Is CRYSTAL LIGHT Bad for You? (Ingredients & Alternatives)

Crystal Light is a convenient way to flavor your water, but is it bad for you?  We outline the ingredients, calories, and alternatives here, as well as, share whether or not Crystal Light is keto-friendly. 

Crystal Light & Weight Loss

We started drinking Crystal Light when we were trying to lose weight. They helped us get off regular Cokes and juices which contains a lot of calories and sugars.

While most flavors only contain about 5 calories per glass, it also isn’t full of nutrition either.

Crystal Light Flavors

There are at least 35 Crystal Light flavors. They include Peach Mango, Wild Strawberry, Berry Sangria, and Lemonade. Some flavors contain caffeine and others are labeled as “Pure” because of the change in ingredients. We’ll look at Pure below too.

Crystal Light Ingredients

Because there are several different flavors, the ingredients will vary from flavor to flavor. With that said, you should expect the following ingredients to be in many of the flavors.

Citric Acid, Potassium Citrate, Maltodextrin, Aspartame*, Magnesium Oxide, Contains Less Than 2% Of Natural flavor, Acesulfame Potassium, Soy Lecithin, Artificial Color, Red40. *phenylketonurics: Contains Phenylalanine

Both the aspartame and artificial colors raise red flags for most people in the health and wellness industry. With that said, the FDA has said both are safe to consume. However, keep in mind that even cigarettes were once deemed as acceptable. Some research does show that both ingredients could be possibly dangerous.

What is Crystal Light sweetened with?

The original Crystal Light is sweetened with aspartame and acesulfame potassium. Some of the newer flavors, including Pure are sweetened with Truvia.

You may also find certain flavors are sweetened with sucralose or cane sugar as well.

Is Crystal Light Keto Friendly?

In terms of calories and carbs, most flavors of Crystal Light are keto-friendly. You will want to check the nutritional label though because some flavors are sweetened with differently.

Crystal Light Pure

Just a few years ago, Crystal Light Pure came onto the market. Our guess is because people started to worry about the aspartame and wanted something new.

With that said, Pure still contains ingredients not naturally found in nature.

It’s “naturally-sweetened” with sugar and Truvia (sugar from a Stevia plant). The artificial dyes now come from nature in these as well.

They are about 15 calories per serving so a little more than the original. This is due to the change in sweeteners.

Crystal Light Pure Ingredients

Their Pure Lemonade contains:

Sugar, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Stevia Leaf Extract (Sweetener), Contains Less Than 2% Of Natural Flavor, Magnesium Oxide, Soy Lecithin, Turmeric Oleoresin (For Color)

Is Crystal Light Gluten Free?

Some flavors are labeled gluten-free, but they aren’t all.

Is Crystal Light Bad for You?

While Crystal Light is low-calorie and many flavors are 0 carbs, it is also full of artificial ingredients that don’t offer any nutritional benefits like aspartame. Aspartame’s side effects include headaches, anxiety, depression, nausea, weight gain, heart palpitations and irritable bowel syndrome. (Source)

Since it has no health benefits, why not swap it for another drink?

Some of our favorites are::

1. Water
2. Infused water
3. Green tea
4. Black tea
5. Coffee
6. La Croix or sparkling water
7. Zevia
8. Coffee

For us, we love to follow the 80/20 Rule with everything we eat and drink.

So 80% of the time we’ll grab a water. 20% of the time it may be a Coke Zero, Crystal Light or a glass of vino. That’s what works for us.

If you’re looking for something “cleaner” – check out our Clean Eating Guide.

On this plan, you’ll be consuming only whole, “clean” foods that either come from the Earth (veggies, fruits, nuts) or have a mother (meats, eggs, fish).

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