Dietary awkwardness with drinks help please

dragonette

Hello all, I've finally remembered to ask about this when I have time at the computer to do so. I was hoping some of you lovely people might have some suggestions for me about non-alcoholic drinks that are safe for me.
I need to avoid:
dairy (allergy)
fruit (squash, fresh juice and tea)
coffee
tea (black/green/white)
artificial sweeteners - aspartame etc

I've tried drinking only water, but I simply do not drink enough that way. Full sugar fizzy juice is (mostly) safe, but I really do not want to drink this much of it! I'm trying an elderflower cordial with no fruit juice in it, seems safe so far

Oh, coconut water is safe but bleugh. Don't think I could push myself to drink enough of it :rotfl:

jk0

Crikey. Who told you you can't drink all those things?

dragonette

My body - I am allergic to dairy, and have very strong (IBS) intolerances to the others. They can leave me with a range of symptoms - bloating, pain, raw tongue, nausea, huge stomach cramps and constipation/diarrhea.

I also have other chronic conditions and cannot really afford to use my limited energy on having bad reactions to food or drink

elsien

You can't have any fruit at all of any type? But fizzy drinks like lemonade are ok?
Wouldn't it be easier to make yourself drink more sparkling water?

C_J

How about making vegetable smoothies? There are lots of recipes here, and you could substitute the dairy elements with things like coconut water, oat milk or almond milk.

greenbee

Have you tried infusing water with mint leaves?

Also try herbal teas (nettle/fennel/mint/lemon verbena) or yogi/Ayurvedic teas (cinnamon/licquorice etc). Some of these are nice cold/chilled and others with a splash of rice/almond/coconut milk.

Also try the suggestion above of fizzy water as sometimes it is easier to drink.

I'm with you on the coconut water. Vile stuff. I'm not keen on soya, hemp or oat milk either!

missbiggles1

If you know your problem is not drinking enough water why not just tackle this head on and train yourself to do so?

The other obvious solution is herbal teas and infusions, of which there's an enormous range these days.

GreyQueen

Hi dragonette, when you say you can't drink enough water, is this because you feel thirst/ have dehydration headaches/ your urine is orangey-yellow/ youpinch up the skin over the back of your hand and find it takes time to settle (dehydration signals)?

Or is it because you're listening to the conventional wisdom that we should be drinking 8 big glasses of water per day and you can't stomach that? I sure as hell can't.

We take in a fair amount of water with our food and doctors tend to treat this populist 8-glasses-a-day minimum as a load of BS. Also, you're in a cool temperate climate and mostly resting at home, not doing hard physical labour in 25-30 celcius heat. You probably have less requirement for non-food fluids than you think.

I'm flinching at the idea of anyone drinking fizzy pop, this stuff is appallingly bad for health.

If I might make a suggestion; cold water is a lot more palatable than tepid water. Perhaps try putting a jug of water in the fridge and drinking that, even adding ice? Temperature makes a lot fo difference. Also, if you are accustomed to a high-sugar diet, particulary sugary/ artifically sweetened drinks, you will take time to train your tastebuds not to expect a sweet hit every time you drink something. HTH.

mardatha

Herbal teas - some are nice and some are hellish, try them out and see what you like. I found the liquorice & ginger really soothing for a delicate tummy.

mildredalien

To be honest it sounds like you just need to drink plain old water! Try it cold from the fridge with ice and put lemon, lime or mint leaves in it perhaps to add a bit of flavour. You could try some of the flavoured sparkling waters although I think some have artificial sweeteners.

You could try camomile/peppermint tea, or perhaps almond milk or similar?

pigpen

I'd rather die than drink plain water.

Are smoothies ok?
I can just about tolerate cold raspberry or strawberry teas. Peppermint gives me horrific upset tummy. Camomile is poison! There are so many you can try you cannot try 3 and say they are all bad.

Have you tried the hi-juice squash types drinks that don't contain aspartame? I believe Lidl used to do one.


Which fruit juices have you tried? orange apple as standard but what about cranberry, pineapple etc?

Full sugar fizzy drinks are better for you than the reduced/no sugar ones anyway so you should drink those instead as they have no artificial sweeteners and your body can deal with the sugar that is in them..

I drink tea with the occasional lemonade or full sugar ribena.


Have you tried hot water with honey and/or lemon in?