Best and Worst Drinks for Your Health

Best choice: Water

Your body needs water. It helps prevent dehydration, kidney stones, and constipation. It’s also the best drink for your waistline because it has no calories. Add 1 to 3 cups to your daily diet, and you’ll consume less sugar, fat, salt and sodium. You could also lose up to 200 calories per day. Too plain? The flavour drops that are calorie-free sweeten, but they may contain artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. Instead, try a squeeze or two of citrus.

The Best Choice for Filtered Coffee

It’s no secret that coffee has been given a bad reputation, but recent studies have shown it can protect you against liver disease and type 2 diabetes. It may also lower your chances of developing heart disease. As long as you don’t overdo it on sugar and cream, three to five cups of coffee a day is healthy. If you are pregnant or nursing, consult your doctor about how much coffee to drink. You can brew it with a filter if you have high levels of cholesterol. This removes a substance known as cafestol, which can increase LDL cholesterol.

Best choice: Tea

Green, black and other types are rich in antioxidants that may help protect against certain cancers, stroke, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Unsweetened teas have fewer calories. The healthiest teas are those you make at home, whether you prefer it hot or cold. They don’t have the sugar that can be found in bottled tea.

Good Choice: Milk

This superfood is packed with nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D and potassium that keep your teeth, muscles and bones in good shape. A cup of it contains more protein than an egg. Look for low-fat or skim milk to get more nutrition with fewer calories. Nondairy Milk, such as Soy, Oat, Almond, and Others, have many of the same nutrients found in cow’s milk. However, the concentration is very low.

Soft Drinks

Sugar is the main ingredient. Drinking one or two per day can increase your calorie intake and weight. You are also more prone to type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Worst: Diet Soda

Diet sodas are low in calories, but they may not be a good substitute for regular sodas. Diet sodas are associated with health issues such as type 2 diabetes. Over time, artificial sweeteners in diet drinks may cause you to gain weight. If you want to switch from regular soda to water or other healthier drinks, you may find that diet versions are a great way to do it. After switching to diet sodas, you should try to limit how many diet drinks you drink each day.

Better Choice: Sparkling Water

You get a bit of fizz but without the sugar or calories. Beware of flavoured seltzers with added sugar. Remember that sparkling water is not the same as club soda, which contains sodium, or tonic water, which contains sodium and sugar.

Worst Energy Drinks

These products claim to boost your energy with large doses of caffeine – equivalent to four to five cups of coffee – and other ingredients such as guarana and B vitamins. Many contain a lot of sugar and sweeteners. Don’t be fooled by the claims of increased energy or strength. You might feel a slight boost in alertness, but it is not worth the risk. You will get too many calories and too much caffeine, and this can lead to anxiety, digestive problems, weird heart rhythms and other issues.

Sip Sparingly: Fruit Juice

The juice contains most of the vitamin content of the original fruit. All the fibre has been removed. Fructose, the natural sugar in juice, is what you will get without fibre. This adds extra calories to your daily diet without making you feel full. It’s fine to have a cup of juice without sugar with your breakfast or snack, but it is best for adults and children to consume the fruit whole. Add a few drops of water if you like the taste. Avoid juices that have added sugar.

Smoothies to be enjoyed sparingly

Smoothies are a great way to get more fruits and vegetables into your diet. The vitamins and fibre of the ingredients are also included. A typical one bought in the store has about 400 calories and 75 grams of sugar. Make them yourself and use fewer sweeteners, such as honey, flavoured yoghurt or agave.

Sports Drinks: Use sparingly

These drinks are ideal for athletes who need to replenish after a hard workout. They contain electrolytes and sugar. These drinks are not recommended unless you have just finished an hour-long sweat session. These beverages contain almost as much sugar per can as soda. Water is all your body needs to replenish itself.

Coconut Water: Drink sparingly

You’ll find it in the liquid that comes out when you crack open a coconut. It contains electrolytes and has less sugar than most sports drinks or fruit-flavoured juices. The nutrients can vary greatly from one brand to another. Water is enough to rehydrate you after all but the most exhausting of workouts. Some coconut water has added sugar. Check the label.

Wine: Drink sparingly

If you drink the right amount — especially red wine — it may help your heart and brain health and improve your sexual life. It may be because antioxidants such as resveratrol protect your cells against damage. Drinking too much alcohol — more than two glasses per day for men and one glass for women — can be harmful to your health.

Sip Sparingly: Beer

This is not a healthy beverage, but it can be a part of a healthy lifestyle. Moderate beer drinkers – 1 12-ounce beer per day for women and 2 for men – may have a lower risk of kidney stones than those who don’t drink. Know what you are drinking. Some beers have more calories and alcohol per volume than others. Stick to a light beer with about 100 calories if you are watching your weight.

Drink sparingly: Hard Seltzers and Canned Cocktails

If you like alcohol, you should consume hard seltzers in moderation. Cans of these or other cocktails are a great alternative to regular drinks. They tend to be lower in calories and carbs than mixed drinks or typical beers (about 90 to 110 calories per can). Check the sugar content. Sugar-free drinks usually contain fewer calories.

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