Best and worst beverages for your health

When it comes to beverages, the most common mistakes we make are the following:

• We don't drink enough WATER: if you drink less than 6 cups per day, there is a good chance you are not getting enough.
• We don't know what's in our drinks: ingredients, sugar, calories.
• We drink mindlessly: while driving, walking, working, etc.
• We don't take drinks into consideration when evaluating our nutritional intake: we end up swallowing plenty of unnecessary energy, which, of course, will be stored as fat!

Starting from those observations, how can we improve?

What's the best beverage for our body?

Well, it's pretty straightforward. The best beverage for our health is water. No coconut water, no vitamin water, no electrolyte water, just plain tap water (unless your water system has been contaminated and in that case, you might consider bottled water).

We all have different needs when it comes to water, depending on our age, gender, level of physical activity, the amount of water we get from our food, the climate we live in, etc. I won't tell you how much water you need to drink, because it's very specific to each person. Yet, if you have no clue what a reasonable amount of water is for you, you can start with the following plan:

• a cup of water right when you wake up;
• some water after every bathroom break;
• some water before each meal;
• a bit of water before you go to bed.

This should amount to about 6 to 8 cups per day. Of course, if you are thirsty in-between, drink! Thirst is a great indicator that you are not getting enough water :-). And if you workout, drink extra water too!

If you are still in doubt, here is another way to assess your hydration level. If you pee almost clear, you probably drink too much water. If you pee dark yellow, you are not drinking enough water. Yep, it's that easy! No need to get all fancy, scientific, and complicated!

Which beverage is the worst for our health?

Some will tell you it's coffee, others will tell you it's soda, and many will tell you it's alcohol. In my opinion, the worst beverage is the one you are drinking mindlessly. Out of habit, without enjoying it, and without being aware of what you are actually gulping down.

Soda?

I would like to give you just a little more information about soft drinks. If you take a look at the food label on your favorite pop cans, you might notice that many of them contain added fructose. Natural fructose, which you find in fruit, together with fiber, is good for you. Unless of course, you overdo it. Nothing is healthy when we overdo it. But added fructose is very damaging to your liver. Regular consumption of fructose-containing beverages is a cause of fatty liver in patients without risk factors, according to a study published in the US National Library of Medicine. Considering that fatty liver is the second leading indication for liver transplantation in the US, it is quite scary, isn't it?

I am not saying that soda is the worst beverage for your health (although, you would not have to tickle me much to have me confess!), but please, if you drink pops regularly, make sure you are really enjoying every single sip, because your body is paying quite a high price for this small pleasure.

Also, here is a word of caution regarding diet sodas. Their calorie content is very low or negligible. Yet, because they are very sweet, they don’t quench your thirst, they make you crave sugar, and they even make you eat more food. So don’t try to replace your regular pop with diet soda. It might help a bit, but t won't in the long term, especially if they make you feel that you are doing something good for your body.

Alcohol?

I won't demonize alcohol and won't go through all the pros and cons here. Yet, I want to bring awareness around one of the many side-effects of alcohol.

I have seen clients struggling with weight loss because they are sleep deprived (yes, it's linked!). They don't always realize that their poor sleep is due to the couple of drinks they have at night. If you are having trouble sleeping through the night despite the fact that you are old enough to read those lines, alcohol might be a reason.

Alcohol makes you drowsy, so you might fall asleep better when you drink a glass or 2 at night. But, alcohol has a strong side effect: it is dehydrating. As a result, you will want to get up at night to pee. A good reason to wake up! Plus, you will be thirsty, so you will also want to get up to get a glass of water or you will be very uncomfortable with a dry mouth and maybe a headache. Chances are, you will wake up before your alarm gets off. Not to mention that once the “depressant” effect of alcohol is gone, you will have a sudden burst of energy and awareness, which will make you very likely to wake up during the night, no matter what.

Having your own list will help you identify the most "dangerous" drinks. Next time you are about to drink one or the other from your list, ask yourself the following questions first:

• Am I drinking this because I am thirsty? If the answer is yes, drink WATER!
• Am I drinking this out of habit? If the answer is yes, could you put a healthier habit in place?
• Do I really want this drink? Will I enjoy it all?
• Could I pick a smaller size and still be satisfied?
• Is this drink worth the calorie content? If yes, could I cut my snack, or maybe skip dessert?
• Can I replace this drink with one that would be healthier?
• Can I make this same drink healthier by using slightly different ingredients?

What can I drink then?

I am not telling you “stop drinking!”, “no alcohol!”, “no sodas!”. Although honestly, I am not far from suggesting the latter, sorry! But be aware of their effect on your health and on your weight. Because sometimes, they are not worth it.