Healthy Drinks

• Water is the best choice for quenching your thirst. Coffee and tea, without added sweeteners, are healthy choices, too.

• Some beverages should be limited or consumed in moderation, including diet drinks, fruit juice and milk.  Alcohol in moderation can be healthy for some people, but not everyone.
• Avoid sugary drinks like soda, sports beverages, and energy drinks.

Water

There are many options for what to drink, but for most people who have access to safe drinking water, water is the best choice: It’s calorie-free, and it’s as easy to find as the nearest tap.

Water provides everything the body needs—pure H2O—to restore fluids lost through metabolism, breathing, sweating, and the removal of waste. It’s the perfect beverage for quenching thirst and re-hydrating your system.

How much water do I need?

There is no one estimate for how much water the average American needs each day. Instead, the Institute of Medicine has set an adequate intake of 125 ounces (about 15 cups) for men and 91 ounces (about 11 cups) for women. (1) Note that this is not a daily target, but a general guide. In most people, about 80% of this water volume comes from beverages; the rest comes from food.

Water is an excellent calorie-free, sugar-free choice.  For some people who are accustomed to drinking sweet beverages, water can initially taste bland. To increase water consumption without losing flavor or to spice up your daily water intake, try these refreshing water-based beverages:

Infused water

Instead of purchasing expensive flavored waters in the grocery store, you can easily make your own at home. Try adding any of the following to a cold glass or pitcher of water:

• Sliced citrus fruits or zest (lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit)
• Crushed fresh mint
• Peeled, sliced fresh ginger or sliced cucumber
• Crushed berries

Sparkling water with a splash of juice

Sparkling juices may have as many calories as sugary soda pop. Instead, make your own sparkling juice at home with 12 ounces of sparkling water and just an ounce or two of juice. For additional flavor, add sliced citrus or fresh herbs like mint.

Beverages to limit

Drinks that are loaded with sugar are the worst choice; they contain a lot of calories and virtually no other nutrients. Consuming high-sugar drinks can lead to weight gain and increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and gout.

• The average can of sugar-sweetened soda or fruit punch provides about 150 calories. If you were to drink just one can of a sugar-sweetened soft drink every day, and not cut back on calories elsewhere, you could gain up to 5 pounds in a year. (2) Cutting back on sugary drinks may help control your weight and may lower your risk of type 2 diabetes.

• Sports beverages are designed to give athletes carbs, electrolytes, and fluid during high-intensity workouts that last an hour or more. For other folks, they’re just another source of sugar and calories.

• Energy drinks have as much sugar as soft drinks, enough caffeine to raise your blood pressure, and additives whose long-term health effects are unknown. For these reasons it’s best to skip energy drinks.                                                                                      

  References:

  1. Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 2004. Accessed on March 28, 2009. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309091691
  2. Hall KD, Sacks G, Chandramohan D, et al. Quantification of the effect of energy imbalance on bodyweight. Lancet. 2011;378:826-37.                                                                                                 http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/                                                                       

Aronia berry, 'the healthiest fruit in the world,' hits the High Street

A berry reckoned to be the healthiest fruit in the world will soon be available in Britain's shops for the first time. 

The aronia is a 'superfood', richer in anti-cancer antioxidants than raspberries and more modern imports such as the goji and acai.
It even has three times the level of antioxidants found in blueberries. Now a six-year plan by Marks & Spencer to cultivate the berries in Scotland has come to fruition and they will be in its stores from Monday. 

The plant is native to North America, where early settlers gave it the name 'chokeberry' because it is so sharp when eaten raw. 

The aronia berry – which is similar in appearance to a cranberry – is also said to help ward off heart disease. 

American Indians believed it was a good aphrodisiac. 

The move to grow the plant in the UK will satisfy environmentalists, because it will be more ecologically sound to transport the berries to M&S shops than if they were imported. 

Because it needs damp, mild conditions in which to grow, it is an ideal crop for parts of Scotland. 

