BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Low Carb Low Carb Juices & Drinks

I have to say I'm *really* Pleased with all the low carb / sugar-free drink options out there now. Minute Maid has a light line that is really delicious. There are a number of iced teas out there that are quite tasty. The no-calorie / no-carb sodas on the market taste perfect. I really don't know why someone would drink a sugar-filled soda any more, or pack a HiC full of sugar, with the other options out there.

I really think that a lot of why kids are so fat nowadays is that parents pump them full of sugary drinks. It's time we stop that trend!

I just heard from a dentist that she is seeing an incredible rise in children's cavities because of all the super-processed fruit juices that parents are feeding kids. Parents feel they're "avoiding soda" (which is good) but of course in the old days kids drank milk and water. Nowadays we give them super-processed, sweetened fruit juices, think we're "doing well", and the kids teeth rot away. So where with our improved medical culture we should have even healthier kids, we're actually seeing worse and worse dental problems in kids in modern times.

Why is it so hard to give kids milk and water? Why do they crave sweets? Is it because in day care it's easier / cheaper to give all the kids sugary drinks?

I agree. I was thin all my life, then i developed a fruit juice addiction and gained weight, 30 pounds worth. Im glad to see this topic. In ten minutes i learned some important things and bought the recommended book idiots guide to low carb. I think that could be really helpful. Ive been depressed about not being able to loose weight, then i saw the link for the low carb site. I think this could be the answer.

Well, remember that there is no silver bullet. Certainly cutting out gallons of fruit juice or soda a day will help <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> But it comes down to readjusting your entire way of life, if this is going to work. You need to drink a lot of water, eat healthy foods, and start walking. The more that your entire life becomes more healthy, and a normal way for you to live, the better your day to day life will be. The more "normal" it is for you, the more chance it will be a way of life you maintain for your entire life.

So it's not about eating steak and eggs for 2 months, becoming super-thin, and then going back to eating tons of mashed potatoes and drinking gallons of soda <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I happen to love V8 juice in the morning, but it has a ton of sodium and more carbs than I can afford in a small drink. So I make my own mixture. It cuts the carbs and the salt:

1 5.5oz can of Spicy Hot V8 juice
1 5.5os can low sodium V8 juice
1 5.5oz can bloody mary mix (optional, but it provides a nice kick)
1 14.25 oz can Health Valley No Salt Added Beef Broth

Pour over ice and add a squirt of lemon or lime

This makes enough for 3 to 4 days, and you can just use plain tomato juice, or whatever you like. Try it for a week, you'll never go back to the 'straight' stuff!

my main problem with many, if not most, of these drinks is that they are sweetened with artificial sweeteners. even in the health food stores, many of the protein drink products have aspartame in them.

I agree with gymeejet - I can't imagine that aspartame is very good for anyone - I think it's better to water down natural fruit or vegetable drinks and stay away from those drinks that contain aspartame.

I just saw a commercial last nite for Diet 7up saying they are now using Splenda. I stopped drinking it a few years ago because of the Aspartame.

I have been very vocal for years about the soda and lack of milk at school functions. Several years ago we went to a big event here in Los Angeles at Griffith Park. It was filled with vendors and some family event. Not one vendor had milk and I went to every one, complained at the sponsor spot and even went to emergency services looking for milk for my kid's bottle.

There was a picnic section with other parents and I asked around if anyone had milk and several helped out from their thermoses. I then started carrying a thermos with milk.

At the school functions they have soda and nachos. For birthday parties I always bring gatorade and last week the very last day of school in my son's autism class I brought french fries from Burger King - his favorite and it was his birthday. Also the gatorade and the only one who had that drink was my other son. The aides in the class had brought several types of sodas that these 8-10 year olds were drinking.

The only time my 10 year old has ever had soda is at a school function - luckily it was orange flavored.

We drink a lot of water and my youngest son consumes soymilk and I add water to the container. He loves tomato soup and I mentioned to his Dietitian that maybe we could try V8, but I do not think he needs all that sodium. He likes butternnut squash soup too. Trader Joes sells the soup in the carton so you can store it in the fridg and microwave small amounts for liquid nourishment.

I am considering trying the new Diet 7 UP, but I have a glass of diet rootbeer a few times a week, otherwise it is the kids OJ no pulp for drinks.

I suffer from major migraines (they go hand in hand w/ my depression) - and I have found one of the fastest ways to set one off is to drink diet drinks w/ aspartame, I kept thinking all those times I was dieting it was just the lack of food, but it was the soda. Funny though, the Splenda drinks don't have the same effect. The splenda drinks also don't make me run for the rest-room either!

I don't like giving either to my children though, even though my dentist encourages it. These chemicals haven't been around long enough to know the long term effects. And has no-one ever noticed the sudden rise in autistic related diseases since diet drinks became so popular? i know I drank them all thru my 1st pregnancy (my son who's Asperger's) because no-one thought there was any harm back then!

there are supposedly some problems with splenda. but splenda ia not aspartame.

one of the problems with aspartame is that one of the breakdown nutrients is one of the amino acids. and this amino works on the nervous system.

normally, the brain barrier is set up, to only allow so much of that amino in. but aspartame gets in easy, breaks down, and then that same amino that is hard to get in the brain, is now in there in large quantities, and also hard to get out.

so it basically acts like a neurotoxin. this is not the first time i have heard of it causing immediate headaches.

it is real bad news, and people that take it on an ongoing basis, are almost for sure to have brain problems, in the long run. the a--holes that manufacture the stuff knew of the problems, and is still trying to keep it from being public knowledge.