Healthy Drink Choices

Choosing Healthier Beverages: Your body will thank you for it!

Our bodies need a steady flow of liquids to be healthy, preferably at least eight tall glasses per day or approximately 64 ounces. One of the very best healthy drink choices a body can enjoy is definitely crystal clean water.

There are some who say that they don’t enjoy water and indeed many who live entirely on a diet of coffee, soda pop and other sweet drinks. This is not good for the body for several reasons.

Caffeine acts as both a short term stimulant and a diuretic which means that it robs the body of water instead of providing it. Caffeine is addictive. Drinking too much of it contributes to anxiety, tension and headaches.

Beverages with high sugar content give you short term bursts of energy but it soon leads to feeling tired as the sugar burns out in your body. You then crave more sugary drinks and the cycle repeats.

You will enjoy more steady energy and vitality if you work on replacing high caffeine and sugary drinks with water, teas, juices and even smoothies.

Giving up caffeine and sugar is hard work. If you go cold turkey you can probably expect a severe headache and a period of feeling quite grumpy. Your body will demand the substances it has grown to be dependent upon and you’ll have to stand strong and refuse to give in.

I can’t believe it’s been almost 10 years since I gave up drinking soda.  I have tasted sips a few times since then and I’m so glad I made that decision way back then.

You may do better to tackle a plan to reduce your caffeine and sugar intake over a period of several weeks. I did it cold turkey and don’t know if I would recommend that unless you are ready to dive in and deal with what comes at you. You can always mix decaffeinated coffee or soda with regular, slowly weaning yourself off of the addiction.

Introduce yourself to herbal teas in small quantities. The taste may be acquired so keep trying. The same can be said for water. If you don’t enjoy drinking water, try drinking an ice cold four ounce glass several times a day. You should find within a few weeks that you are enjoying it more than you thought you would.

I have found that adding ice AND lemon to mine sometimes changes it up so I enjoy it a lot more.  And drinking water with ice makes a huge difference. I don’t know what it is but I LOVE it.  But don’t fall for the myth that drinking water with ice will help you burn more calories.

Green tea makes delicious iced tea or sun tea and has far less caffeine than coffee or regular tea. It also has a high amount of EGCG which is a powerful anti-oxidant which has been shown to help the body fight cancer.

Many health conscious individuals fail to consider the importance of their beverage choices and the impact it can have on their goals, but you won’t be one of them any more!

What is one of your favorite healthy drink choices?