Your Guide to Better Beverages That Actually Support Your Health

From seltzers to coffee creamers & energy drink swaps, we’re breaking down what to sip (and what to skip) to stay hydrated, energized, and inflammation-free

Welcome to the final part of our June Wellness Guide series, where we’ve been cutting through the wellness noise and breaking down “better-for-you” products that aren’t always what they claim to be.

If you missed the last ones, check them out here:

Your Guide to Spotting Fake “Healthy” Foods

Your Guide to Clean Dairy (and Dairy-Free) Swaps

Your Guide to Sneaky "Healthy" Condiments & Dressings

Your Guide to Fake 'Healthy' Snacks—and What to Choose Instead

Your Guide to Protein Snacks That Actually Make You Feel Good

On June 26th, we’re dropping a deep dive guide on better-for-you products that you can download to upgrade your wellness routine.

This isn’t just a list—it’s your go-to resource for cutting through the noise and finding truly clean, effective, and LFG-approved swaps across every category: snacks, condiments, drinks, pantry staples, and more.

✅ Curated with intention
✅ Designed to make implementation easy

Whether you’re new to wellness or already label-savvy, this guide will help you feel confident in the products you’re putting in your body. Subscribe so you don’t miss it!

Share LFG with five friends who are ready to feel their best—if they subscribe, you’ll all get free access to our Deep Dive Guide!

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Now let’s get into drinks🥤

Drinks are one of the biggest (and sneakiest) categories in the wellness industry.

From gut-boosting sodas to adaptogenic lattes, coffee creamers, energy drinks, and hydration mixes—the “healthy beverage” market is booming.

In fact, the global functional beverages market size was valued at $175.5 billion in 2022. It’s expected to hit $339.6 billion by 2030.

But here’s the problem: most of these drinks aren’t actually healthy.
They’re just cleverly marketed and can do way more harm than good.

Flip the label and you’ll often find a cocktail of added sugars, gums, “natural” flavors, emulsifiers, artificial sweeteners, and a cocktail of synthetic lab made ingredients —all packed into something that claims to support your gut, skin, or energy levels.

Quick Reminder: Skip the flashy labels—real food doesn’t need a marketing team.

📦 Buying something packaged? Flip it over. If you wouldn’t cook with the ingredients listed—or can’t pronounce them—don’t put it in your body.

✨ Rule of thumb: The louder the health claims ("gut-friendly," "high protein," "all natural," "sugar-free"), the more skeptical you should be.

Eat what’s grown, not engineered.
Ingredients > inventions.

This week’s guide is your go-to resource for decoding what’s really in your cup.

We’re breaking down some of the most popular wellness drinks—prebiotic sodas, electrolyte drinks, coffee creamers, and flavored seltzers—and sharing LFG-approved swaps that actually support your health goals.

Let’s clean up your sips—no fluff, no additives, no blood sugar crashes.

As always, we’ll break down exactly why these products aren’t LFG-approved. Keep reading to learn more—or scroll down to get straight to the better-for-you swaps!

🚨 LFG Drinks Guide: Watch Out For These Ingredients

Not all "healthy" drinks are what they seem. From “healthy” sodas to creamers and seltzers, here are the most common ingredients to watch out for—and why they don’t make the LFG cut.

🧪 Functional Drinks

1. Natural Flavors

Although labeled as “natural,” many natural flavors are still highly processed. While they may be derived from sources like fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices, under FDA regulations, the term “natural flavors” can include substances that have undergone extensive chemical processing, as well as processing aids such as solvents, carriers, and emulsifiers used during manufacturing. It may also include compounds that are chemically identical to those found in nature but produced through industrial processes. Despite the name, these ingredients are often far from truly natural or whole-food based.

2. Sucralose

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener made from real sugar through a chemical process that makes it 600 times sweeter and essentially calorie-free. Some studies suggest sucralose may disrupt the gut microbiome, contribute to inflammation, and potentially affect insulin and blood sugar.

3. Synthetic Vitamins

Many food products use synthetic vitamins and minerals, which aren’t always absorbed as effectively as those from real, whole-food sources. Even when food starts out nutritious, heavy processing often strips away natural vitamins and minerals. If nutrients have to be added back in, it’s a sign that the original health benefits were largely lost in the process.

4. Cane Sugar

Sugar consumption spikes blood sugar, drives inflammation and contributes to the development of nearly all chronic conditions.

