You Are What You Drink

One of the easiest ways to improve your health is by taking stock of what you are drinking. 

Are you drinking soda? Full sugar soda, or pop for you Yankees, is full of empty calories, and lots of sugar. It also has loads of non-nutritive chemicals. So drop the pop! 

As a former cola-a-holic, this is not an easy task. I was not a coffee drinker - I got my caffiene from soda. I also swore I'd never drink diet soda - but with a diabetes diagnosis, I had to make a change. So I found a diet soda I could tolerate, and started there. 

Fully knowing diet soda is nothing nutritional, I made the shift over to diet lemonade, and eventually water. Now, I drink 80-100 oz of water a day. Room temp, mostly between meals. Occasionally I will have a hankering for some bubbly soda, and I will have a can of diet. 

Juice is gone for me, unless I am hypoglycemic. The benefit of fruit is in the eating of the fruit - you get all the nutritional value, the fiber, etc. Juice has been concentrated, pasteurized, and often sweetened. 

The other factor is do you want I drink your calories? A cup of grape juice has 150 calories and 40 carbs! Orange juice is 99 calories and 20 carbs per cup. Apple juice is 113 calories and 28 carbs per cup. Here's a half cup serving:

I know I would rather eat something yummy and healthy. 28 carbs is a LOT. If you are trying to lose weight, cutting carbs is a great place to start - and the empty carbs in juice and soda is a prime example of an easy step you can take to a healthier you. 

Mindful drinking! Start reading those beverage labels!

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