In the bustling aisles of supermarkets and on the sleek menus of fitness apps, zero-calorie drinks have carved out a significant niche. More than a quick trend, this phenomenon changes consumer markets and impacts personal health. In fact, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey says 28% of US adults now drink no/low-calorie sweet drinks daily. But what exactly falls under the umbrella of zero-calorie drinks? And how did these products occupy such a notable position in the dietary landscape? Are the benefits of drinking zero-calorie drinks too sweet to be true? Will cutting out the calories really cut down our weight? Turns out, the answers aren’t cut and dry - they’re more mixed and bubbly, like many of the beverages themselves.
Defining Zero-Calorie Drinks
As the name suggests, zero-calorie drinks are beverages that have little or no caloric content. Typically, a food or drink product is considered to be "zero calories" if it contains less than 5 calories per serving.
A Brief History
Zero-calorie drinks have a long history, beginning with the introduction of diet sodas in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1952, the Kirsch Bottling Company of Brooklyn introduced a sugar-free ginger ale called No-Cal. Next, Royal Crown Cola introduced the Diet Rite in 1955. In 1962, Dr. Pepper released a diet version of its popular soda.
Types of Zero-Calorie Drinks
Zero-calorie drinks come in various forms and flavors to cater to different tastes and preferences:
- Sparkling Waters and Carbonated Beverages: A popular choice for those looking to replace sugary sodas with a healthier alternative. Sparkling or carbonated water can be infused with delicious flavors like lemon, lime, and black cherry to add a refreshing twist. GOOD IDEA offers lightly sparkling waters in a variety of Swedish flavors, such as Wild Raspberry.
- Flavored Water: Another zero-calorie option that has gained popularity in recent years. When it comes to flavored water, there are two types of flavorings used - artificial and natural. Artificial flavors are created in a lab using synthetic chemicals while natural flavors are derived from real fruits or herbs. GOOD IDEA's all-natural flavors such as Sea Berry and Wild Raspberry, make it a top choice for health-conscious consumers. This process removes the caloric content of the berries, leaving behind only their delicious taste.
- Tea: A zero-calorie beverage that offers a wide range of health benefits thanks to its antioxidant properties.
- Zero-Calorie Energy Drinks: For those looking for a boost of energy without the added calories, there are also zero-calorie energy drinks available on the market.
- Diet Sodas: The classic zero-calorie beverage that started it all.
The Production Process
The production process for zero-calorie drinks varies depending on the type of beverage. However, in general, the process typically involves combining water with natural flavors and/or artificial sweeteners, along with any additional ingredients like caffeine or vitamins.
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Many zero-calorie drinks use natural flavoring derived from fruits, herbs, or other plant-based sources to enhance the taste without adding calories. Heating or boiling can also be used to extract natural flavors from ingredients like fruits and herbs. Distillation is a process that separates liquids based on their different boiling points.
Artificial sweeteners are used in zero-calorie drinks to provide a sweet taste without adding any calories. Some common artificial sweeteners include:
- Aspartame: A low-calorie artificial sweetener that is 200 times sweeter than sugar. It is commonly used in diet sodas and other zero-calorie drinks.
- Sucralose: Another popular artificial sweetener used in zero-calorie drinks.
- Stevia: A natural zero-calorie sweetener that is extracted from the leaves of the stevia plant.
- Saccharin: One of the oldest artificial sweeteners, commonly used in diet sodas and other zero-calorie drinks.
- Neotame: A high-intensity artificial sweetener that is 7,000-13,000 times sweeter than sugar.
- Acesulfame potassium (Ace-K): Another artificial sweetener commonly used in zero-calorie drinks.
Some zero-calorie energy drinks and teas may contain caffeine to provide an energy boost without any added calories. Certain zero-calorie drinks may also be fortified with vitamins and minerals, making them a source of nutrition in addition to hydration.
Zero-Calorie Drinks and Weight Loss: Do They Work?
