, there’s a good selection of aspartame free squash
St3lla_0nR3dd1t@reddit
Irn Bru
Leather-Emergency932@reddit
if you don't want to invest in a sodastream, get your favourite flavoured squash and a cheap sparkling water, combine, et voila!
legalmac@reddit
Dalstons drinks, www.dalstons.com Made in the UK with no added sugar or sweeteners. Paisley drinks, www.paisleydrinkscompany.com Made in Scotland with no artificial flavourings or sweeteners. Husband has an intolerance to aspartame, so we keep a supply of drinks that everyone in the family can have.
BeardedBaldMan@reddit
I tried making my own flavoured water and it worked out quite well.
I took juniper berries, dried orange & lemon peel, and corriander seeds and infused them into the water. This initially didn't give quite the desired result so I looked up how you extract the flavours.
I repeated it using ethanol and added that to the sparkling water and found that this gave me a lightly flavoured fizzy drink that was refreshing and could be drunk in reasonable quantities while still being low calorie.
spaceprinceps@reddit
Sounds shelf stable i wonder if it was?
BeardedBaldMan@reddit
It's shelf stable in a limited form. The flavouring components if stored in an airtight and dark environment is very shelf stable, but when mixed with sparkling water and ice should ideally be drunk within 30 minutes
Icy_Community677@reddit
Dash water is the work of the devil.
I quite like trip drinks and the raspberry flavoured tonic water
HealthyWhereas3982@reddit
Ice cold fizzy water with lemon or lime. I love my diet colas, diet ginger beers and Dr Peppers though.
Volucella_zonaria@reddit
Go cold turkey for a month and just drink water. After that anything will be a taste sensation!
arctickiller@reddit
I also hate dash, but trip is a great alternative! They do magnesium infused ones instead of cbd ones which taste great.
ads894@reddit
Elderflower cordial and soda water is delicious
ads894@reddit
Just saw the no sugar comment, oops
FlatCapNorthumbrian@reddit
Aldis version of Fanta Lemon is good, it also has no aspartame.
HeftyPlenty5772@reddit
I've drunk a litre of diet coke everyday for 25 years, there's nothing wrong with aspartame... !
Mammoth-Passion-413@reddit
Coke Zero - That's about all you need
nobelprize4shopping@reddit
Plain sparkling water.
Adding a dash of angostura bittersweet to the above is very pleasant.
Or apple juice 50 50 with sparkling water.
nickdaniels92@reddit
Once you've cutout the crappy drinks for a while that you've been consuming for years, you may find things start tasting sweeter and how you perceive taste in general may adjust. Drinks that seem bland now, might not once your system has adjusted.
For health reasons I stopped adding sugar to tea a couple of years ago, stopped some foods that I loved such as apple crumble, custard, ben and jerry's (and any ice creams), switched to green tea, and even fruit teas sometimes that I used to hate now taste good. Foods with natural sugars started tasting sweeter, I found that I don't miss the ice cream and other vices, and health generally was much better. So give it some time.
No-Temperature-7195@reddit
Yes water
EavisAintDead@reddit
I do sparkling water with ginger cordial. Lidl do the cheapest one but belvoir is the nicest. I also have this with sweetener free squashes which are harder to come by these days but Morrisons stock a few
BugBottleBlue@reddit
Personally have doubts about artificial sweetener fears.
They're ubiquitous and it seems hard to believe that they're the actual driver of any morbidity. There's so much else that is a bigger weight on the scale of health outcomes.
People who seem to have health issues and drink diet fizzy drinks are also... sedentary, have other health conditions, smoke/vape, have imbalanced and non-nutritious diets, etc.
No one would believe that a healthy person having a diet coke now and again would be their downfall.
If you are active and have a good diet, then the incredibly small quantities of aspartame you consume (unless you're getting through cases of drinks a day) will not do anythinf to you.
On the other hand, if you are not active and have a poor diet, that is much more concerning and it will be more likely to kill you than the fizzy drinks.
Icy_Attention3413@reddit
Honestly, for me it’s good old tap water.
mrfluffypants1504@reddit
If you don't care if its fizzy or not, try fruit teas (not herbal). You can leave most flavours to go cold and they taste fine. Fizzy drinks aren't the best source of hydration anyway and can make you bloated etc and play with your blood chemistry. Most fruit teas have added bonuses like extra vitamins and minerals
Alarmed_Ad8463@reddit
I drink cordial mixed with fizzy water.
