# What can I drink in the summer that is 'healthy' **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** liquor-alcohol, beer\ **Created:** [May 10, 2024, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330 "2024-05-10T02:45:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SOJA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@SOJA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SOJA)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/1 "2024-05-10T02:45:30Z")
Rocking into my mid and soon late 30s now I’ve cut way back on drinking throughout the year. More than a handful drinks will leave me feeling miserable in the days following no matter how much water and IDK Gatorade or similar drinks I consume to get salts and whatnot back in order. I’m a lot healthier now than I was back in say 2010. I don’t have the same sweet tooth I did then or younger, so I can’t do that sweet tea stuff half this country seems to like. I tried the real stuff a few times in the south, not restaurant made but strong homemade stuff and it was not for me. Even a bottle of Pure Leaf sweetened tea is too sweet. But I like iced tea. I’m just stuck around the crappy Lipton gallon bags and a slice of citrus or something. Most summers for the past 10 years I’d spend drinking beer or vodka sodas or gin sodas. Water gets boring after a while and I hate those artificially flavored water enhancers. Last summer was sort of mild, but most summers hit triple digits days at a time. You’d think I live in the desert but I live about 15-20 miles inland from the coast. Hot in the day, hot and humid at night due to the onshore flow. It sucks. On days I work from home during the summer I’ve got a 50 oz thermal jug set up next to me with a thermal cap and thin long straw because the giant straw it came with is like sticking a hose in your mouth and turning the tap on. And then a 30 oz thermal mug or whatever. I only use these for water or a seltzer drink. I’m ok with stevia as a sweetener. Anything else like fancy sugar alcohols are annoying to buy and pricy, even when bought at Costco, and stuff like splenda tastes disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/2 "2024-05-10T02:51:19Z")
Water.squirt lime into it. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/3 "2024-05-10T02:53:16Z")
Says: > [@SOJA](#): > > Water gets boring after a while and I hate those artificially flavored water enhancers. Lemonade? Arnold Palmers? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/4 "2024-05-10T03:01:37Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Arnold Palmers? I think Arnold Palmers would be a good choice. Fruit juice is great but lots of sugar. An Arnold Palmer helps mitigate that a little and is delicious (I think). If the OP wants to get a little more fancy look into mocktails (non-alcoholic cocktails). Below is a link to a website with several recipes but you can find loads more with a Google search. I’ll leave it to you to decide which are “healthy.” > **[Brilliant Non-Alcoholic Cocktails Everyone Loves](https://www.101cookbooks.com/nonalcoholic-cocktails/)** > > Non-alcoholic cocktails don't have to be a bummer. Play around with aqua frescas, shrubs, kombuchas, and fresh fruit syrups. All can be fun components in booze-free drinks like these. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/5 "2024-05-10T03:03:12Z")
And if you’re making the tea and mixing the drink yourself, you are fully in control of the sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/6 "2024-05-10T03:05:35Z")
Learn to love water. It’s your best bet. Lime or lemon wedge, ok. But watch your teeth enamel with that much liquid. There are vinegar drinks people swear by. Same with teeth enamel. I’m on limited liquid intake. I eat ice chips during the summer. It helps. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/7 "2024-05-10T03:14:07Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > But watch your teeth enamel with that much liquid. Drinking water ruins tooth enamel? Even if it has fluoride in it? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/8 "2024-05-10T03:27:02Z")
Most of what I drink is plain water or regular tea (no milk or sugar). But we have a 16 litre box of el cheapo red wine and so sometimes I mix some water and wine together to give the water a bit of flavour. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/9 "2024-05-10T03:31:34Z")
An old barman trick, at least in this part of the world: water with a dash of [Angostura](https://angosturabitters.com/) bitters, optionally a slice of lemon. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/10 "2024-05-10T03:59:47Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > water with a dash of [Angostura](https://angosturabitters.com/) bitters It is worth noting that Angostura bitters has alcohol (40-50% ABV I think). That said, a little goes a long way so I doubt a dash or two in a glass of water will affect most people but, if you are a person who avoids all alcohol then don’t use that. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/11 "2024-05-10T04:14:35Z")
