Crystal light vs plain water

Rheameg

I get tired of plain water. Is crystal light bad?

malibu927

Only if artificial sweeteners make you sick

Cynthiamr2015

It has calories too....

CMH24

Try slicing up real lemon, lime, cucumber, melon, or other fruits and tossing it in your water!

Rheameg

Thanks guys. I'll try buying a lemon

myheartsabattleground

I love Mio and the powerade versions.

nija1523

Try Powerade ZERO calorie sports drink. My favorite is grape. Tonight I drank 2-32oz bottles in one sitting! Walmart $.80

shadow2soul

Rheameg wrote: »

I get tired of plain water. Is crystal light bad?

Nah. I love Crystal Light. I did the math once and found that the most I ever drink in a day is 35 calories worth, but that's a lot of water (I think a gallon...if I remember correctly). I don't even log it.

I also like Mio.

cuckoo_jenibeth

I drink it often, but have to dilute it more than recommended or I find it too sweet. If it will make you increase your water intake, go for it! But, remember to log the calories!

kristinL16

I like Crystal Light pure and True Lemon/True Lime drink packets. They have no artificial flavors, preservatives or sweeteners. The True Lime also has no artificial colors. I drink mostly water, but like to have one of these once in awhile.

pmm3437

I drink the walmart brand of this product on almost a daily basis. Its no better or worse for you than all the other products at the supermarket that have artificial dyes and sweeteners.

skinnyscorpion99

Here's what works for me: I have a clear water bottle that I like to carry around. I fill it up with water, drop a short squirt of Crystal light liquid (my fav is strawberry-lemonade) in it, shake it a it, and enjoy that. Heh-heh, sometimes I call it my "princess water" because it's pink! Anyway, it gets me to drink more water than I would otherwise. Another fortunate side effect is that I also crave just regular water, too. I would agree with jenibethbu about finding the right dilution that works for you. There are a couple of times when I definitely "over-squirted" and added way to much to my water! My personal preference is a bit dilute, but to each his own.

I also used to buy lime juice in the fruit section and drop a few squirts into my bottle, also. That was pretty refreshing, too. I hope you find what works for you, Rheameg!

Rheameg

Thanks everyone!!

daniwilford

I use and log it. I only do 1-2 servings a day. It is a nice change in the summer when I am drinking more fluids.

RBracken34

Personally, drinking stuff with artificial sweeteners seems to make me crave sweets... which is why I stay far away from that stuff. But if it doesn't bug you and you have no problem drinking stuff with ingredients that don't appear in nature, then go for it. As you can see, lots of people have had neutral to positive experiences with it.

shadowfax_c11

I use the packets for a 16 oz bottle but dilute one in a half gallon of water. There might be a few calories there but it gets me drinking a lot more water than I would otherwise which seems like a good trade off to me.

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PSec

Artificial sweeteners alter the flora in your gut in a bad way, and cause you to crave sweets, but CICO I guess (except it may also cause metabolic disease). Lots of the studies are with rats, not people though, so it might be early to say for sure.

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rachelbouc

I love the crystal light. I've also found that I can mix it with more water to stretch it future. I can do the lemonade with 30 oz.

Annie_01

PSec wrote: »

Artificial sweeteners alter the flora in your gut in a bad way, and cause you to crave sweets, but CICO I guess (except it may also cause metabolic disease). Lots of the studies are with rats, not people though, so it might be early to say for sure.

How do we know that it cause the rats to crave sweets?

I...as a human being...that consumes Crystal Lite...have not seen an increase in my cravings for sweets. Actually...very seldom do I crave anything sweet.

lifelessmind

I can't stand the taste of the artificial sweetener in Crystal Light and similar. I much prefer making "spa water" (as they call it on Pinterest) by putting lemon and cucumber in my water, or strawberry and mint, or whatever else strikes my fancy when I need to mix things up

If you log the calories and it fits within your goals, it's probably fine (fuzzy science about whether the fake sugar causes cancer or whatever aside)

MamaBirdBoss

Rheameg wrote: »

I get tired of plain water. Is crystal light bad?

It has REALLY high levels of artificial sweeteners, so it causes me stomach troubles, even one 8oz glass.

47Jacqueline

I use half the recommended amount. So, I get 2 quarts per little packet or cup instead of one. I only want to mask the non-taste of water.

KateTii

Sparkling water plus sliced fruit/veg is delicious. I found drinking water with bubbles met my soft drink cravings. Try mixing and matching: lemon, lime, strawberry, cucumber, apple, blueberry, mint etc.

DeguelloTex

PSec wrote: »

Artificial sweeteners alter the flora in your gut in a bad way, and cause you to crave sweets, but CICO I guess (except it may also cause metabolic disease). Lots of the studies are with rats, not people though, so it might be early to say for sure.

Then don't say, imo.

crazyjerseygirl

Yay for fake science!
Really, artificial sweeteners aren't bad for you.

That said my store sells little bottles of lemon and lime juice, it's usually sold near the fruits and the little bottles look like fruit!

I prefer those in water or seltzer as I like the tartness.

When I want sweet I just go diet coke or diet dr. Pepper!

jstrlv

I get the lemon Pure Crystal Light. I mix one packet with water in my half gallon water bottle. It really dilutes the taste, but it's enough flavor for me to keep my still interested in the water. I try to drink one gallon daily. Also the bitterness of the lemon kind of makes me more thirsty so it's easier to get my daily intake.

BWBTrish

PSec wrote: »

Artificial sweeteners alter the flora in your gut in a bad way, and cause you to crave sweets, but CICO I guess (except it may also cause metabolic disease). Lots of the studies are with rats, not people though, so it might be early to say for sure.

Why spread rumors/bro-science or unproven facts?

There is no prove what so ever. The only fact is that TOO MUCH food can harm you. This for multiple reasons...you have an allergic reaction, or you eat too much food in general so in surplus it will make you gain weight.
Or other harmful aspects...but that is personal.
I cant have salt(medical reason)...that doesn't make salt harmful for everybody!

So stop spreading rumors or post legit links to studies.

Mr_Knight

TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »

PSec wrote: »

Artificial sweeteners alter the flora in your gut in a bad way, and cause you to crave sweets, but CICO I guess (except it may also cause metabolic disease). Lots of the studies are with rats, not people though, so it might be early to say for sure.

Why spread rumors/bro-science or unproven facts?

...anger...

So stop spreading rumors or post legit links to studies.

Well, it might be coming. I'm a no-cal drink drinker myself, so this would kinda suck if it turns out the be more or less accurate...

We identify NAS-altered microbial metabolic pathways that are linked to host susceptibility to metabolic disease, and demonstrate similar NAS-induced dysbiosis and glucose intolerance in healthy human subjects.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v514/n7521/full/nature13793.html?WT.ec_id=NATURE-20141009

tomatoey

KateTii wrote: »

Sparkling water plus sliced fruit/veg is delicious. I found drinking water with bubbles met my soft drink cravings. Try mixing and matching: lemon, lime, strawberry, cucumber, apple, blueberry, mint etc.

+1 mint (i'm too lazy to do the others, but in case someone isn't: http://www.recipe.com/fresh-mint-water/ )

this looks good