Pop is one of the hardest treats to kick when beginning keto. New dieters must avoid the high amounts of sugar at all costs, but these longings can be tough. Diet sodas are the perfect antidotes for satisfying soda cravings, and many options don’t use artificial sweeteners!
Thirsty on the keto diet? Keeping well hydrated is important to feel your best. What are the best drinks? What drinks should you avoid?
Simple tip: water is wonderful. Whether flat or sparkling, it has no carbs and is a great thirst-quencher. Add a sprinkle of salt if you have keto flu or a headache.
Another great choice is tea or coffee — but don’t add sugar! An occasional glass of wine is okay, too.
Diet soda is a controversial grey area on keto. Some keto dieters might enjoy the fizzy sweet taste of a diet soda, while many health experts advise against this type of beverage. Diet sodas like Coke Zero or Coca-Cola Zero Sugar set out to recreate the potent sweet taste of the original Coca-Cola Classic without the calories or added sugar. On keto, in addition to increasing your intake of healthy fats, you generally lower your carbs to 20-50 grams of carbs per day. You might be wondering if you should include diet soda or Coke Zero on your ketogenic diet.
Why Can I Enjoy Diet Drinks On Keto?
It might sound too good to be true, but you can enjoy many diet drinks while on the ketogenic diet. This is because the sugar alternatives most diet drinks use are perfectly acceptable and have little to no carb content.
While you might be hesitant at our enthusiasm, there is no evidence suggesting that sugar substitutes interfere with weight-loss efforts. Many prepackaged keto foods use carb-free sweeteners like Stevia, Xylitol, erythritol, and sucralose. They make it easier to stick to a keto lifestyle longer, helping you achieve your health and dietary goals faster.
When selecting a diet drink, check the nutritional value to make sure that it contains less than 5 grams of total sugars or 20 calories from carbs. If there are any carbs, even a low amount, you’ll need to count them against your daily carb “budget.” As a general rule, clear diet beverages have fewer questionable ingredients.
Your Best Diet Drink Options
One of the most popular zero-calorie soft drinks is Zevia. This is a beverage sweetened with a mixture of stevia extract, monk fruit extract, and erythritol, a blend that the company calls SweetSmart. The number of flavours in their line gives every recovering soda addict something to enjoy.
Many soda drinkers find the feeling of the drink is just as important as the flavor. Sparkling water like Perrier, La Croix, and Bubly are all excellent alternatives, and they don’t use artificial sweeteners.
We don’t have to get too fancy, though! Conventional calorie-free drinks like Diet Coke, Coke Zero, and Diet Pepsi are all acceptable keto-friendly. All of them have zero calories, compared with their full-sugar options, which have upwards of 40 calories carbs. Of course, if you don’t like the taste of artificial sweeteners, there’s always one choice we haven’t mentioned…
Is Coke Zero Keto-Friendly?
Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, or Coke Zero, aims to recreate the taste of the original Coca-Cola Classic without the sugar or calories. If you follow the very low carb, high fat keto diet, you may wonder whether Coke Zero can be a part of your routine.
Going All-Natural With Water
If you’d like to kick Pepsi and Coca-Cola out the door for good (and there are many reasons to do so!), the best keto-friendly drink is one that humans have been drinking forever: water! It’s guaranteed to be zero carbs and you won’t have to deal with the artificial tastes of aspartame. You can add the juice of lemon, lime, or berries for some all-natural taste.
It’s important to drink water because your body needs rehydration as it moves into ketosis. Drinking water before meals can also curb appetite and stop snacking. This is important in the first stages of keto when your body is going through carb withdrawal. As you consume more fats, your body will create more ketones and you will feel fuller for longer.