5. Gums & Emulsifiers (xanthan gum, guar gum, cellulose gum, carrageenan, arabic gum)

Gums and emulsifiers are added to processed foods to emulsify, thicken, bind, and stabilize ingredients. While commonly used, they can irritate the gut and may lead to bloating, gas, and other digestive issues.

💦 Seltzer & Sparkling Water

1. PFAS (Forever Chemicals)

PFAS are a group of synthetic chemicals used in consumer and industrial products since the 1940s due to their water- and heat-resistant properties. They break down very slowly and can accumulate in the human body and environment over time. Exposure to certain PFAS has been linked to serious health issues, including hormonal disruption, immune suppression, developmental delays, and increased cancer risk.

2. Natural Flavors

Often lab-made and lacking in transparency.

3. Cane Sugar

We already know why this doesn’t make the cut.

☕️ Coffee & Creamers

1. Sugar

Sugar is sugar. Empty calories that drive blood sugar spikes and inflammation and contribute to nearly all chronic diseases.

2. Seed Oils

They’re highly refined, often derived from GMO crops, and rich in inflammatory omega-6 fats. Overconsumption of seed oils has been linked to chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and imbalances in the body’s omega-3 to omega-6 ratio—factors that may contribute to long-term metabolic and cardiovascular issues.

3. Natural Flavors

Same concerns apply—vague definitions and often chemically derived.

4. Gellan Gum

An additive used to bind, stabilize, or texturize processed foods. It can cause gastrointestinal effects like bloating, gas, and diarrhea.

5. Allulose

Allulose is a lower-glycemic sweetener that occurs naturally in small amounts in a few fruits, but the commercial version is highly processed. It may cause gastrointestinal symptoms like gas, bloating, diarrhea, and abdominal discomfort—especially when consumed in larger amounts.

6. Milk & Cream (conventional)

Non-organic and non-grass-fed dairy may contain hormones and antibiotics.

🧾 LFG Rule of Thumb:

If you can’t pronounce it, trace it, or digest it easily—it’s probably not LFG-approved.

⚡️FUNCTIONAL DRINKS

1. Gorgie Energy Drink - Advertising 5 calories, gluten-free, vegan, and non-GMO, this drink looks healthy—but it still contains natural flavors, which are highly processed and far from clean.

2. Celsius - markets “accelerated metabolism,” “essential energy,” and “fat burning” on the front—but flip it over and you’ll find it’s loaded with artificial sweeteners and synthetic additives.

3. Gatorade Thirst Quencher Fit - The front might boast zero sugar, 100% daily vitamins, low calorie, and loaded with electrolytes—but flip it over, and you’ll find processed additives and synthetic ingredients including synthetic vitamins, and “natural flavors” that make it definitely not LFG-approved.

4. Prime Hydration Sports Drink - Boasts zero added sugar, just 25 calories, and a dose of antioxidants and electrolytes—but flip it over and you’ll find cane sugar, gums, emulsifiers, natural flavors, and synthetic vitamins hiding in the mix.

1. Rishi Tea Sparkling Botanicals - Get a clean caffeine boost made with real, whole food–based ingredients—no junk, just natural energy.

2. Sound Clean Caffeinated Sparkling Water - No sweeteners (not even stevia), no “natural flavors,” and no synthetic additives—just light caffeine from real brewed tea and botanicals.

3. Mindfull Energy - Highly recommend this product—made with super clean ingredients. It’s a clean energy drink powered by ketones to support focus, mental clarity, and sustained energy.

4. Harmless Harvest Organic Coconut Water - Nature’s electrolytes—just organic coconut water.

💧 SELTZERS & SODAS

1. Polar Seltzer Water - You’d think these are clean—with zero calories and zero sugar—but they’re flavored with “natural flavors,” which often hide a cocktail of chemicals. Plus, studies have found PFAS (forever chemicals) in these drinks.

2. LaCroix Sparkling Water - Uses natural flavors & studies have found PFAS in these products.

3. Hint Flavored Water - Advertising zero calories and zero sugar but is essentially water with synthetic flavoring, packaged and priced like a health product.

4. Poppi Sparkling Prebiotic Soda - Despite the fun branding, Poppi is ultimately a processed product with few functional benefits beyond bubbly hydration. It doesn’t deliver the same gut support as whole-food sources of prebiotics and contains cane sugar and natural flavors.