# Fever Tree Tonic



## Robin (Dec 15, 2015)

Just a note for the Christmas drinks season, on the 'how carb-free is my drink' subject.

I've just been out for our exercise class Christmas meal ( we did a class first to earn it!) and I asked for a gin and slimline tonic.  Our pub has changed hands recently, and I found out they now only do Fever Tree tonic. 

It's very nice, BUT, they served me the 'light' version, and when I looked on the back, it has 'naturally lower fruit sugars' in it, and is 4.8 carbs per 100ml, and comes in a 200ml bottle. So for me, that's a whole unit of insulin required. That's slightly more than half the carbs of their full sugar version, which is 9 carbs per 100ml and they don't do one with artificial sweetener.

It's Ok for me, I can just notch up the insulin, but for anyone relying on low carbing for their control, watch out!


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## Northerner (Dec 15, 2015)

Thanks for the warning Robin! 'naturally lower fruit sugars'  - marketing guff!


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## robert@fm (Dec 15, 2015)

Once again, we have the Appeal to Nature fallacy.  Maybe they should also add natural cyanide (as found in almonds, especially bitter ones). Also, I would like to know what "lower fruit sugars" is supposed to mean, if anything -- surely sugar is sugar. 

(There was once a case of cyanide poisoning which, on investigation, turned out to be because the victim finally opened a bottle of almond liqueur he'd had for some 20 years, and poured himself a glass without shaking the bottle first; the almond oil had risen to the top, accumulating a fatal dose. Dorothy L. Sayers wrote a fictionalised account of this incident.)


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## Vicsetter (Dec 16, 2015)

The label on the Light Tonic 200ml says 3.8g carbs of which sugar 2.9g and it is Fructose syrup (not sure where from) and it is supposed to avid the aftertaste of artificial sweeteners!.  Fever-Tree is named Best Selling and Top Trending Tonic Water and supposed to be the 'mixer of choice for the modern drinker!!'

To be fair it is not aimed at diabetics, You'd better change pub or switch to rum and diet coke.


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## Robin (Dec 16, 2015)

Vicsetter said:


> The label on the Light Tonic 200ml says 3.8g carbs of which sugar 2.9g and it is Fructose syrup (not sure where from) and it is supposed to avid the aftertaste of artificial sweeteners!.  Fever-Tree is named Best Selling and Top Trending Tonic Water and supposed to be the 'mixer of choice for the modern drinker!!'
> 
> To be fair it is not aimed at diabetics, You'd better change pub or switch to rum and diet coke.


I must say, it is really nice, doesn't have the artificially sweetened aftertaste, and I have the option to dial up a bit more insulin. I was just surprised how much carb the 'light' still had in it.
Rum and Coke? Yuk!!


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## robert@fm (Dec 16, 2015)

Vicsetter said:


> Fever-Tree is named Best Selling and Top Trending Tonic Water and supposed to be the 'mixer of choice for the modern drinker!!'


Translation: It's gentrified rubbish.


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## HOBIE (Dec 16, 2015)

Well spotted Robin !


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## DeusXM (Dec 17, 2015)

The other option (which I'm surprised no-one's mentioned yet) is to simply have a gin and tonic with a bit less tonic and a bit more gin...


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## Vicsetter (Dec 17, 2015)

Just wondered what happens when you have gin and fever-tree tonic.  The alcohol affects the actions of the liver and at the same time the liver is converting the fructose into glucose (or fat).  Does the alcohol affect the processing of the fructose?
I will add that having only just bought some fever-tree tonic and tried it last night with some small batch Scottish gin I was surprised at the difference to my normal Bombay Sapphire Gin and slimline tonic.

I should also point out that a slice of lemon is 2.6g carbs, so watch out for that.  Also watch out for those liqueurs, they are vary high in carbs (limoncello - 11g in one 30ml shot for instance)


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## Robin (Dec 17, 2015)

Or does the fructose affect the processing of the alcohol? I think the only thing to do is to conduct some personal research over Christmas, G and T in one hand, glucose meter in the other.


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