Hi, everyone,

My husband is slightly addicted to Pepsi/Coke Zero and drink them as the sole source of drink. I am worried that they will be harmful to his health in long term, however I don't want to take away the joy from him or make him less hydrated.

Anyone know any healthy replacement or alternatives?

I searched the internet and some people suggested homemade drink from sparkling water and frozen 100% juice concentrate. Migros and Coop don't sell this frozen juice concentrate. Anyone know where I can find it? I presume, as it is frozen, I won't find it online.

Thank you!!!

Lana

You could try a Soda Stream and make your own, using fruit syrups/squashes ...... not completely healthy, but some are less nasty than others, and you can use a weaker dilution, compared to bought varieties.

..... and as an occasional treat, you/he can use a cola light/zero syrup as strong or weak as you choose.

In reality you don't even need a Soda Stream, and just use carbonated bottled water.

The Swiss don't do frozen juice concentrates I'm afraid. But Granini do a range of bottled fruit/mixed juices so you could try some of those mixed with sparkling water. I like their grapefruit juice with water - 3/4 glass of water to 1/4 of juice. Or even drink them straight, though they're not sugar free.

Also you might like to keep an eye out for something like these:

http://www.robinsonssquashd.co.uk/

Very concentrated juice flavours that you put a quick squeeze into a glass of water - plain or sparkling. I don't think they're on sale here in Switzerland yet, but will probably make it over here eventually. If you go to the UK you can find Robinson's or own store brands of these in all the major supermarkets and they come in a whole range of flavours. I find them a bit too bland for my taste, but I like the sharpness of grapefruit/lemon and I find if you put too much of these in a drink it becomes too sweet for me.

Another alternative is ice tea - Aldi do normal, low cal and zero versions.

If he likes sharp flavours and you go to the UK then also look for PLJ - lemon juice that again you simply add to a glass of water, making it as strong as you like.

http://www.waitrose.com/shop/Product...Lj+lemon+juice

And of course, there's plain old sparkling water over some ice cubes. Healthiest of all.

This sounds more like a personal psychological process of breaking a habit than a choice of drinks.

Tell him to just drink water.
With luck some of it will change to wine

I am trying to avoid sugar as well, so I filtered out all syrups.

The robinsonssquashd thingy is kinda perfect. Unfortunately I no longer go to UK anymore after permanently moved to Switzerland. I wish I knew it early this year. UK has so much goodies and I miss Amazon prime so much!!!

Maybe you are right. I am indeed trying to break this habit of his out of my personal concern. But if I could find a healthy alternative that he loves and will not suffer from it, that would be great. Otherwise, I am not going to force him anyway....

I probably would have more luck to see wine from water than letting him drink water.......

What about a blowj..?

What are you worried about in the sugar-free Coke/Pepsi? If it's the artificial sweeteners, then maybe try him on Coco Life that has low sugar + plant extracts?

Why add water to (frozen) juice concentrate? Won't you just end up with normal juice?

I have a soda stream because I love and guzzle loads of sparkling water.

Coop sells bottles of 100% pure cranberry juice. By itself, 100% cranberry is far too intense and bitter. But add a drop to some sparkling water and it is sweet and tasty. Plus, it's good for you.

What about carbonated apple juice?

It is very tasty. But the calories are not negligible (50kcal/100ml).

He's addicted to the caffeine. And a nasty habit.

Does he have other underlying health problems (overweight, drug or alcohol problems)... ?

I know someone who had a very bad coke 'diet' habit, was completely addicted to the caffeine, but she also had a kidney problem. She is now on dialysis. Three days per week in hospital getting treatment, every week, for over 5 years, waiting for a kidney transplant.

A dialysis/kidney diet is extreme... she cannot even drink water like a 'normal' person...

Coke 'light' has a significant amount of sodium in it. Check the bottle.The total allowance per day, from all sources is a maximum of 2300mg per day, which is the amount of one teaspoon of pure salt.

Does he also add salt to his food ? Eat a lot of salted foods ?

The effect of over-dosing on salt, in the longer term, is affects on blood pressure, fluid retention, liver function, kidney function, heart attack, stroke. A high sodium diet also effects calcium as your body over-secretes it so needs to use your bones to access calcium, so the risk of osteoporosis is higher.

Although diabetics (Type 2) often consume 'diet' drinks, the sodium content means that they need to be careful... substituting normal 'sugary' drinks for the 'diet' version may be not that much healthier...

How much diet drink is this person actually consuming per day... it would be interesting to calculate the whole caffeine intake (from all sources) as well as the sort of sodium content...

Plus, unhealthy choices usually replace healthy choices...the whole diet may be lacking, the excessive consumption of caffeine and salt may be masking a bigger 'healthy eating' decision-making process...

The only people I know who are addicted to 'diet' drinks are extremely overweight caffeine addicts...

0.1g or 2% of the RDA in a 0.5l bottle which is not a significant amount. I just checked.

I would like to share



you can find more on the subject

https://www.aquacentrum.com/

How about Coke green (with Stevia as sweetener instead of Aspartame or whatever they put in the Zero)? I didn't like the taste, but some people swear by it.
My favourite joke about Coke Zero is that they took away the last natural ingredient the moment they removed the sugar.

I also know someone who completely gave up Coke by switching to Johannisbeerschorle - mixed 3/4 of JB juice with 1/4 carbonated water.

True, but normal juice usually are not bubbly, which makes it less an alternative to the Coke/Pepci.

Sugar is not the only thing that worries me in that drink.

I think the mixer of pure juice with sparkling water is a great idea, best I got so far.

yes, the mighty calories and sugar.