Ask a Dietitian

BEST BEVY FOR HEALTH AND HYDRATION

It is important to remember that while drinking fluids is important for hydration, they don’t fill you up and keep you satisfied like foods do. Drinking fluids that contain calories can lead to consuming more calories in a day than you think or need and you still don’t feel like you’ve eaten. People don’t compensate by eating less food later on because the drinks just don’t trigger the appetite regulators.

Americans (data not available for Canadians) are getting almost 20% of their calories from beverages, about 150-300 kcal more than 30 years ago and ½ of this increase is from pop and fruit drinks. If you eat a healthy balanced diet all you need to drink is water. If you diet is low in calcium then you may need milk or soymilk fortified with calcium.

Not drinking enough fluid is associated with a higher risk of kidney stones. Chronic dehydration is associated with higher risk of bladder cancer. Do you actually need 8 cups a day? No, some need 4 cups and others may need 20. If you eat a lot of fruit and vegetables you can drink less fluid. IF you exercise and sweat you need more. You can monitor your hydration by the colour of your urine. Pale yellow or clear means you are well hydrated and bright yellow means your are not (or you just took a B vitamin supplement).

Tea and Coffee
Although neither provide calories when consumed black, tea and coffee are not the next best fluid to water. True we want to cut the calories coming from drinks but these bevies are also low in nutrients. They are good water replacements in moderation if unsweetened. Even 1 tsp of sugar is only providing 16 kcal. Tea has ½ the caffeine than coffee and tea may have some heart health benefits but more research is needed to know how much is needed for these benefits. At this point health Canada recommends no more than 8 cups of tea and 4 cups of coffee per day.

Milk
Milk and fortified soymilk can fill all kinds of nutritional gaps with calcium, vitamin D, protein, magnesium and potassium. Skim and 1 % milk are best or unsweetened soymilk. 2 cups per day in addition to other milk products for adults is what is recommended. By sticking with the lower fat versions you get less saturated fat and calories. Skim milk contains only 110 kcal per cup.

Pop
Is diet better than regular pop? If all the evidence claiming the approved sweeteners are safe then your best bet is to go for calorie free pop rather than regular which can contain 9tsp sugar in 1 can, the equivalent of 144kcal just from sugar. However, there are no major health benefits from drinking pop and some significant health risks such as poor bone health and reduced nutrient absorption. Not to mention yet another source of caffeine.

100% pure Fruit Juice
Although packed full of calories, it contains lots of vitamins too and can contribute to your 5-10 servings of fruit and vegetables per day. I recommend that you limit your pure fruit juice intake to no more than ½ cup per day, including vegetable juices (which are high in sodium). Eating the whole fruit is better than drinking the juice because you get fibre with it and more vitamins and minerals. This includes juice you make by juicing your own fruit and vegetables. Pure fruit juice far surpasses fruit cocktail, fruit punch and fruit beverages in terms of nutrients and often are lower in kcal.

Sports drinks
These beverages are lower in calories than pop or juice but are void of nutrients. Unless you are an athlete competing in endurance sports you don’t need sports drinks.

Alcohol
You won’t die without it, but light to moderate alcohol consumption (1 drink per day for women and 2 for men) may reduce cardiovascular disease risk, diabetes and gallstones. Epidemiological studies have not shown a difference in the type of alcohol consumed. Excessive alcohol consumption causes serious health and social problems such as heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure and cirrhosis of the liver.

The bottom line: Non-diet fruit drinks and soft drinks have no benefits and major costs with increased calories, weight, tooth decay and risk of diabetes. You don’t need them to live so get rid of them in your diet. A good goal is to try to reduce your calories from beverages in ½. Watch that alcohol!