Jessica and I hope that while you read our posts for meal inspiration, you are also keen to receive a few tips on why it is important to eat fresh and healthy foods. We are keen to share this information, and we encourage you to pass it along. Today, we’d like to tell you a bit about why what you drink is as important as what you eat. And in case we haven’t said it before, water is best.
A lot has been said about how much water we need to drink (8 glasses), when (throughout the day, rather than all at once, so your body can absorb it), and even how (in BPA-free, re-usable bottles), but it is hard to know why water trumps all other options for your beverage of choice, particularly when the information that’s around us seems to indicate the contrary. Honestly, it just is. The body is made up of 60% of water, water is a necessary element to our survival, we do not require all of the additional calories that sugary drinks bring in, and while fresh fruit juice is healthy, it’s healthy in small doses because the sugar content is just too high for your main consumption. If you want fruit juice, eat an orange and you’ll get the fiber as well.
Let’s look at the facts. According to a recent study, the beverage industry spends $1.6bn annually to bombard children and teens with clever TV, movie, supermarket, Internet and billboard marketing strategies. And kids react (so do we). Nevertheless, a study led by the researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that children are consuming 55-70% of sugar-sweetened beverages in the home environment. Sweetened beverages, no matter how many extra vitamins they claim to provide, ultimately deliver a combination of empty calories that can impact the insulin response in your blood, can over-sensitize taste buds – creating a constant desire for sweeter and sweeter foods, and can affect overall health as sugar (and artificial sweeteners) are linked to all sorts of chronic food-related illnesses.
When you are walking through the aisles in your supermarket, take the time to read the labels of these liquids without trusting the claims these products often state. Any drink that contains 33 grams of sugar per 20oz of liquid is not “nutritious” no matter how much Vitamin C they’ve added. Drink whole, fresh, filtered if you can, tap water when you are thirsty, with a bit of lemon if you need some flavor, and you will be able to resist the sugary temptation lurking in aisle three in the supermarket.
Water, water, water, and if you must have fruit juice let it ferment… because Jessica would like to add that a glass of red wine, every so often, isn’t bad for you either…
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Re: Wine – Jessica is a very smart woman! Keep drinking!