THE days of fizzy drinks being only an unhealthy, sugar-filled treat are over.
There is now a booming market in pop packed with healthy additives, from probiotics and prebiotics for gut health to immunity-assisting vitamins and natural caffeine for a much-needed energy boost.
Jane Atkinson puts three of them to the test . . .
CHILL OUT
CBD by Goodrays are cans infused with 30mg of calming CBD.
And here’s the bit I really love – you also get a daily dose of Vitamin D.
From tongue scraping to saying no, here are 12 health trends to try in 2023
This drink comes in four different flavours; passionfruit and pomelo, raspberry and guava, blood orange and grapefruit and elderflower and yuzu.
The CBD content is a decent amount – a lot more than some other drinks on the market – but the company says research has shown adults need 25mg in liquid to actually feel the effects.
I tried the passion fruit, which has a wonderful fruity flavour.
Each 250ml can contains just 36 calories, but it does have 5.7g of sugar (quite a lot when you think a teaspoon is 4g).
However, if you are anxious and need to relax, it may be worth a go. I slept like a baby. £10.95 x 4 cans, goodrays.com.
GUT HEALTH
FHIRST is a drink that combines the good bacteria you need in your gut called probiotics plus prebiotics, which is the fibre that they feed off, in one can.
In total each 330ml can has 2billion living cultures, 5g prebiotic plant fibre and added zinc to support gut, immune and brain health.
Gut health is so important for all of your body and mind; millions of nerves and neurons run between your gut and brain. This fizzy drink has 20 calories per can and I love that this is sugar free.
The company has used healthier stevia leaves instead of sugar.
It comes in three flavours: Passion Fruit, Cherry Vanilla and the one I tried, Ginger Mandarin, which I loved as it wasn’t overly sweet and had a great ginger hit.
I'm a nutritionist - here's the 10 best diet trends to help lose weight in 2023
£2.20 per can or 24-pack, £47.70, fhirst.com.
ENERGY BOOST
REMEDY is known for making kombucha and now it has combined that with green tea, raw green coffee bean extract and ginseng as an energy drink.
It only contains four calories per 250ml can, and has 80mg of natural caffeine, equivalent to your regular cup of coffee.
It comes in two flavours – Berry Blast and Tropical Twist, the latter of which had a wonderful hint of pineapple. This was my favourite of the three drinks because kombucha is also great for gut health.
And it gave me the energy I needed when I started flagging mid-afternoon.
Sugar is used to make it, but none is left after a long fermentation process.
Clever too!
£1.31 per can, remedydrinks.co.uk.