Recently I gave you a list of some drink alternatives that you could go for instead of spending money on the popular “health drinks” that are currently being marketed to you. Those drinks advertised as being “healthy” actually contain crystalline fructose, and if instead you choose the “fun” and popular sodas, they contain high fructose corn syrup.
These types of drinks are everywhere, from movies, to sitcoms, and even reality shows. What about other choices that aren’t necessarily in the lime light?
I still have my opinion that the #1 healthiest alternative to these drinks is pure, clean water. I understand though, that sometimes you just want something different, and since publishing my last list of alternatives, I’ve come up with a few more to give you. I actually forgot to list one of them in the other post, while the others are new, but simple, discoveries. Enjoy!
1. Trader Joe’s Tejava Premium Iced Tea – I tried this a couple of weeks ago and thought it was great. The ingredients are: “Pure Java Tea brewed from water and select Java tea leaves.” That’s it! The label reads “handpicked, microbrewed, unsweetened”. It costs about $1.50 for a 33.8 oz bottle.
Now for me, it’s more economical to buy a box of tea and brew my own iced tea, which ends up tasting almost the same as the Tejava tea. I do have a reverse osmosis unit for my drinking water however, so if I were making my own iced tea with tap water, I think that the Tejava tea would taste out of this world. So this would be a great alternative for you if you like iced tea and want to skip the additives, sugar, and sweeteners.
2. Torani Sugar-Free Syrups – These are sugar-free syrups that you can use in water, coffee, slushies, or even in cooking. Add a small amount to some low or no sodium sparkling water and you’ll have a great alternative to cola. I’ve been using these for a few years and forgot to mention them in my last article, however they are a nice alternative to give you something different to drink once in awhile. I find them at Cost Plus World Market, and you can also find a list of their sugar-free flavors online.
These syrups are not as pure as the simple Tejava tea, because they do contain the ingredient natural flavor. You can learn more about that in this article, however a brief description is that they are artificially produced flavorings. I learned about this a few months ago when I was researching the article that I wrote on natural flavors.
They are also sweetened with Splenda, an artificial sweetener that I do currently use as it doesn’t give me the problems that Nutra Sweet always did. Not everyone likes to use Splenda, though.
3. Lemon Juice and Splenda – This is so easy to make, and it’s been my new favorite this summer, after iced tea, of course. 😉 All you do is combine ice, water, lemon juice, and Splenda in your glass, and mix it up. You can experiment with how much lemon juice and Splenda you need, however I don’t use that much (I don’t measure it).
I must caution you though, that you might want to monitor your cravings after having this. If you find yourself wanting to eat sugary foods or eat when you aren’t hungry, then this isn’t a good drink for you. I mention this because I’ve had the experienced increased cravings when I’ve had too much of this lemonade.
4. Herbal Teas – There are so many great herbal teas available, especially if you like Celestial Seasonings. You can drink them hot or over ice, and I’ve even used tea in recipes before. Herbal tea isn’t my favorite, but it’s something that I will drink for a change of pace once in awhile.
Please note that I’m not recommending the teas that are marketed as “dieter’s teas” as some of them can be very dangerous for your health.
Each of these drinks is an acceptable part of the Six Week Body Makeover if you are following that program. 😉 These beverages would be in addition to the 100 oz. of pure water that you drink each day per the 6WBMO.
Even if you aren’t following the Six Week Body Makeover, these are excellent, healthier alternatives to colas and bottled “health” waters that contain corn sweeteners and other various and sundry ingredients.
I would tend to agree that water is probably the best if you’re avoiding sugar, because while substitute sugar may be harmless and still do the job, I’ve never enjoyed the taste of it.
Hi, I agree, water is my #1 recommendation…pure water, not the bottled, additive/sweetener added kind! 😉
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread142489/pg1
I think you might want to research the dangers of splenda.
Hi Katie,
Thank you! I’m actually in the process of reading Mercola’s book so that I can write a post about it; thanks very much for the link, though! 🙂
Our family reads labels like crazy and we are trying to avoid processed sugar. So far we have found things in health food stores sweetened with white grape juice or fruit juice sweetened. I’m with Katie-I think Splenda is bad, bad, bad!!! Have you heard of Stevia? It just takes a little bit. Look for maple syrup sweetened things also. At least things sweetened in a better way are still sweet but we’ve noticed that they are satisfying without being too sweet! Also, please check for things made in China!! Do not purchase these things-Minute Maid and Dole have apple juice on the shelf right now with the juice coming from China. This country is in big trouble. Their birth defect rate since 2001 has increased by 40% due to environmental pollution. Do you really want to eat anything from soil like that??? Become educated, people-sugar, red meat and milk feed cancer cells according to the latest Johns Hopkins report. We all have to be aware of what we put in our bodies. The food companies don’t care about you but they do care about their profit margin and you are expendable in order for them to fill their pockets. Sorry to go on like this but I’m a bit more than angry at the big corporations taking advantage of nice people and hurting them. So, be ware of what you buy. Look at the labels! No partially hydrogenated ANYTHING!! Extremely bad for your body! Thank you for all this good information. We all need to stick together for our health’s sake. Keep up the good work, JoLynn, it is very much appreciated!
Hi Jan,
That’s OK that you went on like that, I feel the same way – we each have to look out for ourselves, the food manufacturers certainly aren’t going to look out for us!
Yes, I have heard of Stevia, I’ll be writing about it shortly. It’s been used in Japan for years without any side effects….for some reason (sarcasm), it’s not approved in the U.S. It sure would take business away from the other manufacturers!
One thing about maple syrup…it is sugar, and fruit juices are high in natural sugar, which can cause a problem if you’re addicted to sugar…you also have to check to see if they have added sugar. I don’t know right now if a product lists “fruit juice” whether they have to disclose if sugar was added to it. As it is, if you want a healthy juice, it’s best to use your own juicer at home. 😉
it would be nice if you did an article on electrolyte drinks and how they can be just as important as water in terms of keeping your body hydrated, especially when you are physically active.
Hi Aaron, thanks! That’s a good idea, I’d be interested to find out if there are any that don’t contain sugar or artificial sweeteners, though. I’ll put this topic on my list. 😉