The Healthy and Unhealthy Drinks

Wondering why you don’t eat too much but still keep on gaining weight?  Then maybe you drink is not healthy at all.  There are hundreds of beverages out there that can boost your waistline. 

You have to be cautious of what you drink.  Coffee, although it has significant health effects, can be making you fat.  If you drink coffee with full fat dairy and artificial flavorings, and do not forget about chocolate sprinkles, then it is highly likely that this is more detrimental than beneficial. 

To maximize the health benefits of coffee, it is better to drink it plain or with soymilk.   Or you can just switch to green tea which is much better for you since it is a rich source of anti-oxidants. 

Sugary summer drinks like margarita or a pina colada doubles your sugar and calorie intake.  A can or a glass of this can give you 800 calories.  If you’re looking for cool, alcoholic beverage to share in a hot night, then switch to red wine or light beer.

Red wine can reduce coronary heart disease and can lower cholesterol count, thus, reducing risk of high blood pressure or hypertension.  Red wine can also maintain the immune system.  It also have polyphenols which is an excellent anti-oxidant. 

Polyphenols lower cholesterol levels, blood pressure, risks of cancer.  It also has anti-bacterial properties.  Aside form polyphenols, red wine also has flavonoids which is also an anti-oxidant.  Wine can also be associated in reducing stress.  It has a calming influence that helps the body to relax and unwind. 

Before buying your juice drink, be careful on reading the label.  There is difference between “100 % juice” and “made with real juice”.  There can be a big amount of artificial sweeteners and big amount of calories included in your juice drink.  Drinking real juice drink can give you the necessary nutrients and vitamins, while there re juice drink which is not different from drinking a glass of sugared water. 

Whether it is diet or regular soda, soda still has no nutritional value.  Unfortunately, this unhealthy drink is the leading and most favorite beverage.  There are studies showing soda related to obesity.  Soda is known to be high in calories and sugar.  Even diet soda shows no significant difference in sugar and calories.  Both regular and diet sodas are associated to weight gain. 

Drinking soda has also been related to tooth decay.  It is still attributed to high consumption of sugars which is present in all soda drinks.  Caffeine is also present in sodas.  So children who drink too much sodas can develop caffeine dependence.  This may interfere with the development of the brain of children.  Although, this is not yet proven, several medical researchers and health care professionals are expressing concern. 

Unfortunately, there are more of unhealthy drinks than healthy drinks out there in the market.  More and more people are forgetting to focus on healthy drinking.  Yes, we try to be cautious with what we eat but we still neglect what we drink.  Then definitely, we will be missing our healthy mark. 

So if you would like to create your own drinks minus the sugar and calories, then definitely go ahead.  There are health guides and magazines, even the internet, can help you concoct a savory but healthy drink without the risk factors.