Healthy Drinks

Can you survive without water for 1 week? 2 weeks? Or even more? Definitely not, you cannot survive without liquid for more than 3 days. So, it’s necessary to know the importance of healthy drinks and drinking water or water-based elements every day.

As you know, our body is made of about 60%- 70% liquid. But our body cannot produce enough water to fulfill its requirements. So, it’s important to nourish our bodies with water or water-based products.

According to studies, you need to have at least 8 glasses of water per day. Water keeps your body hydrated and fresh. And it also prevents constipation and kidney stone problem. It also helps to maintain your body shape as there are no calories.

But having plain water always may seem too boring. Right? Don’t worry. There are plenty of options for healthy drinks you can have. You can take tea, coffee, fresh juice, infused water, and so many other things. But in the past people didn’t have those options.

In past for a long period of time, plain water was the only beverage taken by humans to quench the thirst. Time after time people get introduced to dairy milk, tea, coffee, and other natural drinking elements.

Nowadays, there’s a lot of health drinks, energy drinks, protein shakes, soda, smoothies, etc. are available in the market. Among those drinks some are healthy and some are harmful to the body.

First, it’s important to have proper information about healthy drinks. You may found many healthy drinks shops in Dhaka but it’s in your hand to choose the best.

In this article, you will get that information about healthy drinks, and also gets to know about some of the best healthy drinks.

Which Drinks are Healthy?
When it comes to drinks, pure drinking water is no doubt the best choice for you. With it, you can have milk, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or juice as healthy drinks without added sugars.

Now there might be questions in your mind, what happened to the energy drink, health drink, protein shake, diet drink, and others?

Firstly, artificial drinks are not good for health. They are full of artificial sweeteners and calories which can lead you to weight gain. In diet drinks, there is no calorie but still, it’s not a healthy choice for you.

In addition, they can also lead you to many life taking diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, digestive problems, and other health problems. If you want to live a healthy life then it is better to switch these artificial drinks with natural healthy drinks as soon as possible.

Though it’s not easy to change habits in little time. But slow and steady you will definitely able to do that. Try to switch sodas with lemonade or diet drinks with green tea. Soon you will notice the benefits by own.

Best Healthy Drinks
As you read before, there are plenty of options for healthy drinks. Among them, most of the drinks are very common. So, it will be easy for you to get this at any store or make it at home.

Now let’s see the best healthy drinks and their benefits.

Infused water
Water with an added flavor of fruits, vegetables, or herbs is known as infused water. For this added flavor of fruits, vegetables, or herbs, it’s full of vitamins and minerals.

As being a rich nutrient drink with no calories, it’s the best healthy drink to lose weight and stay hydrated. It also stimulus your immune system, increases energy, controls appetite, prevents heartburn, regulates blood sugar, and helps the digestion system.

Infused water can be easily made by soaking the fruit in water for 2 0r 3 hours. It will be great, to leave overnight for getting more flavor. There can be lots of combinations of your infused water. You can make it with your favorite fruits or herbs. Or even you can try some tasty mixtures popular already.

Lemon infusion, green tea, mint and lime infusion, a combination of strawberry and kiwi, and also the cucumber and lime one. Along with the basic benefits of infused water, all these combinations have their own advantages.

Like as- lemon infusion has great beauty impacts with supporting skin texture, improves kidney health, and fights cancer. Along with that, lemon itself provides Vitamin C.

Green tea is already famous for weight loss. When infused with mint and lime, green tea provides health benefits like fat burning, congestion, fresh breath, and reducing headaches. Strawberry and kiwi are already on the list of healthy fruit. By infusing them together, you will have good heart health.

Tea
Tea is an all-time beverage, taken in snacks or anytime a day. It’s the most popular drink all over the world. Firstly, China introduced tea as a medicinal beverage. Nowadays, it’s more likely to have as a refreshment in the morning or evening.

The habit of having a small cup of tea every day may provide a lasting impact on your wellness. However, you have tea hot or iced they are full of antioxidants which is healthy. It may protect you from some types of cancer, stroke, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

The interesting thing is you can have tea in your own way, mixing it with herbs, spices, fruit, and other ingredients. There are already plenty of options in tea, like- green tea, black tea, chamomile tea, white tea, herbal tea, matcha tea, kombucha tea, ginger, and peppermint tea, etc.

