Debunking Myths about Drinks on Keto

Traditionally, drinks are considered to be one of the main sources of carbohydrates in our diet. Putting aside sweetened soft drinks, even fruit juices are filled with so much sugar that they increase your chances of accumulating fat, while at the same time making it difficult for your body to turn into ketosis. Concerning unsweetened tea or coffee, they contain caffeine and cannot be treated as healthy ones so it seems there are not so many allowed beverages. Keto diet is considered to be a strict diet limiting consumed carbohydrates, but does it mean you are allowed to live on water alone? Let’s see our alternatives:

Party Drinks

What happens if you are invited to a party? Should you just bring a bottle of water and glance enviously at those who can have as many glasses of wine as they want?

As it turns out alcohol on keto is acceptable as long as you don’t splurge on the most fattening ones. You can have light beer, unsweetened wines (dry red and white wine), or spirits (gin, vodka, or whiskey), but make sure you consume them in moderation. Alcohol is still damaging to the body and there’s a chance it will affect you faster due to the restriction of carbs.

Black Coffee

Luckily for many of keto dieters, you don’t have to give up your daily cup of coffee! Black coffee is free of calories, but when you add sugar, cream, milk or other sweeteners, it can turn into a caloric bomb. So, if you can take it black, you are safe to drink up to 400mg of caffeine per day (according to the Mayo Clinic).

Diet Soda

While not recommended, diet soda is a good fit for the keto diet because it doesn’t have sugar or calories. However, diet soda has artificial sweeteners that stimulate the same taste buds as sugar, thus maintaining the craving for sweets.

Moreover, some of these artificial sweeteners can cause an insulin response or blood glucose, which contributes to storing fats. So, it would be best if you limit the consumption of these beverages as much as possible.

They are helpful in a moment of weakness when you’re craving something sweet, but they are damaging consumed on a daily basis.

Kombucha

For those of you who don’t know this, Kombucha is a fermented tea. It starts sweet and ends up tasting like vinegar because of the added culture of bacteria and yeast that lead to the fermentation process.

Now, since it starts sweet, it is natural to wonder about it being keto-friendly. The secret to enjoying a healthy dose of Kombucha is to know how it was prepared in the first place. Basically, the fermentation process that lasts several weeks, is supported by the initial sugary drink. The added bacteria will feed on it while creating this elixir with a hint of vinegar. So, at the end of this journey, the resulted drink is low in sugar and keto-friendly (but in moderation).

However, in commerce, you may find versions of kombucha that contain flavors and fruits, to hide the vinegary scent and taste. Well, this version is not keto-friendly, and you should stay away from it.

Wrap Up

As you see, there are a lot of keto alternatives to the commonly consumed beverages. So there is no need to limit yourself in drink choices on a keto diet be it a homemade lemonade or a low carb soda on a market’s shelf. Just be careful and read labels attentively.