I've completely given up on soft drinks. Every sweetener I've tried has a noticeable and unpleasant taste and aftertaste. I basically just drink water now. The loss of San Pellegrino is particularly sad - it used to be my go-to soft drink on a hot day.
There are still a few great sweetener-free cordials available. Shout out to Belvoir!
How my habits have changed in order to avoid artificial sweeteners:
- I chose Waitrose over M&S and other nearby supermarkets because they actually stock soft drinks without artificial sweeteners;
- Changed from Ribena to the next best blackcurrant cordial without artificial sweeteners (Belvoir Farm Blueberry and Blackcurrant);
- I look forward to trips overseas where I can pick up a bottle of unadulterated Sprite;
- Most interestingly: I stopped going to major fast food chains because of their lack of variety in non-artificial-sweetener drink options, replacing them with bubble tea.
YES! So much. For me I'm now severely limited as to drink choices as artificial sugars give me migraines. First discovered in the 90s as a kid when Robinsons squash started their no added sugar range. It's so frustrating not to have a choice any more!!!!
The Tastefully Light San Pellegrino is an absolute travesty! The point is that it tastes fruity, and the fake sweetener totally ruins that. BUT Ocado will sell you "Classic Taste" Aranciata which is the original formula. Hoping they'll roll it out to the other flavors, too.
And what about Lucozade? How can an so called energy drink contain sweeteners and not sugar? And don't get me started on the whole Ribena debacle! Come join our campaign to save our sugar on Facebook S.O.S. Save Our Sugar!
If you are looking for a decent substitute for pre sugar tax drinks Jarritos are a good option, no artificial sweeteners and just sugar as the good lord intended, most Mexican food outlets tend to stock them.
I have never felt more seen! I have been banging on about this for years now and was convinced I was going mad and the only person who finds that sweeteners taste of earwax. Thank Christ for full fat coke - EXCEPT when you order a proper coke in a pub now they will nearly always give you something from the tap which is absolutely full of sweeteners and they don't believe you when you take it back and say "this is diet". I am convinced all pubs are just putting diet in both coke taps now to get round the tax and they think we don't notice. I sincerely hope this hasn't also hit people affected by Crohns as described in your newsletter.
I loathe the taste of stevia in particular and can pick it a mile off - on one occasion my husband bought me a can of Strongbow from a poorly-stocked off-licence and I was really shocked to identify stevia in that (and checked the label and I was right). But my saddest loss, aside from blood orange San Pellegrino, is Lipton peach iced tea. I spend a lot of time in South East Asian and Caribbean supermarkets now, lurking in front of their drinks fridge, but they are pretty reliable sources of proper sugary drinks.
Iranian dilute is the unexpected discovery I’ve made post sugar tax; obscenely thick and often sold in bottles that look like they’re for detergent, brands like Moriss and Raznak have been my salvation.
Fanta Shokata from, I think, Romania is also excellent and safe- it’s not blue, either, that’s just the bottle.
All variants of Turkey’s Uludag were, at my last taste, still ok too.
I now have also given up on my particular oasis which was Soda Folk's Root Beer (my perfect summer treat after long bike ride) as it is another to have fallen at the gates of idiocy. Instead I now rely on Bottle Green cordial and sparkling water.
The Irn Bru reinvention is an absolute travesty - partially saved by the glass bottled stuff which should be made more widely available and in more diverse formats!
I have almost no choice of soft drinks any more, because I react badly to sweeteners. The migraines caused by aspartame were so severe, I lost my job 25 years ago, before we worked out the cause.
The thing I find most shocking is that this isn't being done for our health, it's entirely financially driven. Sweeteners are so much cheaper than sugar that the manufacturers are still making a huge profit even if they lose a proportion of their customers. Some of them - hang your head in shame, Bundaberg - make a special version for export to the UK.
It's been clear for some time that sweeteners are worse for you than sugar in moderation. But who cares if we're wrecking the palates & endocrine systems of our children? Pile it high, sell it cheap, & let's work on tainting chocolate, cakes & anything else people might enjoy as a treat.
Jonathan, Amelia, Re full fat San Pellegrino, it is available at bigger Sainsburys and Waitroses. I buy mine from Waitrose Holloway Road (limonata) or Sainburys near Whitechapel station (limonata or aranciata). The “tastefully light” version is a horror.
I've completely given up on soft drinks. Every sweetener I've tried has a noticeable and unpleasant taste and aftertaste. I basically just drink water now. The loss of San Pellegrino is particularly sad - it used to be my go-to soft drink on a hot day.
There are still a few great sweetener-free cordials available. Shout out to Belvoir!