No matter which cup of tea you have, you will get benefitted for sure. For example-

White tea will strengthen your teeth and fights cancer;
Chamomile tea reduces menstrual pain, improves sleep, and bring your stress out;
Green tea boosts heart health by controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, preventing different types of cancer, and gives you clear glowing skin
Matcha, another form of green tea boost brain function, loses weight, prevents cancer with proving you a good heart health
Black Tea combats inflammation and supports immune system health.
Coffee
Coffee is loved all over the world as an early morning brew. People who love coffee, unlikely to know about the benefits or risks of it. In 1991, the World Health organization listed coffee as a possible carcinogen.

After 2016, researchers found that this beverage doesn’t increase the risk of cancer. On contrary, it can lower the risk of early death from any kind of disease, if taken in a moderate way. It’s better to have these healthy drinks for breakfast.

Regular coffee drinkers have less chance of having cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart diseases or stroke, liver disease, gallstones, neurological diseases like Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

This healthy beverage improves the effectiveness of insulin and glucose metabolism in the body. It also acts as an antidepressant, increases alertness and attention, reduce anxiety, and improve mood.

Having three to five cups of coffee a day seems to increase alertness, energy, and ability to concentrate, while more than that may have negative effects such as anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, and increased heart rate.

Coffee is rich in caffeine, vitamin B2 (riboflavin), magnesium, and plant chemicals like polyphenols including chlorogenic acid and quinic acid, and diterpenes including cafestol and kahweol.

What important is how you made the coffee!
Added extra sugar, calories, and saturated fat in coffee loaded with whipped cream and flavored syrup may have no health benefits.

Black coffee with no sugar or with a small amount of nonfat or low-fat milk may become a healthy option. But for breastfeeding or pregnant women, it’s better to have less caffeine with the advice of doctors. Because it may cause miscarriage or low birth weight.

With high cholesterol, it’s better to brew your coffee with a paper filter. And if you are sensitive to caffeine then take decaffeinated coffee. It offers the same health benefits as caffeinated coffee.

Fruit Juice
Fruit juice is more likely to love by both children and adults. If you don’t like to chew a whole fruit then it’s better to blend it in juices and enjoy the benefits. It’s the best healthy drink to make at home.

Fruits are full of beneficial nutrients and fiber which stay preserved in fruit juices. You can blend the skin, pulp, and flesh of the fruit into a nice juice to have all the nutritional benefits. It’s better not to add sugar and make it fresh before drinking.

If there is any chance you think to buy ready-made fruit juice from the market, then drop it. Though the store-bought fruit juice is labeled 100% fruit juice, they contain added sugar and chemicals with a lack of fiber.

Another important thing is, take fruit juice in a limited way. Consuming a high amount may increase weight and risk of type 2 diabetics. It’s better to drink fruit juice twice a week.

You can choose blueberries, grapes, apples, oranges, pomegranate, aloe vera, cranberry juice for your glass. All these fruits have their own health benefits like- lowering the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.

Vegetable Juice
Vegetable juice is made of freshly blended vegetables. It can be easily made at home and have a healthy drink to kick start your health. But don’t add any sugar.

Common vegetable juices you can have are carrots, beets, pumpkin, and tomatoes. You can also have parsley, dandelion greens, kale, celery, fennel, and cucumbers as a healthy juice. For more flavor, add lemon, garlic, and ginger. It will add medicinal benefits too.

Vegetable juices provide similar health benefits as whole vegetables in terms of reducing risks of cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, and cancer. 3/4 cups of vegetable juices provide the same benefits as whole vegetables.

But you should take vegetables into consideration. Like, tomatoes are high in sodium and beet contain high sugar. So be careful before adding them to the diet chart.

Milk
Milk is the best healthy drink for kids. Also, beneficial for adults and senior citizens. It’s a dairy product that comes from any kind of mammal animal like- cow, goat, buffalo, and sheep. For newborn children, it’s better to be breastfed by their mother.

Milk is rich in protein, calcium, vitamin B2, vitamin B12, vitamin D, potassium, and phosphorus which keep your muscles, teeth, and bones healthy.

Having a cup of milk daily is good for increasing calcium intake, and reduce the risk of osteoporosis and fracture. It also controls blood pressure and prevents weight gain.

To get better benefits you can go for low fat or skim milk. Drinking skim milk may associate with a lower risk of heart diseases. If you are lactose intolerant or vegan then you can have soya milk, almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk, or other plant-based milk. These plant-based milk contain the same nutrients as dairy milk.

Coconut Water
It’s a natural healthy drink, you can find anywhere. Coconut water is formed naturally in the fruit and contains 94% water with very little fat.

