Everyday drink that won't destroy my teeth/shoot up my sugar [closed]

Question

I have this weird thing where I find it very hard to drink still water, as in it scares me to do so (yeah I know it doesn't make a lot of sense but bear with me) so I drink anything but. So to down food everyday I drink coke, fizzy water, beer and especially juices. Now, my dentist complains to no end that this is bad for my teeth and she's even threatened not to treat me unless I fix the root cause. Which I understand 100%. However in the meantime I have to drink something, so...

I barely drink coke as it's extremely sugary and acidic which is terrible for the enamel (and can't be good for my overall health either). So I switched to fizzy water (fizzy drinks go down easily, water or otherwise, for some reason) but that's bad for your teeth as well. Fruit "juice" isn't good either. (note quotes, stuff from the shop isn't really juice, it's probably more like sugary water). Tea is hot and anyway it's meant to be had afterwards, so it's out as well.

So, my question is, is there any drink at all besides still water that can be had everyday which won't destroy my teeth and/or get me killed earlier than necessary? Preferably something that can be bought, though I'm not sooo lazy that I won't prepare it myself if I have to.

EDIT: the main reason I'm asking this is that I can't really drink plain water. as in, it kind of comes back up when I try to drink it (but only if it's plain water and only when I am not 1000% thirsty) (yeah it's weird). it's not quite that I'm addicted to sugar and I want to knock it off.

Answer 1

Have you tried flavouring still/low-fizz water? There are so many more options than lemon juce!

• Cucumber: A thin slice or two per glass or use a peeler and dump a few long, thin strips in a pitcher. Looks cool, too.
• Lime or Lemon: Same as with the cucumber - and less acidic than the juice.
• Herbs like a sprig of mint or lemon balm. Let it "steep" a bit, similar than you would do for sun tea or "muddle" (crush gently) them a bit like for a mojito.
• Flowers if you can get your hands on non-toxic, organic ones. Elderberry, lavender and rose petals come to mind.
• Fruit like berries or apples are not totally acid-free, but if used within reason should be mostly harmless. They are good for the "transition" from juice to water, because you can start with juice-water mixes, then gradually decrease the juice content. If using berries, gently crush them to release some juice.

Or mix-and-match: cucumber-mint or lemon balm-lime, whatever you like.

And of course most herbal teas are really delicious cold and can be prepared in advance - but stay away from the "red" ones like hibiscus, because they can be quite acidic.

Answer 2

Almost all of the stuff that you can buy is sugary, so you might actually have to make things yourself, unless you're a coffee drinker.

I found plain water to take some getting used to when first giving up sodas, but having it very cold does help. You can also cut fruit juices with water (about 50/50) so to reduce the total amount of sugar, as you ween yourself off sugars.

Personally, my main drink these days is unsweetened iced tea. Unfortunately, as I said to start -- almost all bottled teas are sweetened (sometimes with zero calorie sweeteners, which I avoid as most have a nasty aftertaste, and there are some studies suggesting they get you to eat more total calories).

I've taken to making it in the fridge, as you have a longer window to deal with it -- just take a few tea bags and put them into a container (I use a large (4c.) glass measuring cup), top with water, and leave in the fridge for 8-16 hrs. I make it extra strong (6 bags for 4 c. water) and then dilute it into a pitcher.

You can make sun tea, but it's rather unforgiving in its timing -- at somewhere around 10 hrs, you'll start to leach out some of the bitter flavors in the tea, making it undrinkable in my opinion.

If you're in a rush -- just microwave a cup of water, put the tea bag in for a minute or two, then pour over ice. If you go through a lot of it, Mr. Coffee and some other companies make 'iced tea makers' which basically just warm up water slightly and pour it over the tea. They're easier to use if you can find a place that sells the 'family' sized tea bags.

And, if even that's too much work ... try a squeeze of lemon or lime in your water to make it more palatable.