Is tonic water high in nitrites?

Watch for

• Quinine is a pharmacologically active compound, not just a bitter flavouring, which is why its level in beverages is capped by law (83 ppm in the US, 100 mg per litre in the EU) and why its presence has to be declared on the label.The classic overdose picture, cinchonism, means ringing ears, headache, nausea and blurred vision, and a normal mixer sits nowhere near it
• Quinine hypersensitivity does not follow dose.The medical literature contains cases of quinine-induced thrombocytopenia, showing up as unexplained bruising, pinpoint red spots or nosebleeds, traced back to tonic water and bitter lemon in people who were already sensitised. It is rare, but it is the reason the FDA has repeatedly warned against off-label prescription quinine
• Quinine interacts with other medicines, including anticoagulants, digoxin and drugs that affect heart rhythm.The amount in a mixer is usually far too small to matter, but it is worth mentioning to a prescriber if tonic is a daily habit
• Regular tonic is a soft drink first.It grades C for FODMAPs and C for excess fructose, and in the US it is commonly sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. Slimline and diet tonics cut the sugar but keep the quinine, so they solve the FODMAP question and not the quinine one
• Clean on the usual sensitivity axes: A for histamine, histamine liberation, salicylates, gluten, dairy protein, sulfites and glutamates.If a gin and tonic reliably bothers you, this page and the gin page are the two halves to test separately