Flavored waters are a fun way to spice up your life if you’re like me and mostly drink water. They aren’t a free pass though. You want to look for flavored waters without artificial sweeteners and other unnecessary additives.
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There are many types of flavored waters, so this post will look at several categories including the healthiest basic flavored waters, flavored sparkling water, flavored electrolyte water and flavored water powder/packets.
All waters discussed in this post are free of artificial sweeteners, flavors, dyes, caffeine and sugar (99% anyways).
What is the Healthiest Way to Flavor Your Water?
The DIY method is likely best assuming you have high quality filtered water, because it’s cheap and you know what you are getting as far as ingredients go. Infusers are one way to make DIY flavored water, but you definitely don’t have to have one.
We just use our Anchor Hocking pitcher. If you want something specifically for this purpose, Hario, a trusted Japanese brand, offers several pitchers and cold brew teapots that work beautifully for making your own infused water at home.
Is Store-Bought Flavored Water Healthy?
If you’re giving up soda or another sugary beverage, it’s definitely a healthier choice. If you are only drinking plain water or homemade flavored water (with lemon or fruit) then it’s likely about the same assuming you choose a good one.
If the beverage tastes sweet, whether it’s sweetened with sugar or a zero-calorie sweetener, studies tell us the sweet taste can lead us to eat more, so be careful there.
You also want to consider the container. Plastic water bottles almost always contain microplastics. This goes for any beverage that is in a plastic bottle.
Aluminum cans aren’t perfect either as they often contain BPA. Glass is best but is more expensive and less convenient.
Does Sparkling Water Contain PFAS?
A 2020 study showed that some bottled waters, particularly sparkling waters, contain high levels of PFAS. Among biggest offenders for PFAS were Tourmaline Spring Water, Polar Natural Seltzer and Topo Chico Mineral Water.
PFAS are forever chemicals that occur during processing. The good news is that since the findings, some companies are now working to eliminate or reduce PFAS from their products.
Is Flavored Water Bad for Your Teeth?
Some flavored water contains citric acid as a preservative, which is bad for your teeth. One a day is likely no big deal, but if you drink it around the clock, it could take a toll on your teeth.
Many flavored waters do not contain citric acid though, so if teeth are a concern, definitely check the ingredient label.
Which Flavored Waters Don’t Have Artificial Sweeteners?
There are quite a few flavored waters without artificial sweeteners! Most canned sparkling waters like Bubbly, La Croix, Waterloo and Spindrift are free of artificial sweeteners.
If you wish to avoid artificial flavors, you’ll want to skip Nestle Splash, Sparkling Ice, Propel, Crystal Light, etc. to name a few. Most of these contain sucralose, which I personally avoid due to negative effects on the gut microbiome.
The Crystal Light varieties contain aspartame, which some believe can raise a person’s cancer risk among other suspected negative effects.
Is There a Flavored Water Without Artificial flavors?
Yes, most water contains “natural flavors,” which are favorable to artificial flavors but not perfect. It’s hard to know what is in “natural flavors” as it’s a blanket term that covers up to 100 ingredients.
That being said, the actual flavor like “strawberry” is preferred to “natural flavors,” but there are very few brands who go the extra mile and use only the actual fruit extract. I’ll highlight those brands within this post.
Flavored Water with No Artificial Sweeteners
This category will look at your basic flavored waters (not sparkling) that are free of artificial sweeteners. It’s a short list :).
Hint
Hint is simply water and natural flavors. It comes in a variety of flavors including watermelon, blackberry, blueberry lemon and strawberry lemon. Hint is kind of in a category of its own. There may be some grocery store brand knock offs, but there aren’t really any other big brands in this category.
Sparkling Flavored Waters Without Artificial Sweeteners
Flavored sparkling waters, on the other hand, is a huge category! The good news is that most of the canned sparkling waters like AHA, La Croix, Bubbly, Spindrift and Waterloo only contain carbonated water and natural flavors.
However, there are two sparkling water brands that deserve an additional spotlight though: Spindrift and Waterloo.
Spindrift
Spindrift puts actual fruit in their formula rather than the blanket term “natural flavors.” This means you don’t have to wonder which of the 100 ingredients that can makeup “natural flavors” are in your drink.
Their can liners are BPA-NI, which stands for BPA-not intended. You’ll pay a little more for the real fruit, but it’s not too steep if you buy the large packs.
Waterloo
Waterloo contains non-GMO verified “natural flavors” and comes in a BPA-free can. This happens to be one of my favorite sparkling water brands with grape and peach being my top flavor picks, but I can’t say I’ve tried one that I didn’t like!
Enhanced Flavored Waters Without Artificial Sweeteners
Core
Core water contains no sweeteners and comes in three options: Calm Cucumber, Immunity Lemon and Vibrance Pink Grapefruit. Each water has a different vibe. The Calm Cucumber contains magnesium and l-theanine to chill you out, for example.
Core waters come in BPA-free recycled plastic bottles.
Vitamin Water Zero Sugar
Vitamin Water Zero Sugar is a sugar free alternative to traditional Vitamin Water, since it is stevia leaf extract and sugar alcohol sweetened. It is naturally flavored as well and contains a long list of vitamins.
Vitamin Water Zero contains two types of sugar alcohol: erythritol and sorbitol, which can cause bloating in excess. It also contains several additives like citric acid, gum acacia, phosphoric acid and glycerol ester of rosin as well so keep in mind it’s a bit more than just water.
Bai
I can’t decide is Bai belongs in a flavored water post, but it didn’t quite fit into my related sports drink post either, so we’ll talk about it. Bai is coconut water, and it’s free of artificial flavors and sweeteners. It is sweetened with erythritol, sugar alcohol and stevia leaf extract.
We were gifted a pack of these, and I must say they were delicious! My kids liked most of the flavors but not all. I, on the other hand, enjoyed them all.
Flavored Water Packets Without Artificial Sweeteners
True and True Kids
True and True Kids are my go-tos in this category. These packets are stevia sweetened and delish IMHO. They are very affordable and widely available also. My kiddos use these several times per week.
One of my favorite things to do with these packets is make my Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) drink. I add 1TB of ACV to a glass of water with half of a True packet for a refreshing healthy drink. It also comes in handy to mix with my powder probiotic, which doesn’t taste so great plain.
True and True Kids come in many flavors. My personal favorite is the strawberry lemonade, which is simple but good. My daughter prefers the original lemonade flavor. Sometimes less is more, right?
Electrolyte Enhanced Flavored Water Packets Without Artificial Sweeteners
LMNT
LMNT is an artificial sweetener and flavor free electrolyte mix. It was created by former research biochemist and 2X New York Times/Wall Street Journal Best-selling author Robb Wolf. It comes highly rated on Amazon, so I suspect it probably tastes pretty good.
I have recently noticed that LMNT is quite popular with several functional medicine gurus I follow, which is always an excellent sign.
Nunn Sport Powder
Nunn Sport is another flavored water that is enhanced with electrolytes, vitamin B12 and vitamin C. It comes in tablet or powder form and is free of artificial sweeteners and flavors. It contains one gram of added sugar in the form of dextrose.
I haven’t tried these, so I can’t speak to taste, but if you are looking for a vitamin-enhanced water this could be a nice choice. 1 gram of sugar is much, much better than, say, traditional Gatorade. I would also think the tablets offer a convenience factor.
Conclusion
While making flavored water at home is usually the healthiest option, it’s nice to have some healthy store-bought flavored waters that you can feel good about buying too. Hopefully, some of these flavored water options will resonate with you.
Happy hydrating!