Baseyg@reddit
Also works with squash, ribena and vimto if you want be less classy with it
ellemonkeybum@reddit
Hi OP here’s a couple of suggestions you might want to try: Poppi raspberry and rose - tried it on offer from Tesco’s - very nice and still under a club card deal. They have other flavours too but I’ve not tried those yet.
Have you tried any of the kombucha type stuff? I’m not a huge fan but if you are looking for something that’s more gut-friendly I can recommend Xoxo prebiotic soda - I have their mixed flavour pack on repeat from Amazon. Nice and refreshing.
Good luck!
VOODOO285@reddit
For my money a lime and soda is a spectacular drink but depending on the cordial you use it may contain all the stuff you’re trying to avoid.
It’s mad that in a lot of ways the highly sugared drink is more healthy as it doesn’t tend to contain as much artificial stuff.
I don’t think you’ll find much that isn’t full of the things you are trying to avoid.
DaVirus@reddit
Aspartame as a lot of research behind it and no bad effects at all in the quantities people consume.
Stop worrying about it
fulloffungi@reddit
Tastes like ass tho
The only tolerable sweetener is stevia imo
DaVirus@reddit
Stevia is fucking horrible what are you talking about?
Sucralose is the best sweeter IMO. And it makes sense chemically that it would be.
Vequihellin@reddit
I'm not sure how you can get the true fizzy drink experience without adding some form of sugar or sweetener. If you buy carbonated water or soda water and add fresh fruit or squeezed fruit juice, you're still adding sugars from the fruit (some more than others - berries would have more sugar than lemon or lime, but they still have some) and to get a decent flavour, you need to add enough fruit or fruit pulp or freshly squeezed juice that you would need to consider the sugar content if you're diabetic for pretty much any fruit beyond Lemons/limes/Grapefruit.
I 100% get the Aspartame avoidance, but Aspartame isn't the only artifical sweetener - stevia and sodium saccharin are not Aspartame - Sodium Saccharin (Splenda, or other 'yellow packets') was once linked to bladder cancer in rats but this has been deemed irrelevant to humans and is considered safe.
You could perhaps look for drinks or squashes or cordials that use Sodium Saccharin or Stevia instead? Cordials like Elderflower or lime are available but they contain sugar - it's how cordials are made. Even if you collected fruit or elderflowers or cherry blossom and made your own cordials, you would need to use sugar. You could steep fruit teas and refrigerate them, then use a sodastream to carbonate them but I have no idea whether the carbonation would affect the flavour.
Prior-Explanation389@reddit
Water
ukslim@reddit
If you want sweetness, you're going to need sugar or sweeteners. There are some stevia-based drinks if you're worried about aspartame.
But can you train your palette away from sweetness perhaps?
There's the option of just drinking water.
When it's hot I like to have unsweetened iced tea - put some Earl Grey in a jug of cold water and leave it in the fridge overnight.
releasethekaren@reddit
Poppi! I really like the blueberry one and it’s very low sugar and high fibre. I’m intolerant to aspartame and it’s the only “diet” soda I’ve found that doesn’t have it and actually still tastes good. I tried the strawberry lemon but didn’t like it as much, tasted like a sober buzzball lol
spinningdice@reddit
We got some 'Can' unsweetened drinks cheap from somewhere and they were okay after the initial weirdness of having completely unsweetened fizzy drinks wore off.
thebigfil@reddit
Squash
Seanacles@reddit
Maybe water
Notmysubmarine@reddit
I enjoy the San Pellegrino Essenza, especially the cherry flavour.
bluejackmovedagain@reddit
Get some fancy fruit or herbal teabags and use those to flavour carbonated water. I do this with still water in the summer, but I can't see why fizzy water wouldn't work just as well.
Serious_Escape_5438@reddit
Oooh, I like herbal tea and sparkling water, never thought to combine them, must try.
XPiiRed@reddit
Hey OP, aspartame will not do you any harm. It quite literally can’t through a drink like pepsi. The water will drown you inside out before aspartame can do anything to you.
I’ve linked a video that is all factual and has some fancy professional buzzwords and lighting in short form content so your wife should buy it, as I imagine the fear she has came from tiktok or some other short form doomscroll
https://youtube.com/shorts/gBNVJiTEkZQ?si=fK4ZFS-3fo_iiAte
Bombadombaway@reddit
Cawston Press!!! Can be found in most supermarkets. They produce a range of sparkling drinks made from pressed fruit juice, sparkling water and natural ingredients and are known for not using added sugar, sweeteners, or concentrates.
They’re really tasty, and definitely quench that ‘soft drink’ taste.
