Drinks

In my previous post about water I advised that we should have about 6-8 glasses a day and this is dependent on the weather and daily activities. It is not only water that is classified as drink. All drinks count but water, milk and fruit juices are the healthiest; it is best to avoid alcoholic drinks.  Drinks include milk, soft drinks, tea, coffee, energy drinks, fruit drinks, smoothies e.t.c

When choosing the type of drink to consume, we should try to choose the healthier ones for a healthy, balanced diet. Try to avoid soft drinks with added sugar because of their high sugar content which can damage the tooth and drinks that are high in sugar are often high in calorie and eating too much calorie can lead to weight gain. Check the nutritional contents on soft drinks such as fizzy drinks and juice drinks so as to make healthier choice
Take a drink whenever you are thirsty in order to avoid dehydration; dark yellow urine during the day is one of the symptoms of dehydration. Water is the healthiest form of drink as it does not contain calorie and sugar. Choose semi-skimmed or skimmed milk for a healthy choice of milk and limit the intake of flavored milk, condensed milk, milkshakes and milk-based energy or sport drinks because they contain added sugar. Choose fruit juice and smoothies that are made up of 100% fruit as they contain a lot of vitamins and also count as one of our five-a-day instead of juice drinks that contain as little as 5% fruit juice and contain added sugar. Tea and coffee contain caffeine which is a stimulant. It is fine to drink tea and coffee as part of a healthy diet but make sure they are not the main source of fluid in the diet. Energy drinks also contain caffeine and are often high in sugar. Some contain other stimulants, vitamins and minerals or herbal substance. Caffeine is not suitable for young children and pregnant women should consume a small amount of caffeine because it causes the baby to have low birth weight. After high intense exercise that last for more than 40minutes drinks that contain little added sugar and salt such as sport drinks and their home-made version should be consumed in order to replace the extra fluid lost as sweat. Sport drinks are similar to soft drinks as they are high in calorie; they should only be consumed when taking part in strenuous exercise

Remember Don't just consume any drink choose the healthy ones!!!