The taste of this tropical water is a bit controversial. Whether you like it or not, it will provide you with tons of health benefits. This unsweetened low sugar coconut water is a natural source of carbs, fiber, protein, vitamin C, and several minerals like potassium, magnesium, man calcium, and sodium.

Consequently, this healthy drink will provide the same effect as sports drinks in terms of rehydrating. It can be the perfect beverage after exercise to rehydrate yourself.

Coconut water comes straight from the coconut fruit. Just crack the fruit and enjoy the fresh hydrating water. It’s better not to add any flavor or sugar to it. It can provide a healthy heartbeat and regulating blood pressure.

Coconut water contains antioxidants that modify free radicals so they no longer cause stress or injury. It’s better for less diabetes risk, lower blood sugar level, preventing kidney stones, control blood pressure, and reduce heart disease risk by reducing cholesterol.

Other Healthy Drinks
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar, famous as a weight loss product is used as a natural remedy for health problems, for a long period of time. It let you feel full and stay on track with a healthy diet.

It’s a fermented juice, made by exposing crushed apples to yeast. It’s the same process of making alcohol like wine. The difference is apple cider vinegar is fermented twice to turn it vinegar from alcohol.

It contains, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, manganese, amino acids, antioxidants, and only 3 calories per tablespoon. Just have 1-2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with water or made into a tonic. Have it in the morning and see how it works.

Though apple cider vinegar supports health, it won’t make a major impact without having a balanced diet and exercise. Only after that, you may expect weight loss or a healthy lifestyle.

Along with weight loss, apple cider vinegar is full of many other health benefits. Like-

improving digestion
lowering blood sugar levels
improving insulin sensitivity and prevents diabetes
lowering cholesterol level
lowering blood pressure
improving heart health
preventing cancer by slowing down the growth of cancer cells
Not only in health benefits but apple cider vinegar is also great in external beauty. It can treat acne problems, sunburn, aging, dandruff, and many more. It can also improve hair health and skin also. Don’t apply apple cider vinegar directly to the skin. Dilute it in water first.

Hot Chocolate
Chocolate is the most delicious and loved dessert for everyone. You would have eaten tons of chocolate in life without knowing the benefits of it. It’s true eating too much chocolate affects your tooths with cavities. But this dessert can be highly nutritious when mixed with milk.

Chocolate is made of cocoa which is rich in antioxidants, fiber, and iron. Just add this chocolate to milk and have a delicious cup of hot chocolate with the benefits of high calcium and vitamin D. Nutrious dessert indeed! Using dark chocolate is even more beneficial as it contains calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, Vitamin A, and Vitamin K.

In a bad mood today? Have a yummy cup of hot chocolate and it will boost your mood by the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin. It will also control your cholesterol, give you better heart health, memory, and immune system, manages your weight, and even more.

For getting the best benefits, make your own healthy drink with unsweetened cocoa powder or 85% of dark chocolate. For lowering the fat, use plant-based milk and add natural sweeteners like honey. Best version of taste and health in a cup.

Sparkling Water
Sparkling water is basically water infused with carbon dioxide gas. It’s a good alternative to soft sugary drinks. It has a little salt added for taste. If you have a gas problem then it’s better to avoid it. In spite of that, you will be benefited.

It may aid your digestive system, swallowing ability, make you feel full, prevent constipation problems, improve heart health, etc. You can get plenty of options in sparkling soda including club soda added minerals, soda water, and seltzer water. It can be a good option for healthy drinks to buy at the store.

Quick Tips
Water is necessary for healthy living. Adult women need 11.5 cups or 2.7 liters and men need 15.5 cups or 3.7 liters of liquid per day ( the general recommendation from The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine). Difficult to fulfill the requirement every day?

Try below quick tips to fulfill the requirements and drink more healthy every day.

Carry a water bottle with you all time
Have infused water added with slices of fruits, berries, and herbs when got bored of plain water
Try coconut water after heavy exercise
Take a cup of tea or coffee in the morning or evening
Instead of soft drinks have sparkling waters.
have a fruit or vegetable juice in meal
kick start your morning with a glass of lemon water
Wrap Up
Healthy living starts with a healthy lifestyle. To build a nutritious life it’s important to include both healthy drinks and food in your diet. You can’t ignore the importance of liquid to build healthy habits, as you read in this article.

Nothing can beat water in terms of drinking well. But you can have infused water, sparkling water, fruit or vegetable juice, coffee, and tea for fulfilling this need too. Just made a balanced diet including all these healthy drinks and you are ready to go with your better life. Good luck!