Beverage companies make low-to-no calorie thirst-quenchers by knocking sugar from the ingredient list. Instead, calorie free artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, cyclamates and saccharin enhance the drinks.
For individuals who drink large amounts of sodas, the zero-calorie alternative offers a big draw. Consider a person who drinks two 12-ounce cans of regular soda at 140 calories per can a day. By switching to a zero-calorie beverage, the person would drink 8,400 fewer calories during a month’s time - and that’s enough to lose nearly 2.5 lbs. Mathematically, the benefits add up.
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Clinical research consistently reports reduced calorie intake and weight loss in people who consume low/no calorie sweeteners when compared to sugars. This has been shown in a WHO systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs), as well as in several other systematic reviews published over the last years. However, most RCTs included in these reviews were of medium duration.
During the first 12 weeks of active weight-loss, where participants did weekly sessions of a group weight-loss programme and daily exercise, consuming beverages with low/no calorie sweeteners had similar effects as water on weight loss. At the end of the first year, including a 40-week period of monthly group weight management sessions, participants who drank daily two servings of low/no calorie sweetened beverages for one year lost 7.5kg versus 6.1kg for those who drank water. Weight loss was significantly greater for low/ no calorie sweetened drinks versus water, but the difference was considered modest. Nearly all other results linked to weight also improved in both groups: reductions in blood pressure, LDL cholesterol and better liver function were reported in both groups.
A previous 52-week RCT by Peters et al compared the effects of diet drinks and water on weight loss and maintenance and found that low/no calorie sweetened beverages were superior to water for weight loss.
Potential Downsides and Considerations
While decreasing sugar consumption is a great idea, the new artificial sweetening ingredients may come with their own sour effects. For example, researchers in Europe investigated 56 studies examining artificial sweeteners’ link with cancers, kidney problems, cardiovascular disease, mood and brain function, blood sugar, oral health and more. Unfortunately, after exhaustive analysis, the researchers lacked conclusive results and recommend further, long-term studies.
Another worry is that artificially sweetened drinks stir up cravings for more sweetness. For example, a 2021 study found women and people with obesity experienced an increase in cravings and appetite-stimulating effects after consuming sugar substitutes. Interestingly, men and people with healthy weights didn’t react the same. Research on this finding continues to roll forth to discover if zero calorie sodas leads to consuming other foods and drinks, thereby increasing weight.
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Consumption of zero-calorie drinks tends to have effects on the rest of our diet as well. Many no-calorie beverages get their flavor from aspartame or other artificial sweeteners. Not only are concerns about the long-term impact of artificial sweeteners still up in the air, but studies on rodents have expressed concerns about how these sweeteners affect your brain. As a result, this could cause you to actually eat more and result in weight gain. It was discovered that ghrelin levels were elevated in individuals who drank any type of carbonated beverage (including carbonated water). Many of these studies are highlighting daily, or near-daily consumption of these beverages.
Tips for Choosing Healthy Beverages
If you’re counting calories, it’s important to watch what’s in your glass as well as what’s on your plate. Choosing the right beverage -- and keeping an eye on how much you pour -- can help curb your appetite and cut calories.
Here are some beverage choices to consider:
- Water: Replacing sweetened soft drinks with water will cut hundreds of calories from your diet each day. Drinking two glasses of water before a meal may also help you feel full faster, so you won’t eat as much. It can help speed your metabolism, too. Make water your default beverage and mix in others sparingly.
- Skim or Soy Milk: Beverages that are low in calories but high in nutrition are good options when you’re trying to lose weight. Skim and soy milk both fit that bill. Plant-based milk substitutes, like almond milk, typically have fewer calories than cow’s milk but less protein, so they’re not necessarily better for weight loss.
