Finding Beverages that are Low in Sugar.

Watching how much sugar you are consuming can be difficult. You try your best to watch what you eat but after a while it can leave you feeling bored, especially when it comes to what you're drinking. Even though water is the best thing for you to drink, there are other healthy options that are moderately low in sugar. Everything on the list below has 14 grams or less per serving of sugar, but you do have to watch the serving size since many of these drinks contain two or more servings per container.

1. Suja Juices. I think that Suja brand juices are pretty awesome. Suja brand juices are cold pressed which is great for two reasons. The first is that the juice is not heated at all during processing which means that it will contain those beneficial enzymes necessary for daily life. The second is that cold pressed juice contains more vitamins and minerals than juice that isn't because of the efficency of extracting the nectar from the pulp and fiber. Cold pressed juice is the method that most juiceries use, whereas the typical juice you get off of your grocery store shelf is not cold pressed. Word of caution: Not all Suja juices are low in sugar, in fact many of them are extremly high. The following have 14 grams or less per serving of sugar: Suja Classics: Fiji, Glow, Lemon Love, Purify, Spark, Twelve Essentials, Vanilla Cloud; Suja Elements: Macachino and Power Greens; Suja Essentials: Uber Greens and Mighty Greens. Even though many of their other juices contain as much as 30 or 40+ grams of sugar per serving, I think that the benefits outweigh the sugar content in this instance and if you choose to consume one every once in a great while, it's perfectly fine.

2. Kombucha. Agh, kombucha. You are hands down my number one favorite drink on the planet! Kombucha is made from fermented tea and usually has anywhere from a slight vinegar taste to a bold vinegar taste. It is because of this vinegar taste that most people either love it or hate it. Because of it's natural tendency to be carbonated, I actually found it to be a great substitute for soda. Due to the fact that it is a raw fermented food product, kombucha provides probiotics and enzymes which are good for digestion and overall health. Most kombucha's have no more than 12 grams of sugar per serving. Usually the more vinegary it tastes, the lower in sugar it is. GT's kombucha is usually around 4 grams per serving.

3. Coconut Water. Most everyone on the planet has heard of coconut water and it seems to be similar to kombucha in that most people either love it or hate it. A big thing to remember about coconut water is that they all taste very different. The first time I tried coconut water, I thought it was disgusting and refused to try it again until a year later when someone convinced me to try a different brand. The results? I loved it, I had no idea that the taste could very so much from brand to brand. Coconut water is beneficial for you because it is high in electrolytes which aid in hydration and reducing blood pressure. It's fiber content also help with digestion issues. In the summertime I find myself frequently going for the coconut water over regular water if I'm going to be outside for a long period of time. Most coconut water has no more than 12 grams of sugar per serving.

4. Dr. Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar Drink. Dr. Braggs apple cider vinegar products are raw and unfermented. As you probably guessed, yes they are also going to contain probiotics and enzymed because of the raw fermentation but apple cider vinegar is also good for many other reasons too. Raw, fermented apple cider vinegar regulates the bodies PH levels which can help with everything from weightloss to candida and from UTI's to reducing heartburn. When I remember, I try to take a shot daily but since raw apple cider vinegar doesnt taste too great, Dr. Bragg's came up with a line of drinks that contain the raw apple cider vinegar along with other juices and flavors to take the edge off. Their juices don't contain more than 5 grams of sugar per serving, except for their Apple Cider Vinegar and Honey drink which contains 13 grams of sugar per serving.

5. Vertical Water. Vetical Water is a pretty unique and interesting product that is fairly new to me. Vertical water is a brand of maple water and maple water is simply the maple sap that is the raw material for maple syrup which is made by boiling down the sap for several hours. Essentially maple syrup is maple water concentrate. Now, depending on the type of maple water you get, it may taste exactly like regular water or it may have more of a maple flavor. Maple water is higher in mineral content than regular water, which is beneficial because most of us are mineral deficient due to our modern diets. Vertical water has 3 grams of sugar per serving.

6. Iced Tea or Hot Tea. Tea is the most simple drink you can make or buy. You can buy bottled unsweetened organic tea or you can make you own with whatever herbal infusions you want. The same goes for hot tea, you can make up your own healthy concoctions plus unless you choose to add sugar, tea is naturally sugar free.

Trying to watch how much sugar is in your diet can be hard and not always fun. Even though water should be your primary beverage of choice, consuming something different a few times a week can be a nice change, and consuming something thats not going to wreak havoic on your health is even better.