I_ALWAYS_UPVOTE_CATS@reddit
Just FYI the studies that showed a link between aspartame and cancer or whatever were hugely flawed. Instead of finding out whether the amounts found in fizzy drinks could cause problems, they just kept increasing the dose in rats until something happened. What they failed to mention was that the amount of aspartame a human would need to consume to have the same effect is insane, far more than you could ever hope to get even from drinking a couple of cans a day. Water will kill you in a high enough dose but no one's trying to drink less of that.
MelodicPreparation93@reddit
Honestly just try drinking still water. I used to have a lot of pepsi max aswell and eventually decided to just cut it out and it was worth it.
OkGrapefruit7174@reddit
If you’re worried about chemical sweeteners, you can always look for drinks with stevia like san pellegrino and lipton.
AyeAye711@reddit
Soda stream and any cordial or juice you like
Sam645@reddit
I like a combination of sparkling water, kombucha, and fruit juice
brynnafidska@reddit
Most diet drinks don't even use aspartame these days.
Toothfairy29@reddit
Posh cordial and sparking water. Ginger, elderflower, mint and lime etc. it’s a nice sugary treat - enjoy with a meal only not in between for your teeth’s sake (am a dentist)
Doctor_Jitusu@reddit
I started using AirUp and Holy to massively reduce my sugar content and consume more water, really working for me.
fulloffungi@reddit
I wish someone'd do classic drinks like coke and orangeade but with less sugar and no sweeteners. However elderflower season is coming up soon so you can make your own cordial/syrup! Super refreshing with a dash of lemon and a twig of mint in sparkly water
BloodyCuts@reddit
My wife has a ‘Drinkmate’ machine (basically a better version of a soda stream) and uses it daily.
Add some nice cordial, like Mr. Fitzpatrick’s, and you’re good to go!
Milam1996@reddit
Aspartame is perfectly fine to consume in normal amounts. Any negative health claims are entirely unsubstantiated in humans when consumed in normal doses. If you like Coke Zero then enjoy a Coke Zero. A Coke Zero is infinitely healthier than a glass of wine.
felix-the-human@reddit
I love Dash, but only because I've weened myself off sweet drinks. Pepsi tastes like syrup and I can really appreciate the flavour of Dash - especially the peach!
nonlocality1985@reddit
Mineral water
Illustrious_Brain788@reddit
Fruit teas!!! They are amazing. It can be hot or cold…
South-Visual3803@reddit
Sparkling water + squash/ cordial.
I’m sure there will be some that have sucrose instantly of aspartame- I’ve just looked and the apple squash I have is from Sainsbury’s. It’s very tangy so you don’t need a lot for a hit of fizz!
BedGirl5444@reddit
Keep drinking Pepsi Max it’s completely harmless
Objective_Piano7707@reddit
Trip drinks are nice, I like the lemon and basil I think they do ones with magnesium now
Rasty_lv@reddit
Sparkling water (used to buy bottles, now we have sodastream machine) and lemon juice, lime juice, slice of cucumber or mint. Perfect.
TujiTV@reddit
Cut out the middleman, buy a corny key and a CO2 canister. 20 litres of sparking water on hand. Plus it's actually cheaper than a soda stream.
deletethewife@reddit
Rocks make a cordial that’s mostly natural ingredients and you could add fizzy water if you miss the fizz.
Diseased-Jackass@reddit
The rainbow coloured scum off puddles.
Affectionate_Sun3661@reddit
Dalsons do really good naturally flavoured spring water. I love the cherry soda but there are many different flavours
ilikeyourgetup@reddit
There are no health concerns with drinking Aspartame, it’s just one of the many chemicals = bad myths propagated on social media usually by people trying to sell you on their diet plan or nutritional supplements.
If you’re looking for no sugar and no sweeteners, and no chemicals then your option is water. You can drink water, but if you want flavour and sweetness and no sugar then that means chemicals, which are fine and safe to consume despite what some crunchy health influencer told you.
Wishmaster891@reddit
1-2 cans a week of diet drinks won't do any harm
urgley@reddit
Dalstons soda co
DuckieWuckieNL@reddit
Try the Aqua Libre sparkling waters, I love the blood orange and mango ones.
luckeratron@reddit
I had the introductory offer for Dash water and bought 98 I think as it's super cheap. I canceled it though as it's expensive once the offer runs out.
Hoplite68@reddit
Lime and soda, delicious, especially in summer.
According_Union@reddit
Sparkling water definitely helps, I would mix with orange juice or diluted juice.
