“Rethink your Drink”

 Written by: Cassie Vanderwall

A pillar of health is good hydration. Water is essential for life and is used to keep joints healthy, maintain the body’s temperature and blood pressure, and remove waste products. Therefore, a lack of water can lead to dehydration, a deficiency in fluid, which can have dire consequences. Dehydration can be caused by loss of water through sweating, warm temperatures, increased urination or bowel movements, breathing, fever and physical activity.

Signs and symptoms of dehydration include:

• Dark urine that looks like apple juice,
• Dry mouth, eyes, nose, or skin,
• Sleepiness, and
• Thirst.

Try not to wait for these symptoms because often times they are hard to recognize. Drink up early and often!

In the era of “drinkcessorization” it is vital to look past the bright colors and sweet flavors of the beverage options today. Sugar-sweetened beverages, or SSB’s as we call them in the “biz” are called out as a culprit for the obesity epidemic inAmerica. In fact, many professional organizations including the American Cancer Society has encouraged the surgeon general to study the implications of these beverages. I agree that it warrants a closer look since American’s intake of SSB’s have doubled since the 1970’s.

So, why are we “hating on” these types of drinks?

5 reasons:

1. They do not provide satiety or fullness upon consumption
2. They do not cause a compensatory reduction in calorie intake at or between meals
3. They provide a heavy dose of sugar with about 36g sugar or 9 tsp per 12oz can soda-pop
4. The primary sweetener, high fructose corn syrup, has been known to increase inflammation, insulin resistance and impaired Beta cell function (check out my blog on Fructose: Poison or Pleasure).
5. SSB’s increase our sweet threshold and desire for sweets.

Since hydration is necessary, it is best to choose drinks that are low in fat, sugar, caffeine and calories.

Use the chart below to see how 1 cup of your favorite drinks measure up.

Drink	Calories	Fat (grams)	Sugar (grams)	Sugar (tsp)	Nutrition Facts
Water	0	0	0	0	#1 Thirst Quencher
Milk, Skim	80	0	12	0	Good source of Protein, Calcium, Vitamin D and Vitamin B12. Aim for 3 servings of calcium-rich foods everyday!
Milk, 1%	100	2.5	12	0
Milk, 1% Chocolate	160	2.5	25	3
Milk, 2%	120	5	12	0
Milk, Whole	150	8	12	0
Rice Milk, Plain	115	2	12	0
Soy Milk, Plain	100	4	6	0
Soy Milk, Chocolate	150	4	19	5
Sweet Tea	75	0	18	4 ½
Sports Drink	60	0	13	3
Orange Juice	120	0	21	5	The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends to limit juice to 1/2 Cup per day.
Apple Juice	110	0	24	6
Grape Juice	150	0	36	9
Fruit-Flavored Drink	120	0	28	7
Cola	90	0	22	5 ½	No Nutritional Value
Diet Soda Pop	0	0	0	0

Remember the numbers listed above are for only 1 cup of these beverages. At most fast food places the small beverage is 16oz. This would bump up the teaspoons per serving to 10 to 18 for juices, 9 for sweetened iced teas and 11 for regular colas.

In my recent interview on NBC-15 Madison, I encouraged viewers to “rethink their drinks” by:

• Make water #1 thirst quencher by keeping it ready and available.
• Add flavor to water by infusing-fruit (see recipe below). There are even pitchers now to help you add flavor without extra sugar.
• Hydrate with an assortment of other sugar-free beverages, including herbal tea, sodium-free seltzer waters, fat-free milk or another low sugar dairy alternative.
• Eat your water by striving for 5 to 9 servings of fruits and veggies everyday.
• Retrain our thoughts about juice and freeze it as popsicles for dessert!

Recipe: “Spa Water”

½ Cucumber, peeled, sliced
1 knuckle Ginger, peeled, sliced
½ cup mint leaves or 2 mint tea bags steeped
1 lemon, juiced
1 gallon filtered water