The introduction of the aronia berry has also been influenced by Britain's Polish population – it has long been popular in their home country. 

The introduction to shop shelves of the aronia berries will feed the growing demand for 'superfruits'. 

M&S has seen a 40 per cent increase in sales of blueberries in the past year. 

Its berries specialist Emmett Lunny said: 'We are proud to bring one of the healthiest berries to the High Street.'

The berries, which contain high levels of vitamin C, are too tart and sharp to be eaten raw, but are ideal for sauces in summer puddings or on cheesecakes, or blended into juices and smoothies.

The store group will be the first major High Street chain to stock the fruit, which it is selling for £1.99 for a 220g pack. 

The berries are being grown by Thomas Thomson in Blairgowrie, Perthshire.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1050077/Aronia-berry-healthiest-fruit-world-hits-High-Street.html

How to Sleep Better

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Best and Worst Drinks for Preventing Kidney Stones

Mention kidney stones and everyone within earshot winces—because we’ve all heard how painful these stones can be. So if you want to be stone-free, you’re probably following the common advice to drink lots of liquids. But instead of focusing on how much you drink, the crucial question is what you drink, a new study reveals. Certain beverages—including some very surprising ones, such as beer!—are particularly helpful in protecting against stones, while other drinks do more harm than good.

Unfortunately, kidney stones are common, plaguing 19% of men and 9% of women in the US at least once in their lifetimes—and recurrences are quite common. Drinking plenty of water helps prevent stones from forming…but actually, there are other fluids that can be even more effective.

DRINK THIS, NOT THAT

Using data from three large studies, researchers followed 194,095 people, none of whom had a history of kidney stones, for more than eight years. Participants periodically completed questionnaires about their diet and overall health. During the course of the study, there were 4,462 cases of kidney stones.

Researchers adjusted for health factors (age, body mass index, diabetes, medications, blood pressure) as well as various dietary factors (including intake of meat, calcium and potassium) known to affect kidney stone risk. Then they calculated the stone risk associated with various types of beverages.

How the comparison was done: For each analysis, the effects of drinking an average of one or more servings per day were compared with drinking less than one serving per week. Because data from three different studies were used, serving sizes were not necessarily alike across the board. But in general, a serving was considered to be 12 ounces of soda or beer…eight ounces of coffee, tea, milk or fruit punch…five ounces of wine…and four to six ounces of juice. The researchers’ findings were eye-opening.

Kidney stone risk boosters…

• Sugar-sweetened noncola sodas increased kidney stone risk by 33%.
• Sugar-sweetened colas increased risk by 23%.
• Fruit punch increased risk by 18%.
• Diet noncola sodas (but, surprisingly, not diet colas) increased risk by 17%.

Kidney stone risk reducers…

• Beer reduced kidney stone risk by 41%.
• White wine reduced risk by 33%.
• Red wine reduced risk by 31%.
• Caffeinated coffee reduced kidney stone risk by 26%.
• Decaf coffee reduced risk by 16%.
• Orange juice reduced risk by 12%.
• Tea reduced risk by 11%.

Consumption of milk and juices other than orange juice did not significantly affect the likelihood of developing kidney stones.

Theories behind the findings: Because sugar-sweetened sodas and fruit punch are associated with higher risk, researchers suspect that their high fructose concentration may increase the amount of calcium, oxalate and uric acid in the urine—and those substances contribute to kidney stone formation. So how to explain the beneficial effects of orange juice, which is also high in fructose? Perhaps orange juice’s high concentration of potassium citrate offsets the fructose and favorably changes the composition of urine.

Regarding the beneficial effects of coffee and tea, it could be that their caffeine acts as adiuretic that promotes urine production and thus helps prevent stones. Tea and coffee, including decaf, also contain antioxidants that may help combat stone formation. Alcohol, too, is a diuretic, and wine and beer contain antioxidants as well—though of course, with any type of alcoholic beverage, moderation is important.

Source: Pietro Manuel Ferraro, MD, physician, department of internal medicine and medical specialties, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy. His study was published in Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

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