It’s not exactly a news flash to say that sugary sodas are not healthy—and that they are simultaneously extremely popular. The good news is that there are some sugar-free alternatives that are relatively keto-friendly for when the craving strikes. The even better news is that most of these are widely available, so they’ll be easy to find at most grocery stores or even gas stations. Here are my favorite options.
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Sodas
1. Zevia
There are a few reasons I will reach for this brand when I want some kind of fizzy drink. It has pretty good ingredients overall, using stevia as the sweetener. They also don’t use any dyes or other colorings, and they don’t have any sugar alcohols either. (Bonus points for the low total carbs!)
It is a little on the pricey side compared to traditional sodas, which is probably the biggest downside, but they have lots of flavors to choose from so you can find one that suits your taste.
2. Virgil’s Soda
Virgil’s zero sugar line tastes really good, and they’ve got a handful of really classic flavors like black cherry, root beer, vanilla cream, and more. (Just watch out that you are getting the zero sugar version, because they have a more traditional line that uses sugar.)
This is lower down on my list because erythritol is in the sweetener blend that they use, and they use dyes like most sodas do to achieve the specific color they want. It’s not a bad option at all—just make sure you’re using moderation as always.
3. Diet Coke and other diet sodas
Plenty of traditional sodas have diet versions with zero (or very few) calories, that use sugar-free sweeteners and could technically be considered keto-friendly. This is a bit controversial (depending on what part of the keto community you ask), but I don’t think these are bad options. Some people avoid aspartame (the sweetener that many diet sodas use), so this would be a hard no for some ketonians.
As always, I encourage people to do their own research and find what works for them. Regardless of any controversies, this appears to be a far better option compared to regular sugary soda or juice.
Sparkling Water or Seltzer (non-sweetened)
1. Carbonated Water with some Keto Chow Daily Minerals
Unflavored seltzer water is, shall we say, a “developed taste” and not for everyone. But for people that do enjoy seltzer waters like San Pellegrino or Topo Chico, adding a few drops of the Keto Chow Daily Minerals to regular carbonated water gives it a really nice flavor.
Bonus points if you get an adapter from Amazon to use 5lb CO2 tanks with a Soda Stream to make your own carbonated water for a fraction of the price. 2kk has a video showing how to do it.
2. San Pellegrino
This is about as clean as you can get when it comes to fizzy drinks. It is spring water that has been naturally carbonated. Nothing else added. Full disclosure: it’s not particularly tasty. But depending on how you plan to use it, it can be a great, clean option. It also seems to be more widely available than some of the other sparkling water options on my list.
3. Topo Chico
Another clean option. I tend to prefer San Pellegrino, but this is still a good option that doesn’t have anything questionable added. Just a straightforward sparkling water.
4. Bubly
Another pretty straightforward option. This one just as carbonated water and some “natural flavors.” No added sweetener, but it still tastes pretty good. Plus, they have really fun branding so bonus points for that.
5. AHA
In terms of ingredients, AHA is pretty identical to Bubbly. I tend to prefer the taste of Bubbly a little bit so it’s further up on my list (plus it seems to be a little more widely available than AHA), but this is still a good option.
6. La Croix
This is a pretty popular brand, and is relatively similar to the previous options on my list. The only reason it’s lower on my list is taste. I like to add a bit of lemon or a True Lemon packet to spruce up the taste a bit.
7. Clear American
These are pretty lightly flavored, but aren’t bad. They do have more ingredients than the previous options on my sparkling water list, including aspartame, so again it’s up to you if you want to include that in your keto lifestyle.
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