How my habits have changed in order to avoid artificial sweeteners:
- I chose Waitrose over M&S and other nearby supermarkets because they actually stock soft drinks without artificial sweeteners;
- Changed from Ribena to the next best blackcurrant cordial without artificial sweeteners (Belvoir Farm Blueberry and Blackcurrant);
- I look forward to trips overseas where I can pick up a bottle of unadulterated Sprite;
- Most interestingly: I stopped going to major fast food chains because of their lack of variety in non-artificial-sweetener drink options, replacing them with bubble tea.
YES! So much. For me I'm now severely limited as to drink choices as artificial sugars give me migraines. First discovered in the 90s as a kid when Robinsons squash started their no added sugar range. It's so frustrating not to have a choice any more!!!!
The Tastefully Light San Pellegrino is an absolute travesty! The point is that it tastes fruity, and the fake sweetener totally ruins that. BUT Ocado will sell you "Classic Taste" Aranciata which is the original formula. Hoping they'll roll it out to the other flavors, too.
Sorry, need to read more closely and not scroll so fast!
And what about Lucozade? How can an so called energy drink contain sweeteners and not sugar? And don't get me started on the whole Ribena debacle! Come join our campaign to save our sugar on Facebook S.O.S. Save Our Sugar!
If you are looking for a decent substitute for pre sugar tax drinks Jarritos are a good option, no artificial sweeteners and just sugar as the good lord intended, most Mexican food outlets tend to stock them.
I wonder if they ever import the Mexican coke too? That stuff is 🔥
You can get Mexican Coke in the UK here: https://scagnellis.com/products/mexican-coca-cola-355ml?_pos=1&_sid=e5dacc1a0&_ss=r
I haven't seen it so far but I live in hope!
I have never felt more seen! I have been banging on about this for years now and was convinced I was going mad and the only person who finds that sweeteners taste of earwax. Thank Christ for full fat coke - EXCEPT when you order a proper coke in a pub now they will nearly always give you something from the tap which is absolutely full of sweeteners and they don't believe you when you take it back and say "this is diet". I am convinced all pubs are just putting diet in both coke taps now to get round the tax and they think we don't notice. I sincerely hope this hasn't also hit people affected by Crohns as described in your newsletter.
I loathe the taste of stevia in particular and can pick it a mile off - on one occasion my husband bought me a can of Strongbow from a poorly-stocked off-licence and I was really shocked to identify stevia in that (and checked the label and I was right). But my saddest loss, aside from blood orange San Pellegrino, is Lipton peach iced tea. I spend a lot of time in South East Asian and Caribbean supermarkets now, lurking in front of their drinks fridge, but they are pretty reliable sources of proper sugary drinks.
I find myself gravitating to non-sweetner drinks like they're lifeboats. Roses Lime Cordial is a particular fave.
Iranian dilute is the unexpected discovery I’ve made post sugar tax; obscenely thick and often sold in bottles that look like they’re for detergent, brands like Moriss and Raznak have been my salvation.
Fanta Shokata from, I think, Romania is also excellent and safe- it’s not blue, either, that’s just the bottle.
All variants of Turkey’s Uludag were, at my last taste, still ok too.
I would kill a man to get my hands on a pre sugar tax orange lucozade
I now have also given up on my particular oasis which was Soda Folk's Root Beer (my perfect summer treat after long bike ride) as it is another to have fallen at the gates of idiocy. Instead I now rely on Bottle Green cordial and sparkling water.
The Irn Bru reinvention is an absolute travesty - partially saved by the glass bottled stuff which should be made more widely available and in more diverse formats!
I have almost no choice of soft drinks any more, because I react badly to sweeteners. The migraines caused by aspartame were so severe, I lost my job 25 years ago, before we worked out the cause.
The thing I find most shocking is that this isn't being done for our health, it's entirely financially driven. Sweeteners are so much cheaper than sugar that the manufacturers are still making a huge profit even if they lose a proportion of their customers. Some of them - hang your head in shame, Bundaberg - make a special version for export to the UK.
It's been clear for some time that sweeteners are worse for you than sugar in moderation. But who cares if we're wrecking the palates & endocrine systems of our children? Pile it high, sell it cheap, & let's work on tainting chocolate, cakes & anything else people might enjoy as a treat.
Jonathan, Amelia, Re full fat San Pellegrino, it is available at bigger Sainsburys and Waitroses. I buy mine from Waitrose Holloway Road (limonata) or Sainburys near Whitechapel station (limonata or aranciata). The “tastefully light” version is a horror.
Thank you for this. I saw the limonata in a Waitrose yesterday after reading your comment, although I am still looking for Blood Orange!