Decard_Pain@reddit
Literally just get carbonated water and use cordial.
mtjseb@reddit
Not fizzy but I really like the vithit drinks, they’re really good
cankennykencan@reddit
One can or glass of diet fizzy drink a day won't kill you
Iwantedalbino@reddit
Mr Fitzpatrick’s cordials absolutely slap. I’ve not tried the zero sugar ones but the full sugar are fantastic.
WavryWimos@reddit
Why do you think they put sugar or sweeteners in things then?
There's very little to be concerned about with artificial sweeteners at our current understanding.
CosmosTrip@reddit
Aqua libra.
I loved mango liquid death but that’s not in uk anymore
ulla-bulla@reddit
Asda brand "Iron Brew"
ember_eb@reddit
Trip is decent, Dalston Soda company is decent, Nix & Kix I love, Cawston Press sparkling cans are v nice. I'm a big fan of a sparkling beverage especially when hungover but persoanlly not a fan of aspartame or lots of sugarz - so I've tried them all. Dash and similar probably taste totally bland to you because you're so used to Pepsi/7-up but once you get more used to a less sweet drink you'll prob develop more of a tolerance for it. I used to also find Dash underwhelming but I had one the other day (cherry) and really enjoyed it.
Also just sparkling water with lemon/lime juice I'm a big fan of. Or some cordial if you're weening off of the hard stuff.
velos85@reddit
There is nothing wrong with aspartame in the quantities it exists in cans of drink!
If you are having 50 cans a day, then it’s enough to cause an issue in rats, even then not humans.
El_Zilcho@reddit
Luke warm tap water
DogSlobba@reddit
Yes, there is a product called Green Cola, it uses stevia and sucralose for sweetness with no sugar.
FantasticWeasel@reddit
Dalston drinks are really nice, especially the cherry and peach flavours.
Alternatively decaf tea and herbal teas are lovely. The fruit flavours work well cold with ice.
Sea-Ad-299@reddit
to get anywhere near the dose of aspartame that was linked to harm in rats, you'd have to drink thousands of cans a day. the 'safe' limit (100x lower than the rat harm dose) is something like 25 cans a day. do what you want, but just be aware that aspartame is in the same class of cancer risks as aloe vera and owning a phone.
TujiTV@reddit
Yeah, but Tiktok isn't telling her to believe that Aloe Vera and owning a phone causes cancer this week. That's next week.
Okimiyage@reddit
Some sparkling water brands don’t use sweeteners but you’ll be paying a lot more for it. I’d recommended water and fruit or cordial without sweeteners if you’re that inclined to have something fizzy, otherwise just water.
Old-Revolution-1565@reddit
Ribena and fizzy waters nice
KuchisabishiiBot@reddit
Sparkling/soda water + cordial/juice of your choice
We prefer this because it tastes better, you can make your own flavours, and it's generally cheaper for the quality.
becooldocrime@reddit
If you want no sugar and no sweeteners, dash is pretty much representative of what you’ll be getting.
It does grow on you though when you cut the tastier stuff out.
Crayen5@reddit
Squash
Braveheart1966@reddit
Robinson's mint and lime with tonic
Embarrassed_Park2212@reddit
I buy sparkling water and drink that. I usually add a drop of squash to it but that has sweetners in so might not fit with the wife's worries. I don't think it's possible to find any fizzy drink that doesn't have sugar or sweetners in but if you find one let me know.
Time_Quail_6795@reddit
0% beer.
MesoamericanMorrigan@reddit
London Essence is low sugar and tastes good
I’d rather have real sugar honestly as any sweeteners seriously mess me up
Environmental_Base_3@reddit
Hip Pop!!!!
antlered-god@reddit
Tea or water from the tap
FatherPaulStone@reddit
Tea is the only real answer here! (Although it's 80%+ of everything I drink, so thats probably not good for me either)
West_Yorkshire@reddit
Soda stream with some juice
ruu_throwaway@reddit
Now you know why they put in sugar or artificial sweeteners.
Otherwise it’s bland
Long-Woodpecker-1980@reddit
I like sparkling water and sometimes I'll throw a bit of cordial in them for flavour.
I don't know much about what sweeteners they use, but I imagine it's healthier than regular soft drinks since it's just 99% water.
panda-p0p@reddit
I think it contains some sweeteners but I highly recommend supermarket branded sparkling water. Really nice flavours and usually free from artificial flavours.
Good-Signature395@reddit
Soda stream and cordial. Much less sugar and still the fizz
thewriterfrog@reddit
There's Ugly, I'm not entirely sure about the contents but it's not too bad. Bit of an acquired taste maybe.
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