The ketogenic diet is known for its bountiful food restrictions, some of which by now you may already be familiar with.

In this article, we’re going to shift gears and focus only on drinks, what’s keto safe, and what is not.

Like food, it can be hard to know what drinks are good for us and which are packed with too many carbs, so let’s take a look!

Water Is Your Friend

Before diving into the variety of keto-friendly drinks, keep in mind that water is always a safe bet and should be the primary liquid for your body.

If you’re coming from a sugary-drink background filled with sodas, it may be challenging at first to make this lifestyle adjustment. However, you’ll be reaping many health benefits by doing so [1].

Additionally, staying properly hydrated on the keto diet is crucial. It can also help you fight cravings and fatigue, and even aid in digestion. So drink up!

Non-Alcoholic Drinks

1. Sodas

As already mentioned above, sodas are not your friend. Not on the ketogenic diet or any other. These sugary drinks normally contain enough carbs to put you over your daily limit, so ditch them!

While there are plenty of sugar-free soda alternatives, most contain unhealthy artificial sweeteners. It’s best to avoid these if you care about staying as natural as possible. These artificial sweeteners can also lead to more sugar cravings and even insulin spikes down the road.

If you feel those sugar cravings coming on, try satiating it with La Croix, which is zero-calorie flavored seltzer water.

Zelvia sodas are another great option and come in a variety of flavors. They’re sweetened only with stevia, which is a naturally occurring sweetener, and perfect for kicking those cravings to the curb!

2. Teas and coffee

Teas are a great option because they typically come with no carbs. Some safe and natural varieties include black tea, green tea, and herbal teas.

Coffee is also perfectly fine on the ketogenic diet and can even help if you’re trying to fast or if you’re new to ketosis. The issue lies in what people put in their coffee.

3. Milk

While milk isn’t zero-calorie, they can still be keto-friendly and provide some nutritional substance.

Just like the milk you can add to your coffee, stick with nut milk like coconut milk, almond milk, or hazelnut milk that aren’t sweetened.

You can even make your own nut milk easily by soaking your nuts of choice in water, then blending them up and squeezing it through a nut milk bag.

Note: If you decide to have dairy milk, make sure it’s full-fat dairy milk rather than a low-fat or reduced-fat variety. This is because milks with a lower fat content have more sugar per serving than whole milk.

Alcoholic Drinks

While you can get away with consuming some alcoholic drinks on the keto diet, it’s important to understand that in the end, alcohol is a toxin to your body.

Any form of alcohol can lower the production of ketones, so it’s best to avoid it altogether if possible.

With that said, you can certainly splurge and treat yourself to a drink from time to time, just do it right!

Remember that not all alcoholic drinks are created equal. The type of drink mixture you ingest and the specific sugar compound used is what will determine how your body reacts.

Always opt for hard liquor, as their sugars are converted to ethyl alcohol upon creation. This won’t affect blood sugar and insulin levels like other alcoholic beverages.

As you can see, it’s best to go for low-carb drinks like clear liquor and dry wines. If, on the other hand, you’re interested in quitting alcohol altogether, studies have even shown that a keto diet can suppress alcohol withdrawal [2].

Even if you’re able to maintain a state of ketosis despite ingesting some alcohol, it can still slow down weight loss. Having that delicious Apple Tini means your body will convert less fatty acids to ketones. Because of this, it’s best to avoid alcohol as much as possible on the keto diet.


Unlike foods that require much more variety and monitoring in order to stay healthy, all you really need to be drinking is good old fashioned H2O.

While you can get away with drinking non-water beverages, just be sure to keep track of the carbs in your drinks, and you’ll be fine.