Healthy Drinks

The White Feather

Hi,
I am changing my diet and after drinking loads of fizzy drinks for years, I am giving them up. Are there any healthy drinks to have other than just fresh water? I am getting used to drinking lots of water but just wondering what else would be good. What about Mi-wadi or any orange drinks? I think they might be full of sugar too though!

the world wonders

The White Feather wrote: »

What about Mi-wadi or any orange drinks? I think they might be full of sugar too though!

You would be right. Any fruit juice or smoothie is going to be full of sugar (yes, even the ones advertised as healthy).

Are there any healthy drinks to have other than just fresh water?

Tea/coffee without sugar. Milk. Carbonated water.

rick_fantastic

im quite partial to carbonated water with some fresh lemon / lemon juice when i get craving for fizzy drinks... stay away from diet sodas FTW!

Heat_Wave

Approx 100ml of cranberry juice mixed into a pint of water is delish.

The White Feather

So you reckon if I'm going to have anything other than water/tea, to drink Cranberry juice?

homemadecider

Cranberry juice is very high in sugar.

Inspector Coptoor

Water
Green tea
Coffee

Heat_Wave

The White Feather wrote: »

So you reckon if I'm going to have anything other than water/tea, to drink Cranberry juice?

Good God no.. - as a previous poster said - cranberry juice is high in sugar.

Once a day is OK (it's only 100ml).

I drink still water every day, jasmine/peppermint tea in the evenings and if you're working out you could always buy an amino energy drink from an online store - very tasty and very sweet - they taste exactly like a mr freeze

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

coconut water is pretty nyommy, expensive enough though

there's plenty of fruity/minty teas/infusions in supermarkets that are quite cheap

The White Feather

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

coconut water is pretty nyommy, expensive enough though

there's plenty of fruity/minty teas/infusions in supermarkets that are quite cheap

Can you name a kind of fruity infusion to get that wouldnt be too bad? I want to have something with a bit of flavour!!!

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

i generally get the lipton forest fruits from tesco or the diplomat fruity teas from aldi.

lipton also do an apple/cranberry but I found that weirdly tasteless.

aldi/lidl do nice peppermint teas as well, as do tesco/superquinn. you could even brew up a batch of the fruity stuff or the minty stuff, leave it in the fridge and pour it into a bottle to drink during the day. it's not exactly ice cold coca cola levels of deliciousness but it's nice.

thegreatiam

doesnt matter if its high in sugar, fruit juice will still be healthy.

Caffine isn't really healthy.

so fruit juice will be healthier than tea.

OP, what do you want these healthy drinks to do?
If you just want a healthy drink then water and fruit juice are fine.
If you are looking to lose weight or control your calories then you'll need to be worried about the sugar in the fruit juice as those extra calories will add up fast.

if you want healthy purely for being healthy then choose a drink that is as unprocessed as possible, consider making one your self by blending fruits/veg/etc

also, you can infuse water with fresh or frozen fruit.
add a handfull of fruit to a jug of ice cold water and let it sit for a while, you can squish some of the fruits a little to help the process
also cucumber, celery, lemon, all work well.
(using frozen fruit instead of ice cubes will also work)
shortly you will have a refreshing drink with all the flavour of the fruits but not as much sugar. (if you disgard the fruit) or just eat the fruit if you dont mind the sugar.

tunguska

Coconut water is ideal but it is expensive enough. Dunnes sell a litre for 2.75 which is as good as it gets. Other than that I'd stay clear of miwadi/ribenna and the likes, even the sugar free variety as they'd have asparatame and other sweetners added.
100% fruit juice is good but whats better is to just blend ordinary water with some fruit and you got yourself a really healthy, natural drink. I blend coconut water and some pineapple chunks and it tastes seriously good.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

oh wow, didnt know dunnes sold coconut milk. when i found 1l in tesco for around 4.50 i was thrilled, will tip on over to dunnest later in the week

thegreatiam

tunguska wrote: »

I blend coconut water and some pineapple chunks and it tastes seriously good.

add a little rum and you've a pina colada party

siochain

thegreatiam wrote: »

doesnt matter if its high in sugar, fruit juice will still be healthy.

Caffine isn't really healthy.

so fruit juice will be healthier than tea.

.

this is way off. green & black tea's, fresh ground black coffee beats anything with high sugar content. Countless studies out there to back it up.

www.pubmed.com

--Kaiser--

thegreatiam wrote: »

doesnt matter if its high in sugar, fruit juice will still be healthy.

Caffine isn't really healthy.

It does matter that it's high in sugar actually. And the fact that it's much easier to drink half a litre of juice than eat (for example) 10 apples means you're much more likely to over-indulge.

Nothing wrong with caffeine in moderation either

thegreatiam

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

It does matter that it's high in sugar actually. And the fact that it's much easier to drink half a litre of juice than eat (for example) 10 apples means you're much more likely to over-indulge.

Nothing wrong with caffeine in moderation either

You cant just assume someone is going to overindulge just because they can.
The whole point of healthy eating is "in moderation" and it's fairly well established that too much of a good thing is bad.

over indulging is only an issue if you are monitoring your weight.

a glass of juice is typically 200mls and 30g or so of sugar. which is fine for most people.

the issue of its calories and/or sugar content is largely irrelevant from it's health perspective in a healthy diet.

unless you are looking to lose weight. losing weight and healthy are not synonyms.

The White Feather

thegreatiam wrote: »

doesnt matter if its high in sugar, fruit juice will still be healthy.

