What Can You Drink on the Keto Diet?

When your body is in ketosis, it is using fat as an energy source instead of glucose. Ketosis dieting has been used for decades and it was originally recommended as a treatment for epilepsy. It is well known for promoting fat loss and preventing cancer.  

It’s no wonder why so many people are raving about this! If properly followed, a ketogenic diet has a lot of great benefits. 

One of the things many keto dieters still question is what can you drink on the keto diet? Learn about the different types of keto-friendly beverages and which ones are best.

While there may be a lot of commercial options for you, you can also choose to make your own keto-friendly beverages. We will show you some examples of keto diet drinks to buy and make yourself. 

What Can You Drink on the Keto Diet? 

While it may be hard to choose what to consume as your keto drink alternatives, there actually are a lot of low-carb options to quench your thirst. They range from just plain water to diet sodas, smoothies, and even fruit-based drinks you can make yourself at home. 

Water 

Thirsty on a keto diet? Drink some more water! H2O is the most accessible drink on any diet. You can get water anywhere, just turn on a tap.  

If you don’t like drinking plain water, you can enhance it by adding some herbs or lemon juice to make it much tastier. 

If you’re having some keto flu symptoms, like headaches, add a sprinkle of salt to your water as well. 

Fizzy Drinks 

Keto drinks other than water that you can drink are sparkling water, seltzer, and club soda. These types of drinks generally have zero calories or carbs, but check the labels just in case. You can either drink them plain or add some flavors to make it taste better. 

Black Coffee 

Believe it or not, you can actually order keto-friendly drinks at Starbucks. There are multiple coffee choices available for you such as the plain black coffee, an Americano, and espresso which also has no carbs.  

You can also add some full-fat milk, almond, or coconut milk in your black coffee or cold brews that contribute to your fat and protein intake without the addition of too many carbs. 

Keto Smoothies 

Keto smoothies are drinks you can make yourself at home. Most of the time, the ingredients can include MCT oil, high-fat yogurt, low-carb nut milks, spinach, and many more just to name a few.  

You can make chocolate smoothies, vanilla smoothies, mocha smoothies, and many more with sugar-free flavorings. The possibilities are endless. Just make sure what you are adding in will fit with your macros and nutritional needs. 

Tea 

Are you a fan of tea? If you are, you can drink a variety of tea types while on keto. Black, green, herbal, and white teas are ideal.

If you need to add milk in your tea try using dairy alternatives like unsweetened coconut milk or almond milk. 

It’s better to keep your tea pure since it has zero carbs and studies claim its connection with health benefits such as anti-aging and metabolic benefits. You consume unflavored black tea, green tea, and herbal tea in abundance. 

This does not include commercially packaged iced teas as they usually contain added sugar. 

Selected Fruit Juices or Shakes 

Because most fruits are generally high in carbs and are not recommended on a keto diet, but there are some low carb fruits and foods you can use to make your own juice drinks.  

Examples include fruit-based drinks like avocado, cucumber, lemon, and blackberry. All of these have very low carb content or possibly none at all. Being rich with all sorts of vitamins, some keto-friendly fruits are a great source of nutrition. 

Bone Broth 

Bone broth aids in sustaining a healthy gut and restoring collagen count in your body. This is easy to make. All you have to do is simmer some bones in water, herbs, and spices. You can even buy bone broths that are ready to drink to save you some time.  

Beverages to Limit While on a Keto Diet 

Some people really love to drink their diet sodas and energy drinks. Aside from the variety of taste that they provide, many just cannot live without consuming these drinks as a source of energy.  

But when it comes to the question of ketogenic dieting, can you still drink diet soda? Can you still drink energy drinks? Let’s take a look. 

Diet Soda 

First of all, let’s look at what diet sodas are mainly comprised of. Since they are so-called “diet” sodas, they are actually completely free from carbohydrates and sugar and get their sweet taste from sugar substitutes.  

Substituting a regular soda with diet soda can actually help you decrease the amount of carbs you consume in your diet each day. The decrease is enough that it lets you stay within your keto diet carb range and you will remain in ketosis.  

Though to be more effective, you should definitely keep an eye on your daily carb intake to be careful not to go over your limit.  

Some examples of keto friendly diet soda include Diet Coke, Coke No Sugar, and other zero-calorie sodas that are compatible with the keto diet.  

One problem seen with diet sodas is that they contain artificial sweeteners that can have a laxative effect when consumed in excess.

They may also have a sweet tooth effect and can potentially boost your craving for sweet foods and drinks even further. 

So, technically, zero carb sodas are keto-friendly, but you may want to limit your intake and monitor the affect they have on you and your body. 

Energy Drinks 

How about energy drinks? Can you still consume them on a keto diet? Basically, for keto dieters, you are looking to consume something which has little or no sugar at all.  

So again, yes, you can actually drink energy drinks but make sure they are sugar-free energy drinks to avoid consuming excess carbs and being kicked out of ketosis.  

Some examples of keto energy drinks include Red Bull Sugarfree which has only 3 grams of carbs, Rockstar Sugar-Free which has zero carbs, and Monster Zero ultra which has zero sugar and zero calories. 

The same rules apply here as for diet sodas, so make sure you limit your intake and monitor how they affect you.

Alcohol 

Some alcoholic drinks are low-carb or even zero-carb, especially pure spirits like whiskey, gin, tequila, rum, and vodka. You can drink them straight or combine them with low-carb mixers for additional flavor.  

Beer is not recommended as it is usually high in carbs. Unless you are lucky to find a low carb offering near you. 

However, alcohol shouldn’t be part of your regular routine as it is empty calories, which means you are consuming excessive calories with little to no proteins, fibers, vitamins, and minerals.  

In fact, a study was able to show an association between two drinks per day and a significant weight gain. So if losing weight is your goal, it is best to avoid alcohol during this phase of your diet. 

If you are going to drink alcohol, make sure you are informed about the effects of alcohol on ketosis.

The variety of keto diet drinks to choose from here will surely help you enjoy your ketogenic diet even more. Basically, all you have to remember about keto beverages is that moderation matters! 

However, water, black coffee, and tea are exceptions to the rule as they can be drunk as much as you wish.  

Stay hydrated!