Beverages
Cheers! Let's raise a glass and toast your good health
Beverages
Cheers! Let's raise a glass and toast your good health
beverages
For millions of years, there was only water to drink. As a result, the human brain has trouble tracking calories that come in liquid form. That makes sugary drinks a problem. The blood sugar spikes, insulin resistance and belly fat that accompany liquid calories really are public enemy #1.
The good news - while the healthy beverage universe may be small, thankfully it is full of flavor and punch.
Extra Credit - scroll down below these 3 lists for an additional article…
Best bets
Kombucha
The grand-daddy of soda pop. Unlike Coke, traditional Kombucha is indeed "the real thing". It's very good for you and tastes great - lightly fruity, lots of bubbles too. Loaded with probiotics and available at most grocery stores. You can even make it yourself.
Coffee
Oh how they have tried to dig up some dirt on coffee. But guess what, it's really good stuff so have a cup or two, just watch what you add to it.
Green Tea
Matcha, Gykuro, etc. Tea is almost a health food supplement with centuries of use and great results. Arbor Tea online is a great place to buy good tea.
Water
Good clean water has been our number one beverage since day one. Consider a home reverse osmosis system for superior drinking water.
Flavored Water
Add fruit and or herbs to water. Try my fave Holy basil, cucumber, an orange slice and a touch of honey - refreshing!
Whey Smoothies
My fave - kefir, berries and whey. Just watch the sugar. More of a meal than a drink.
hmmmmm
Red Wine
A glass of red wine each day is OK - as long as it's consumed with a meal, not alone on an empty stomach. The difference is a pronounced blood sugar spike.
Beer
Same rules apply, 1-a-day with a meal is OK. Craft beer that's unpasteurized is best. Rich in carbs so caution.
Adult Beverages Caveat
1 drink per day, 3 days a week, with a meal. That's way better than 3 drinks in a row Friday eve.
Tap Water
Contains fluoride, chemicals, etc. Reverse osmosis filtration is best.
nope
Soda - well duh
The blood sugar surge from soda triggers the body's desperate attempts to store those calories as fat. Also, the complete lack of any nutrition is another pitfall. Soda is bad, right up there with cigarettes.
Diet Soda - surprise
Those artificial sweeteners are being linked to killing off beneficial gut bugs you need to stay healthy. Maybe that explains why diet soda drinkers often gain as much weight as regular soda-holics.
Fruit Juice - huge surprise.
Skip the fruit juice - it's often highly concentrated and loaded with plain old sugar.
Who needs a blood sugar spike from a highly processed derivative like juice when the real thing is right there on your countertop. Eat real whole fresh fruit instead.
Milk
Sorry well funded Dairy Council. Unless you are a toddler and the milk you drink comes from your mom's breast (which we highly recommend by the way) skip the milk. Cow, goat, soy, nut - see Dairy, skip the milk.
Sports Drinks
Useful only if your workout is intense and 90 minutes or more. just as bad as soda otherwise. Fun fact - your body won't burn fat if it has sugar from a sports drink to burn instead. Oh and they are bad for your teeth too. Unless you are an elite athlete skip the Gatorade.
Bottled Water
Any heat releases bad chemicals from plastic bottles into the water contained within. Bring your own water bottle.
Protein Drinks
Ensure, etc - these are full of soy isoflavinoids and sugar. Avoid these.
Beverages
A closer look
Beverages
A closer look
Kombucha
Kombucha, now there is an exotic sounding beverage name, what's that??? It's a tangy bubbly drink, flavorful and full of bugs - really good ones. Kombucha is full of "live probiotics" like yogurt or homemade slaw. It's the "real thing" because it was the original soda pop, just a hint of sweetness in kombucha and almost no calories - it's all natural, available at your grocery store or you can DIY it at home.
Awesome stuff but if you buy store bought just double check the label - it should have almost no added sugar. A few companies feel the need to sweeten it post fermentation - an unnecessary and unhealthy step you can easily avoid.
Coffee and Tea
Tea is another food that borders on medicine. The long list of health benefits makes it a worldwide fave. Check out Arbor teas here and order some today.
Coffee, the long suspected bad boy turns out to be super healthy, confirming it’s timeless and universal status as part of waking up all over the globe.
Adult Beverages
There are lots of "buts" when it comes to alcohol. Yes it relieves stress and helps us relax into social situations which reduce stress further and can make us all seem more interesting at a party but...
Alcohol packs a big glycemic spike unless dampened by food. Besides only consuming it with a meal, the other caveat is to limit the total amount one consumes to a drink a day. No more six packs with the boys after work on Fridays, at least not for health reasons.
Wine and spirits are areas where many health nut holier than thou folks go astray. Yes it's fun but...
Water Done Up Right
We all know bottled water is an environmental disaster but nutritionally it's bad as well with chemicals leaching from the plastic bottles. And tap water, whether from municipal sources or a well - both have issues ranging from chlorine to nasty farm chemicals.
A healthy alternative is an in-home reverse osmosis filtration unit. For approx. $350 you and your family can screen out all the bad stuff and enjoy crisp clean drinking water.