What Can You Drink on the Banting Diet? A Complete Guide

You've cleaned out your kitchen, stocked up on banting-friendly foods - and then you open your fridge and realise you have no idea what you're supposed to drink. Most commercial drinks are loaded with sugar, and even "healthy" fruit juices are firmly on the banting red list.

✔ Avoid all sugar - this includes fruit juice, regular cool drinks, flavoured waters with sugar and energy drinks with sugar

✔ Avoid high-carb drinks - smoothies made with fruit, commercial health shakes, meal replacement drinks

✔ Choose naturally sweetened options - drinks sweetened with stevia, xylitol, erythritol or isomalt are banting-friendly

✔ Read labels - "diet" and "light" drinks often still contain sugar or artificial sweeteners

✔ Water - still or sparkling, plain or with a slice of lemon or cucumber

✔ Black coffee - no sugar. You can add cream or full-fat milk in moderation

✔ Herbal and rooibos tea - without sugar. Rooibos is naturally sweet and caffeine-free

✔ Green tea and other unsweetened teas

✔ Bone broth - an excellent banting drink, rich in collagen and minerals

✔ Full-fat milk - contains natural lactose so limit to a splash in coffee

✔ Dry wine - red or white. Avoid sweet wines and dessert wines

✔ Spirits - brandy, whisky, gin and vodka are low carb. Avoid sugar-laden mixers

✔ Sugar-free energy drinks and cooldrinks - check they use natural rather than artificial sweeteners

✔ Coconut water - small amounts only, contains natural sugars

✔ All regular cool drinks - Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Cream Soda etc.

✔ All fruit juices - even 100% natural fruit juice is very high in sugar

✔ Flavoured milks and milkshakes

✔ Sweet wines, liqueurs and cocktails

✔ Commercial energy drinks with sugar

✔ Hot chocolate and flavoured coffee drinks with added sugar

✔ Smoothies made with fruit and fruit juice

South Africa has some excellent sugar-free drink options available - most made without artificial sweeteners too:

✔ Biozest Energy Concentrate - makes 5 litres, B vitamins, sweetened with xylitol and stevia. Available in 5 flavours.

✔ Footy's Sugar-Free Sodas - 300ml cans in a range of flavours. No artificial sweeteners.

✔ Revive Electrolyte Sachets - sugar-free hydration in 8 flavours. Perfect for exercise.

✔ High-Fibre Drink Concentrates - sugar-free cordials with added dietary fibre in a range of flavours.

✔ Simply Delish Cordials - sugar-free cordials in a range of flavours.

✔ No Added Sugar Drinking Chocolate - gluten-free, no artificial sweeteners.

Shop: caringcandies.com/collections/thirst-quenchers

Alcohol is a grey area on banting. If you choose to drink alcohol while banting:

✔ Choose dry wines over sweet wines

✔ Choose spirits over beer (beer is very high in carbs)

✔ Mix spirits with sugar-free mixers - soda water, a squeeze of lemon or lime

✔ Be aware that alcohol can stall weight loss even without the carbs

✔ Never drink on an empty stomach

Yes - black coffee is fully banting-approved! You can also add full-fat cream, a splash of full-fat milk, butter (bulletproof coffee is popular with banters) or a small amount of xylitol or erythritol if you prefer sweeter coffee. Just avoid sugar, sweetened syrups and plant-based milks with added sugar.

Browse the full sugar-free drinks collection: caringcandies.com/collections/thirst-quenchers