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Rethink
your choice of beverage and lose weight
March 23, 2006
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Your
ticket to weight loss could be as simple as rethinking what
you drink each day.
That’s because beverages – sweet tea, soft drinks,
fruit juice, whole milk – can contain a substantial
number of calories so easy to swallow that we often don’t
think of drinks as being a substantial part of meals and snacks.
But they are.
At the same time that rates of obesity have increased for
all population groups in the U.S. over several decades, average
calorie intakes have increased by 150-300 calories per day.
Of those, half come from sweetened drinks, researchers say.
Just one 12-ounce can of cola or glass of sweet tea, for instance,
contains about 150 calories. Sports drinks and alcoholic beverages
– including beer and wine – also add calories.
It only takes one caloric drink each day to add a few pounds
each year. Larger or more frequent drinks can lead to even
more weight gain.
Of course, some calorie-containing drinks have nutritional
value. Fruit juices and nonfat milk, for example, are rich
sources of certain vitamins and minerals. In contrast, soft
drinks - “liquid candy” – and sports drinks
have little nutritional value in exchange for the calories.
To help make sense of the options – and their consequences
– a group of nutrition researchers published in this
month’s Journal of Clinical Nutrition a set of proposed
guidelines for beverage consumption. Since healthy diets don’t
require fluids to supply energy or nutritional needs, the
top drink recommendation was water, followed by unsweetened
coffee and tea.
Next-best choices were very lowfat or nonfat milk and soy
beverages, followed by diet drinks, beverages with some nutritional
value – fruit and vegetable juices, whole milk, alcohol
and sports drinks – and, pulling up the rear, regular
soft drinks.
So what does this mean for most of us who want something to
drink with and between meals?
Here are some ideas for drinks that have little or no calories
and can be enjoyed without guilt every day:
* Water in all forms. An inexpensive way to make tap water
more interesting is to keep lemons and limes on hand and squeeze
a wedge or two into the glass. In the summertime, a pitcher
of ice water infused with lemon and cucumber slices is refreshing.
Buy bottled plain or flavored seltzer water or club soda at
the supermarket. Another option, pour a small amount –
a quarter cup – of fruit juice in the bottom of a tumbler
and fill it the rest of the way with seltzer water. Keep a
pitcher of cold water in the refrigerator, and buy bottled
water when you’re on the road in lieu of soft drinks.
At restaurants, save money and ask for a glass of water.
* Unsweetened tea. Black, green and oolong teas are the primary
kinds of tea used throughout the world. (See the column I
wrote about tea last year at www.onthetable.net/tea.html).
Drink tea hot or cold, up to 3-4 cups per day if it’s
caffeinated. For minimal calories, it’s OK for most
people to add a couple tablespoons of milk or soymilk or a
half teaspoon of honey.
* Unsweetened coffee. Like tea, up to a few cups per day if
it’s caffeinated. Drink it hot or iced, and a couple
tablespoons of milk or soymilk to whiten it is fine. Add a
dash of cinnamon, too, if you’d like. (See an earlier
column I wrote about coffee at www.onthetable.net/coffee.html).
Diet drinks are also calorie-free, but concerns still exist
about the health implications of artificial sweeteners. Drink
them at your own discretion. You’ll find more discussion
about sugar substitutes at www.onthetable.net/sweeteners.html.
For folks looking to shed some weight or just keep extra pounds
off, get the calories and nutrients you need from filling,
fiber-rich whole foods. Then make the majority of your fluids
calorie-free.
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