BEST HOME-MADE DRINKS WITHOUT SUGAR

Ice Tea

Please note that we are not referring tot the ice tea from Lipton Ice Tea that you see in the supermarket. These drinks contain sugar.

In this example we refer to a nice jug of home made ice tea. You can make your own healthy tea in a couple of minutes. Just combine your favorite tea with some cold water and optionally some slices of fresh fruit. Are you an advocate of strong tea? Just leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours and you will have a perfectly strong glass of ice tea.

Looking for a nice recipe? Check out this summer strawberry ice tea.

Fruit infusions

Probably the most time consuming but also most appealing drinks on this list: fruit infusions. The best thing is that you can prep this drink and that you can use fruits that are about to be thrown away.

You can go for the fresh lemon/lime/cucumber combination. A favorite of many people. Just cut some lime, lemon and cucumber and leave it in a big jar for a couple of hours to let it get really tasty. Note that fruits contain sugar also, but these are not added sugars like in Coca cola and hence healthier in general (with normal use).

Tip: you can also prep this by squeezing lemon juice (and other preferable ingredients) into ice cubes. This way, you can simply make the drink when you are thirsty. You can do this with lemon, mint, orange juice and almost every ingredient your fruity heart desires.

Tip 2: feeling a bit lazy but in for a healthy fruit infusion? Try the frozen fruit that’s already cut. This way, you simply add it to your water and leave it for a couple of minutes.

Kombucha

Kombucha? Yes, kombucha. It is a fermented drink contains probiotica. This helps your immune system and intestinal flora. This relative new and somewhat trendy drink is gaining popularity recently. You can buy it in the grocery store but it is a bit expensive. You can make it yourself with five easy ingredients: water, green or black tea, kombucha or apple cider vinegar, a kombucha mushroom (=coby) and some sugar.

Sugar?! You probably think that is a bit unexpected in a blog about alternatives for sugary drinks. But the sugar is for the fermentation proces of the kombucha mushroom. Here you can find a step by step tutorial to make your own kombucha.

THE RISKS OF TOO MUCH SUGAR

Eliminating sugar from your diet isn’t easy. Because it is present in so much drinks, it is tricky to avoid. Sometimes you do not have a choice however. For instance if you are diabetic, having an allergy or simply wanting to pursue a healthier lifestyle. Reducing your sugar intake can have a huge impact on your health. As consuming too many added sugars can lead to a variety of health problems such as gaining weight, diabetes and heart diseases.

Sugar doesn’t only have negative associations. As a certain amount of sugar can give you energy and some health benefits, but we mostly consume way too much sugar in our lives.

Did you know? A not-very-fun fact: the small packages of juice that children take with them to school still contain an average of 3 to 5 sugar cubs.

DRINK MORE, LIVE MORE!

Apart from the fact that your drink contains sugar or not, it, is important to drink sufficient and stay hydrated. This will benefit your health, vitality and energy level positively. An overview of how much a person should drink during a day is found here.