To ask why there are sweeteners in nearly all soft drinks?

[wildlifeWalker]

I've stopped drinking alcohol but would like a replacement drink to put in a wineglass.
Nearly every cordial or sparkling drink I've looked at contains sweeteners which I absolutely hate the taste of. The only thing I've found is Belvoir sparkling elderflower which is nice but pricy!
I would just mix my own with fizzy water if I could find a nice, not too sweet cordial. I thought about pure grape juice but my supermarket doesn't do it.

Irn Bru original recipe is thankfully safe.

That's interesting- they should be gradually reducing the sweetness of food not increasing it!
I remember when diet yoghurts came in - just horrible. Give me some nice full fat proper Greek yogurt any day.

Dash, crawston & whole earth, for canned drinks. Bottle green & belvoir for cordial to mix.

Some nonalcoholic beers aren't too bad nowadays but they may be quite carby.

Does anyone know if the 'zero alcohol gins' are worth trying? I can't find an ingredient list to see if they're sweetened in any way

Kombucha raspberry lemonade is nice.
M&S have a nice 0.5% alcohol bellini. Not sure if it has sweeteners though.
As PP, try the non-alcohol lagers.

Yes me too.

Not really, it tastes a lot like vinegar. I think the Soda Stream approach might be better for you.

Another vote for the Mr Fitzpatrick's range, so unusual and traditional flavours. We like the sour cherry and hibiscus one and the rhubarb and rosehip. Not cheap but worth it for something a bit different

Yeah but there’s no caffeine and I quite liked that too

NNS actually make me physically ill. I throw up aspartame and the others irritate my IBS. Also they taste dreadful.

My favourite safe brands are Cawston Press - still in cartons and sparkling in cans. These aren't too sweet as they contain no added sugar. Likewise Dalstons and Dash.

Rocks do a good Ribena substitute

Sainsbury's still make their classic lemonade but only in a 1ltr size

I buy the Bottle Green cordials and add sparkling water. Belvoir used to be OK but they've recently introduced a range with NNS so check the labels!

Schweppes have also just introduced a range of "safe" drinks which is a little odd as they were about the first to introduce NNS. However Melon Watermelon and the rest of that range is OK but it's too sweet for me.

Aqua Libra is my go to fizzy water infused with fruit. 24 cans for £12 from Amazon. No sugar.

More expensive in supermarkets but sometimes they do 4 for £2.09.

It does frustrate me that there is almost nothing out there if you don't want alcohol, fizzy, highly sweetened drinks when you are out. Water is fine, but if you are having to pay, you don't want something that you can get free out of the tap.

£2.00 not £2.09

The carbonic acid which makes drinks fizzy is incredibly bitter and it takes a lot of sugar or sweetener to make fizzy drinks palatable.

Try drinking tea instead. And I don't mean Tetley. There are a miriad of different flavoured teas available nowadays made from everything from spices to fruits.

@DonnaBanana
I actually tried putting a teeny bit of apple cyder vinegar (with the mother) in some sparkling water. It tasted quite nice!

Because we have an obesity crisis

The carbonic acid which makes drinks fizzy is incredibly bitter and it takes a lot of sugar or sweetener to make fizzy drinks palatable.

Fizzy water isn't 'incredibly bitter' though. It's not bitter at all.

Yes I've bought a few different teas to try though I'm trying to quit caffeine too as it's not agreeing with me lately.

Lidl do a nice chai black tea which is okay if I just show the teabag to the water briefly!

Yes, this really annoys me as well!

Fevertree tonic water doesn’t contain sweeteners; even the “light” one just has less sugar. Both Sainsbury’s and Waitrose do fruit squash without sweetener. And Appletiser is just apple juice (with bubbles).

Fresh apple juice dilute with sparking water is nice. You can experiment with what % but I like about 1/4 apple juice, and then sparkling water.

Elderflower cordial, with fresh mint.

I also slice up fresh lemon and lime and freeze. Then can just add a few to glass and add sparkling water.

I agree - so annoying. I drink Kombucha - you have to search around for the low sugar ones.

Another option is half juice, half carbonated water.
Appletiser is sweetener free I think.
M&S does a sweetener free lemonade.

The thing is though that sweeteners don't reduce the urge to eat sweet foods. People will probably eat more too.

The French brand Teisseire make lovely full sugar cordials*. Not the cheapest but they're so thick that you only really need a little drop.

*obviously avoid the ones with Zero in the name.

Fevertree tonic water doesn’t contain sweeteners; even the “light” one just has less sugar.

Last time I looked at a label it was sweetened either fructose which really isn't very healthy. I find fevertree insipid and without sufficient quinine bitter bite.