You are what you drink
The old saying that you are what you eat holds true in so many ways. The same could be said for the fluids you drink each day. It may even come as a surprise to some, that what you drink could be making you fat!
It is often hard to figure out whether what you are drinking is good for you or not, as the most common tips on hydration are coming from the companies that sell the drinks through their clever advertising campaigns.
To get the message right, a group of US specialists has come up with new Guidelines on Beverage Intake. This has been very important as the focus on the message on obesity is often surrounding foods and with approximately 20% of our energy coming from fluids, part of the puzzle of obesity may be solved by looking at what beverages can make you fat.
The first recommendation is to reduce the energy (calories) of fluids from 20% to 10% of the overall intake. The specialists came up with a six level ranking system to provide a guide as to how best to achieve this. The first 4 levels make up 80% of total intake:
Level 1: Water. Increased to 2-16 glasses a day
(depending on age, climate etc). Tap water is generally good enough in most parts of Australia and bottled water may contain less fluoride than that from the tap.
Level 2: Tea/Coffee. Can be increased to 6-8 cups/day.
There is an inverse link between tea consumption and heart disease, with both green and black tea having health benefits. There is also an inverse relationship between filtered coffee and type 2 diabetes (unfiltered may be less healthy). The limitation is in the level of caffeine consumed which may adversely affect some people. A limit of 400mg of caffeine a day (about 3-4 cups coffee or 6-8 of tea) is suggested.
Level 3: Low fat/skim milk and soy beverages. Can be increased to 1-1.5 full glasses a day.
Low fat dairy is a good source of calcium and vitamin D. It can also increase satiety, may help weight loss, and has been found to be related to the metabolic syndrome. Soy has health benefits also, but less calcium than dairy.
Level 4: Non calorically sweetened beverages (diet drinks). Can be up to 0 –3 glasses a day.
These should be drunk instead of the next two levels. Although they are recommended, there is no long-term evidence for their safety. The sweeteners used may also increase a desire for sweet foods, although this is currently unproven.
Level 5: Caloric Beverages with some nutrients. Decrease to less than 1 glass a day.
This includes fruit and vegetable juice (although the latter are generally OK because they are lower calorie), whole milk, sports drinks, and alcohol.
Level 6: Calorically sweetened beverages. Decrease to less than 1 glass/day.
Standard soft drinks are usually high energy density, but low nutrient density and therefore have no health value.
So, the bottom line is simple – you are what you drink, and to keep trim you may need to reduce sweetened soft drinks to less than a glass a day to keep the doctor away!
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