Limit Sodas & Juice

Most people know that soda is full of chemicals, sugar & calories. There is no reason to ever drink soda!

Sports drinks and Vitamin Water are also full of unnecessary ingredients. (The only exception is that sports drinks may be appropriate for people training for a long distance endurance event such as a marathon.)

Although juice is a much healthier choice than soda, we don't recommend drinking it on a regular basis either. Here's why:

All juice, even 100% fruit juice, is high in sugar & calories because it takes many, many pieces of fruit to make just one glass of juice. Plus, juice doesn't contain the fruit's fiber. It's much healthier to eat an orange than to drink a glass of orange juice.

Smoothies are usually not a better choice either. Many people drink Jamba Juice or other fruit smoothies without realizing that some smoothies may contain more than 500 calories! If you are craving a smoothie, it is much better to make your own with nonfat yogurt and frozen fruit. See this week's recipe for a healthy low-calorie smoothie.

In an attempt to cut calories, many people turn to DIET SODA. They assume it is a good beverage choice because it fills you up with no calories. However, many studies have actually linked diet soda to weight GAIN!

A recent 8-year study by the University of Texas Health Science Center found that "There was a 41% increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day." Because artificial sweeteners are so much sweeter than sugar, they increase sugar cravings.

So, what's the best beverage choice? Water! If you like carbonation, drink mineral water. If you want flavor, add your own mint, lemon, lime, cucumber, etc.