A viral sugar-free drink has helped me kick my daily Coca-Cola habit — and it even helps me SLEEP

The Sun

2 days ago

WHAT do Sophie Habboo and I have in common?
Usually, not much apart from a soft spot for Jamie Laing — but it turns out we both love the same soft drink.
The drink in question is TRIP's brand-new Wild Strawberry flavour, which has helped me kick my daily afternoon habit of drinking a can of Coke.
Save up to 55% on Trip Wild Strawberry with code SUMMER55
BUY HERE
For the most part, I'm a pretty healthy person — I cook every night, squeeze in 10,000 steps per day, and try to limit my drinking to the weekend (with varying levels of success).
But the one thing I can't seem to kick is sugar.
Despite multiple attempts, I still have two sugars in my tea, and I'll die on the hill that Diet Coke tastes like carbonated misery.
So I opened my multipack of TRIP's new flavour with my fingers crossed.
Trip Wild Strawberry: Quickfire Q&A
How much is TRIP Wild Strawberry? Usually, £2 per can. However, thanks to a subscription sale, you can get it for £1 to £1.50 per can, depending on how much you buy. You can get an extra 10% off using the code SUMMER55.
Who's it best for? People hunting for a satisfying soft drink with added health benefits.
What we loved: It's a really nice-tasting soft drink, and I do feel like I experienced some of its claimed benefits — although that could just be the placebo effect.
What we didn't: It's quite pricey if you pay full whack.
I've tried and enjoyed TRIP's CBD-infused drinks before, but there's still something that feels slightly odd about drinking a CBD drink at your desk at 3pm.
The new Wild Strawberry flavour is one of TRIPs "Mindful Blends", and has been designed in collaboration with Calm, the "world's #1 app for sleep, meditation and relaxation". Buying a can of the new flavour gets you a free 3-month subscription to the app.
Upon the release, the drink quickly went viral, becoming the best-selling drink on TikTok shop, but is it worth the hype?
3
Does it work?
The drink itself contains a "proprietary blend" of magnesium and lion's mane mushrooms that TRIP claims took 15 months to create.
(The R&D team must have taken a lot of tea breaks to take 15 months to come up with a combination of two pretty well-known ingredients, but hey ho).
The effect, TRIP claims, should be an enhanced "feeling of well-being".
That checks out; there are peer-reviewed studies stating that there is "suggestive evidence" that magnesium supplements have a beneficial effect on mild anxiety, and that it may enhance the brain's ability to deal with stress.
Magnesium deficiency is widespread among adults in the UK. In fact, most British adults don't get enough of the mineral, and even a mild deficiency can lead to tiredness, sleep issues and mood changes.
One can of the Mindful Blend contains a third of your daily magnesium requirement, which might be the difference between meeting your quota and not.
Lion's mane, meanwhile, has been linked to improved cognitive function and even a reduction in levels of irritation.
I'd say that the effect is subtle — so subtle that I wouldn't have even noticed it if I wasn't looking for it.
I tend to drink them at around 2pm or 3pm, and I do think that, especially in the evenings, I feel more relaxed and calm.
I also saw a significant improvement in my sleep score after starting to drink the TRIP Mindful Blend; the first night I tried it, my sleep score from my Ultrahuman Ring was 78 — my usual score is in the mid 60s.
This could be pure coincidence, but the magnesium and lion's mane can't have hurt.
Do they taste good?
3
BUY HERE
I'm always a bit wary of strawberry -flavoured things, especially drinks.
I'm a firm believer that British strawberries at their best are one of the best fruits on earth.
Part of the reason for that — and I'll be careful not to get too bogged down in the science here — is that strawberries contain a complex combination of hundreds of flavour compounds.
That makes their flavour much harder to replicate than, say, an apple or banana.
The upshot is that strawberry-flavoured things just end up tasting bubblegum-sweet, and you never get any of the tart or green elements of the real thing.
I'm not exactly saying that Trip has done a Michelin-star job of replicating the beauty of the first strawberry of summer.
However, it's at least managed to dodge the trapdoor that most companies fall into — this isn't overly sweet.
It's sweet enough to feel like a proper soft drink — this is an issue I've had with a couple of other TRIP flavours, which taste a bit too... healthy.
But there's also a nice amount of tartness, which makes it feel nice and grown-up.
Its main flavour ingredient is "fermented grape juice" (which it turns out, unfortunately, isn't wine), which I imagine contributes to that nice tanginess.
Are they healthy?
3
Save up to 55% on Trip Wild Strawberry with code SUMMER55
BUY HERE
Compared to the can of Coke I was drinking previously? Certainly.
TRIP Wild Strawberry is low in both sugar and calories, instead using artificial sweeteners erythritol and stevia. These are low-calorie, and they also don't spike your blood sugar.
Per 250ml can, there are around 23 calories and 4g of sugar.
TRIP also uses natural flavourings like lemon balm and chamomile, as well as real fruit juices (fermented grape, strawberry, lemon and sour cherry).
However, these juices only make up a small fraction of the drink's volume, so you're unlikely to reap too many benefits when it comes to vitamins — it's more of a flavoured sparkling water than a traditional soft drink.