- Green Tea: An excellent choice when you’re looking for a little boost. Not only is it calorie-free, but some research suggests green tea extract may help with weight loss. It's not clear exactly how, but caffeine and micronutrients called catechins may each play a role. The benefit appears to last only a few hours, so it may help to enjoy some green tea at least twice a day.
- Vegetable Juice: Vegetable juice is as nutritious as fruit juice, with fewer calories. One cup of tomato juice has 41 calories, compared to 122 for orange juice. Choosing juice with pulp gives you some fiber, too. That may help control your hunger. Vegetable juice does have a lot of sodium. If you buy your vegetable juice from a store, go with a low-sodium variety if you can.
- Black Coffee: When you need a shot of caffeine, coffee is a better choice than soda or energy drinks. Black coffee is calorie-free and rich in antioxidants. Studies show that drinking moderate amounts of coffee (about 3 to 4 cups a day) may improve your mood and help your concentration. It could also lower your chances of type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
Be mindful of these beverages that can be high in calories:
- Specialty Coffees: A 12-ounce caffe mocha can be almost 300 calories, and a vanilla latte can come close to 200. But if mochas or lattes are your thing, you can make a few changes to keep the calories in check. Most coffee places offer sugar-free syrups, or you can special-order your drink with skim milk. And be sure to skip the whipped cream.
- Soda: Every time you chug a bottle of this, you get hundreds of empty calories. Switching to diet soft drinks can cut calories. But research is mixed on whether this switch helps you lose weight. If you eat or drink more calories than you burn, just sticking to diet soda may not do the trick.
- Specialty Cocktails: Party drinks like margaritas or mai tais can be heavy on the calories, especially when you don’t make them yourself. The key with cocktails is to skip mixers like soda, juice, or premade cocktail blends. Instead, sip on something simple, like vodka and club soda. A 1-ounce serving of vodka ranges from 70 to 100 calories, and club soda doesn’t add any calories. If you need more flavor, try a spice-infused vodka.
- Mocktails: Alcohol-free doesn’t mean calorie-free. Mocktails can be high in sugar and calories, depending on the fruit juices used to make them. If you want a fancy drink without the alcohol, look for ones made with sparkling water and flavored with herbs and spices instead of sugar-sweetened beverages.
- Kombucha: This is fermented tea blended with sugar and a culture of bacteria and yeast. An 8-ounce glass typically has about 30 calories. It’s said to have several health benefits, including a hand in weight loss. But scientists are still studying it to find out for sure.
- Beer: This isn’t really the ideal beverage if you’re watching your weight, but a 12-ounce bottle or can of light beer won’t typically give you more than 100 calories. A regular 12-ounce beer is usually about 150. When it’s poured from a tap into a 16- or 20-ounce glass, though, that number can climb up to 250. Craft beers can also have more calories.
- Wine: A typically 4-ounce glass of wine usually has around 100 calories, though types can vary in calories and alcohol content. Also know that glasses and pours are often much larger than 4 ounces. If wine is your adult beverage of choice, watch the pour or slim it down by mixing it with a no-calorie beverage. For example, you can cut the calories in half with a wine spritzer that’s half wine and half club soda.
- Energy Drinks: While the active ingredient here is caffeine, these usually have other things in them like vitamins, herbal supplements, creatine -- and sugar. If you’re watching calories, you’ll want to check the label carefully and look for ones without added sugar. The ones that show the amount of caffeine can let you know exactly what you’re getting.
- Fruit Juice: Juice can have as many calories as soda, but it has more nutrients. This presents a dilemma: You want the vitamins and antioxidants without all the extra sugar. Look for 100% fruit juice. Steer clear of juice drinks that have added sweeteners. Check the nutrition label for the percentage of real juice. You can also slash calories by drinking water with a tiny bit of juice added.
- Smoothies: Blend a banana, strawberries, and blueberries into a frothy smoothie, and you’ve got a delicious drink. Make your own, so you can control the ingredients: skim milk (or an alternative, like almond milk) and fresh or frozen fruit are all you need.