Which drink is "healthy"?

[Confuscious]

Every time I meet with friends or people at a local pub/restaurant, I am faced with the same question.
What shall I drink?

I never drink alcohol when I drive.
I also don't like alcoholic beverages.
So, no alcoholic beverages.

Coke, Pepsi, 7Up. etc?
I have Diabetes 2.
This kind of drinks are full of sugar.
So, no sugary drinks.

Coke Zero?
Coke Light?
Pepsi Light?
According to the Internet, these drinks are even worse as their normal counterparts.
Sure, they have less sugar.
But the amount of added taste enhancers is doing more harm as they are bringing benefits.

I have read on the Internet that Root beer and Ginger Ale would be healthy and would have a lot less bad ingredients.
But I am not sure about that.
Ginger soda would also have more benefits as the other drinks, but the soda would annihilate these benefits.

So, which drink is healthy?

PS.: I use water ONLY to shower and to clean.
Water is NOT for drink.

[FracturedRabbit]

Root beer and ginger ale: sugar.

Iced water, slice of lemon, delicious!

Soda water

Tea

Coffee

[tifino]

Brazil Nut smoothies

healthy for the body, the head, and the little head too!

[Vacuum]

Soda water with lemon/lime.

[jak2002003]

I don't drink much alcohol because I just don't like the taste of a lot of it... beer is disgusting to me, same as red and white wine, the over sweet alcopops etc.

 

I usually drink spirits with a mixer, but not so much as to get drunk.  So when I am out with my friends are we are all drinking I will often just have none alcoholic drinks.

 

The diet sodas are fine.  The stories about them giving people brain cancer and other stuff are just myths with no proof at all.  Sure they have artificial chemicals in them, but they are safe, a lot safer than the proven health dangers of alcohol and sugar.

 

The drink I have most of is normal soda water, which is very healthy.  Its got no sugar or chemicals in it, and its super cheap.  I will mix in a small amount of diet coke / coke zero or other such thing to give it a slight flavour.  I sometimes also squeeze a fresh lime into it instead, or a little fruit juice.  I never drink straight fruit juice as I find it too sickly and sweet.  Basically just water down any none alcoholic drink with the soda water and ice is healthy as you won't be consuming too much sugar or additives, so you could also water down the normal full sugar coke with it.

 

At home I tend to drink tea, hot and cold, and water.  If you are socialising in a bar restaurant kind of place they usually have tea also (and coffee).  

 

At a restaurant there are many more options.  The fresh fruit liquidised with ice is good.. just tell them not to add sugar syrup or only a small bit.  Lots of varieties and mixes you can do. 

 

Again all the teas, hot or cold (no need to add sugar or milk).  The traditional Thai drinks are good.  The blue drink made from Anchan flowers is delicious and delicate taste.  The Naam Bai Duy, is clear with slight green tint and made from a kind of palm leaf boiled up.  There are many more, like lemon grass, ginger and many combinations.  

 

You should drink water mostly in day to day life too.... you might want to not only use it to shower with, its the healthies think to drink and most natural, won't erode you teeth or give you health problems (so long at its clean).  

[scubascuba3]

Big glass with ice and water

Flavoured soda water, 7 Eleven does a nice 10 baht Lime one.

You really should get into drinking water, especially in Thailand as its so hot

[ratcatcher]

 

28 minutes ago, Confuscious said:

PS.: I use water ONLY to shower and to clean.
Water is NOT for drink.

With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bent arm for a pillow - I have still joy in the midst of all these things.

Confucius⌚

[Mike Teavee]

18 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

Soda water with lemon/lime.

My dentist has warned me off drinking soda water (or any carbonated drinks for that matter) as he says it wears the enamel on your teeth much quicker than non-carbonated drinks.

 

Having said that, my favorite non-alcoholic drink is fresh orange juice topped up with soda water (about 30-40% OJ).

 

[robblok]

I had the same problem until @Wavehunter pointed me to Iherb where they had a powder with only 10 calories for a liter of water (ok i double up so that is 20). It helped my diet a lot.

[scubascuba3]

My dentist has warned me off drinking soda water (or any carbonated drinks for that matter) as he says it wears the enamel on your teeth much quicker than non-carbonated drinks.
 

 

"the ADA (American Dental Association) recommends swapping sugary beverages for sparkling water, but not replacing regular, fluoridated water with sparkling water"

[PatOngo]

Green tea with jasmine for me, with a touch of honey!

[flyingtlger]

Water....PERIOD!

 

 

[samsensam]

 

water, obviously.

[evadgib]

- Cucumber water

- Iced water & lime

- Hot Green Tea

 

Refreshing and easy to prepare.