Citrus. If the volume of drink she’s consuming. That would be lots of citrus. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/12 "2024-05-10T04:51:12Z")
Iced tea. With or without lemon. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/13 "2024-05-10T05:49:08Z")
Read the OP. They had a whole paragraph about iced tea. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/14 "2024-05-10T06:12:11Z")
I don’t obsess about “healthy”. In the summer, I’m interested in “thirst-quenching”. You can’t go wrong with chilled spring water (or to avoid yet another debate about bottled spring water, let’s just say the equivalent well-filtered clean water). For me, other alternatives are iced tea (I drink both the kind with sugar and the diet kind). And fruit juices – for me, peach and apple. Those looking for minimal additives would be impressed by the ingredients label of my brand of apple juice: “Ingredients: apple juice”. And there’s nothing better on a hot summer day than cold pink lemonade – I don’t know if the ingredients are universally consistent, but in the stuff I buy, the “pink” refers to added raspberry juice, and the combination of lemonade and raspberry is evocative of summer itself! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/15 "2024-05-10T06:14:05Z")
> [@SOJA](#): > > Water gets boring after a while and I hate those artificially flavored water enhancers. I like flavored water. What I don’t like is sweet flavored water. And getting uncarbonated unsweetened flavored water is difficult. I have two choices; Wegmans (which is only available in the parts of the country where Wegmans operates) and Hint (which is good but over-priced). ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/16 "2024-05-10T11:30:32Z")
Water is your best bet. Make sure you’re drinking decent water. Too often, the stuff coming out of the tap is vile. Depending on the region where you live, tap water can be loaded with minerals. I personally detest mineral water. I drink water, a lot of it. And I buy bottled water. I try to be responsible and recycle the bottles. If you are truly bored with plain water, make ice cubes. Get an ice tray, and in each little square, put a bit of citrus zest–orange, lemon, lime, tangerine, grapefruit. Or put sprigs of mint in the squares. Even basil is nice. One or two thin slices of strawberry, or a curl of cucumber peel can be refreshing Take a tour of the tea aisle in the market. There’s a whole world of herbal teas that are caffeine-free. You can make ice cubes from fresh-brewed herbal tea, and then just pop two or three cubes in a glass. So refreshing! But the bottom line is water. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/17 "2024-05-10T11:32:16Z")
I love fresh lemon squeezed into a glass of cold, pure water with nothing else added. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/18 "2024-05-10T11:33:32Z")
I also enjoy water with a dash of lemon juice. No other sugar or sweetener. But i never seen my tea, either. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/19 "2024-05-10T11:56:14Z")
I was also going to recommend Arnold Palmer. I started out buying the Arizona brand stuff in gallon jugs, but some friends told me they make theirs by mixing Crystal Light powdered lemonade and iced tea. It’s much cheaper, easier to carry and store, and no plastic waste. The flavor is different, and some might say not as good as Arizona, but I’ve gotten used to it. I drink one or two glasses a day. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330/20 "2024-05-10T15:41:01Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > I drink water, a lot of it. And I buy bottled water. I try to be responsible and recycle the bottles. > [@Old bottled water -- wow!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-bottled-water-wow/1001141/5): > > [[Plastics Industry Insiders Reveal the Truth About Recycling | "Plastic Wars" | FRONTLINE + NPR] ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfrN-P2VCIk) A manufacturer can claim to be using “recycled” plastic by using even a fraction of a percent of recycled materials, and even if these are “recycled” from leftover sprue that was never incorporated into manufactured products. The polyethylene terephthalate (PET) used in beverage bottles, among many other applications, will break down by both exposure to ultraviolet radiation and hydro… Stranger [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-drink-in-the-summer-that-is-healthy/1001330.md?page=2)