Captain's Log
Stop Drinking Soda: 3 Cola Alternatives I Tried for My Gut
After IBS and a heart condition, the DooDude gave up soda, but the cola cravings wouldn't quit. He tried 30 healthier colas. Here are his top three.
I had IBS first, and then a heart condition years later, and now I’m more convinced than ever that your gut is the front line of your body’s overall health. I often feel that if I’d paid more attention to my IBS, I might not have had the heart condition! I have no scientific proof for that claim, but I’ve felt better since I started focusing on my gut health. My heart arrhythmias have even calmed down to the point where they’re manageable (but not completely gone).
My Achilles’ heel on the final push to gut freedom? SODA. Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, RC Cola, you name it. Since my heart surgery, I haven’t had soda for almost a year. My doctors told me to avoid caffeine, and I felt so bad that I didn’t even want to try. So I switched from caffeinated drinks to the Magnificent Three: root beer, ginger ale and Sprite. That’s been my “fix” since surgery! I love them, but they still don’t replace real cola.
The surprising thing is that I still crave cola after almost a year without it! Before my heart surgery, I was having one or two sodas every other day. The good news is that I’ve lost over 20 pounds by cutting out caffeinated and sugary drinks. I also switched to mini cans and limit myself to one soda a day from the Magnificent Three. SO WHY AM I STILL CRAVING COLA? It has to be the taste. Either that, or Coca-Cola and Pepsi have secretly figured out how to make cola harder to quit than a bottomless bag of potato chips, which is a complete possibility!
Funny thing: I crave the cola flavor, not Dr Pepper (although I do love me some Dr Pepper). So is there anything that can help my craving and keep me from sliding backward and letting cola win the battle against my health?
I’ve tried a few solutions, and here’s a quick summary. To spare you all 30 healthier cola alternatives I’ve tried so far, I’ll narrow it down to my top three.
1. LIVE Cola (10 calories)
This is the best of the three. It has a decent soda taste and just enough sugar to satisfy. They say it has a new taste, and while I never tried the old one, the new taste definitely scratches the itch! I also bought LIVE Doctor, and it does a great job imitating Dr Pepper!
2. Olipop Vintage Cola (35 calories)
Olipop has only a hint of soda taste, but enough to satisfy. It has a small amount of sugar and caffeine. CAFFEINE, you say? Yes. I drank it before reading the whole ingredients label. Both times I had it, the caffeine made me super wired! Overall it’s a decent drink, but the cola taste doesn’t last long. Since LIVE is my number one choice, I won’t buy this one again. It could still help people without heart conditions kick the soda habit, and I want to point out that it didn’t upset my gut or trigger my IBS!
3. Zevia Cola (0 calories)
If we’re being brutally honest here, this soda gave me terrible gas! What did you expect me to say on a website called DooDude? It nails the cola taste at first, but it has a terrible, long-lasting aftertaste (thanks, stevia). I also noticed I got the munchies hours later every time I drank it. Zevia may be an okay cola alternative for some people, but with the gas and the munchies, I don’t recommend it for your gut!
Hope this helps! You can order these online or find them at your local health food store, like Whole Foods or Sprouts. As I find more cola-flavored alternatives that work with my digestive health, I’ll update this post. And if any of them give me gas, you know where to find me: the Fart Room.