[KC 71]

Hot water,honey,lemon and a dash of whiskey- for a sore throat !
( hot toddy)


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

[Puchaiyank]

Water is your only healthy option...learn to love it...Google how much water the body needs on a daily basis...no other drink can help the body function properly...????

[essox essox]

TONIC WATER it contains quinine !!!!

[FracturedRabbit]

7 minutes ago, essox essox said:

TONIC WATER it contains quinine !!!!

It also contains sugar

[CGW]

26 minutes ago, Puchaiyank said:

Water is your only healthy option...learn to love it...Google how much water the body needs on a daily basis...no other drink can help the body function properly...????

Exactly, if you are sweating a lot a little salt added (good salt like Himalaya - not processed) will replenish lost minerals, but folks insist on looking for sweet, unhealthy, carbonated crap with added chemicals that they convince them selves are ok.

[VocalNeal]

Small beer with a pinch of salt

[Confuscious]

From Wikipedia:
 

Health effects. Ginger ale, as with other ginger products and other non-ginger-flavored carbonated beverages, is often recommended as a home remedy for indigestion and motion sickness. It is also used to soothe coughs and sore throats. Ginger ale is usually acceptable for people on a clear liquid diet.

Variants: Golden ginger ale and dry ginger ale.

Type: Non-alcoholic mixed drink

Ginger ale - Wikipedia

[madmen]

You wont find many sugar free drinks here or even sugar free meals. Worst place in the world for diabetes

[ThaiBunny]

3 minutes ago, madmen said:

You wont find many sugar free drinks here or even sugar free meals. Worst place in the world for diabetes

And jasmine rice is full of sugar according to its glycemic index

[FracturedRabbit]

5 minutes ago, Confuscious said:

From Wikipedia:
 

Health effects. Ginger ale, as with other ginger products and other non-ginger-flavored carbonated beverages, is often recommended as a home remedy for indigestion and motion sickness. It is also used to soothe coughs and sore throats. Ginger ale is usually acceptable for people on a clear liquid diet.

Variants: Golden ginger ale and dry ginger ale.

Type: Non-alcoholic mixed drink

Ginger ale - Wikipedia

The OP asked for low sugar recommendations. Canada Dry Ginger Ale: 11 teaspoons of added sugars

[Confuscious]

Just now, ThaiBunny said:

And jasmine rice is full of sugar according to its glycemic index

Yes, I know.
ALL kinds of rice are bad for Diabetes according to my doctor.
Also all kinds of processed foods and most kinds of bread.
If I have to believe the doctors, I could as well go to the nearest temple and let them burn me up.
Ain't going to happen.

 

[madmen]

8 minutes ago, Confuscious said:

From Wikipedia:
 

Health effects. Ginger ale, as with other ginger products and other non-ginger-flavored carbonated beverages, is often recommended as a home remedy for indigestion and motion sickness. It is also used to soothe coughs and sore throats. Ginger ale is usually acceptable for people on a clear liquid diet.

Variants: Golden ginger ale and dry ginger ale.

Type: Non-alcoholic mixed drink

Ginger ale - Wikipedia

Ginger root is dirt cheap here so make your own healthy version not the rubbish sold in 7/11

[ThaiBunny]

Just now, Confuscious said:

Yes, I know.
ALL kinds of rice are bad for Diabetes according to my doctor.
Also all kinds of processed foods and most kinds of bread.
If I have to believe the doctors, I could as well go to the nearest temple and let them burn me up.
Ain't going to happen.

 

Actually if you cook rice one day, let it cool down and then re-heat it the next day its composition changes and the sugar all goes away. It's quite safe to eat. Basmati rice also has a much lower GI

[ThaiBunny]

1 minute ago, madmen said:

Ginger root is dirt cheap here so make your own healthy version not the rubbish sold in 7/11

I drink Liptons Lemon & Ginger tea - zero calories

[Confuscious]

5 minutes ago, madmen said:

Ginger root is dirt cheap here so make your own healthy version not the rubbish sold in 7/11

Do you know a good recipe to make Ginger Ale at home?
Without the rubbish?

I use to make myself Green Tea at home (batch of 10 liter each time), put it in the freezer, and drink it with some ice cubes at home.
No sugar added, but I add a little bit of honey to sweeten it.
Delicious.

Unfortunatly, most of the restaurants/coffee shops/bars will not be happy if I come walk in with my own brewed Green Tea.

[wgdanson]

1 hour ago, essox essox said:

TONIC WATER it contains quinine !!!!

Marginally. I did hear that the politically correct people are trying to stop them using the word TONIC as it no longer is. Originally it had quite a lot of quinine to fight off malaria in India and the other Empire countries.