Drink Healthy

Are there any healthy alternatives to calorie-laden drinks? Can you really drink your way to an overweight body? My answer is yes you can. Some of my friends wonder how an innocent glass of juice or chocolate shake can make them put on weight. Ask yourself when the summer heat kills you can you resist yourself from opening the fridge and pick up a chilled can of from the freezer? Then you tend to forget about calories and the only thing in your mind is to gulp the drink down.

When you plan to meet up with friends after a long time you meet up at a café and you order the mocha shake, the peach ice-tea or cold coffee topped with lots of ice-cream. Though there is a tiny voice whispering from behind you and trying to help you by saying, ‘count the calories’, you try and ignore it.

Then when you are eating out and having a heavy meal, you would like to have a soft drink or mocktail with your dinner. Some like to take a glass of pepsi or sprite. The food you eat in the restaurant is high in calories and then on top of that soft drink adds to the calories.

Now the obvious question that arises is that why drinks can be harmful?

*Most juices and soft drinks are laden with sugar. They go down very easily and yet they don’t fill your tummy and since it does not fill your tummy you don’t feel satisfied.

*Beverages have no fibre. A low- fibre intake leads to constipation amongst other problems.

*Sugar is a known skin spoiler. So, expect a dull skin with open pores if you have been downing too many sweetened drinks.

*The innocent strawberry and chocolate shakes that you have in your favourite café have ice-cream and double whipped creams in it. So again it is high in cholesterol as well as it is high in calories.

How to drink wisely?

*There are low calorie options. So ask for iced lemon tea instead of a shake, or a fresh lime soda instead of a mocktail.

*Always remember the best way to quench your thirst is by drinking a glass of chilled water and not soft drinks.

*Choose to eat your fruits and don’t drink it. Juices are acidic and will spoil your teeth and top of that it is less in fibre.

*Finally, the key word is moderation. Keep a tab on all that you drink and count the calories. Stop when you have to.