OP, what do you want these healthy drinks to do?

Well, I have gone from drinking a few 2 litre bottles of coke every week to just drinking water now.I started this a few weeks ago. I train a lot and am just trying to make an effort to drink less stuff that has all that sugar in it.

I was getting big highs and then crashes but since I cut out the coke and all the fizzy drinks I'm not getting all those peaks and troughs and feel a lot better. No more bloated feelings too!

I was just wondering if I am home and fancy a drink other than tea and water (I dont drink Coffee at all) what to take. I don't want to live like a monk but I dont want to be taking something that I think is ok but full of sugar again.

As well what would be good for a recovery drink after a run or training session? I must look into getting Coconut water and try cranberry juice. Once I take them in moderation I should be ok from what every one has said.I am used to drinking water now and was looking for ideas so I don't get bored and end up back on the fizzy!

thegreatiam

The White Feather wrote: »

Once I take them in moderation I should be ok from what every one has said.I am used to drinking water now and was looking for ideas so I don't get bored and end up back on the fizzy!

there you go, practice moderation and youll be fine, its not the type of drink you are drinking its the amount.

when you get down to it most drinks are just water with flavors in them, so try to drink water to keep your self hydrated sufficiently.

If you want a treat drink then have a drink that you like. dont just cut things out of your diet. just drink them in moderation.

I used to drink 1.5l-2l of coke a day. Now i pretty much just drink water when im thirsty. If i want a coke if im having a burger then ill have a coke. No i drink maybe 500ml a month of coke.

I drink fruit juice if I want a fruit juice and ill have a smoothie made with milk or yoghurt every now and then.

The White Feather wrote: »

As well what would be good for a recovery drink after a run or training session?

a good drink for after training would be banana blended with peanut butter and milk. decent amount of fat, carbs and protein very good for recovery.

the world wonders

thegreatiam wrote: »

You cant just assume someone is going to overindulge just because they can.
The whole point of healthy eating is "in moderation"

The request was for "healthy" drinks, if we're going down the road of "well isn't everything healthy in moderation" then you might as well suggest beer, coca cola and chocolate milkshakes.

Fruit juice is high in sugar which has well-established negative health effects.

thegreatiam

now youre just twisting it to suit you. sure fags and crack are fine in moderation.

be realistic, sugar isnt unhealthy, your body runs on it. lots of sugar is unhealthy.
fat isnt unhealthy, your body runs on it, lots of fat is unhealthy.

fruit juice is a healthy drink, as it eating fruit.

if you are not currently trying to lose weight then you can drink quite a bit of fruit juice, or eat quite a bit of fruit each day.

if you are losing weight then then you need to watch calories from all sources not just sugar.

Since the op just asked for a healthy drink then fruit juice is healthy. IF he asked for a drink to drink as he was losing weight then I wouldnt suggest it.

Stench Blossoms

I would just like to add that I hate juice/smoothie being given the term 'healthy' but that's mainly because I see people dieting drinking them thinking they are the bee's knee's.

thegreatiam

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

I would just like to add that I hate juice/smoothie being given the term 'healthy' but that's mainly because I see people dieting drinking them thinking they are the bee's knee's.

thats more to do with what people define as "healthy"
eating healthy is often used in place of trying to lose weight but they have no causation between them.

Jason Todd

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

I would just like to add that I hate juice/smoothie being given the term 'healthy' but that's mainly because I see people dieting drinking them thinking they are the bee's knee's.

Why's that Stench Blossom? I am similar to the OP in that I am someone who has cut junk from my diet completely recently and now find myself limited in what I eat and drink. I am slowly expanding my horizons food-wise, but at the moment I am only drinking water as I have never liked Tea, Coffee etc.

As a treat I'll get myself a mango or strawberry smoothie maybe twice a week, is this not a good idea?

the world wonders

thegreatiam wrote: »

be realistic, sugar isnt unhealthy, is your body runs on it. lots of sugar is unhealthy.

Lots of sugar, like say 30 grams of it in a 200ml glass?

fruit juice is a healthy drink, as it eating fruit.

if you are not currently trying to lose weight then you can drink quite a bit of fruit juice, or eat quite a bit of fruit each day.

Fruit juice is not the same as fruit. Fruit contains fibre which triggers the body's satiety response. It is far, far easier to overconsume sugar in juice form.


Here's a picture of the sugar content of fruit juice;

would you say that that is healthy amount of sugar to have as a snack multiple times a day?

Dark Phoenix

pepermint tea
green tea
Pu-erh tea (tastes manky at first but when you get used to it its lovely!)
water
Fruit teas (bewleys do a very nice berry infusion one and also some of the twinnings teas are lovely they do a pineapple and grapefruit one, ginger and lemon etc actually I think you can get a box that has a few different fruit flavours to try

the great thing about green tea is it can help curb a sweet tooth (I have a very very sweet tooth!!) because you just dont feel like eating sweet things with or after it due to the taste of it.

thegreatiam

the world wonders wrote: »

Lots of sugar, like say 30 grams of it in a 200ml glass?

30g of sugar in a 900 ml glass would be better? its still 30g of sugar

the world wonders wrote: »

Fruit juice is not the same as fruit. Fruit contains fibre which triggers the body's satiety response. It is far, far easier to overconsume sugar in juice form.

over consumption is over consumption, which is exactly my point about moderation

the world wonders wrote: »

Here's a picture of the sugar content of fruit juice;

here is a picture of a duck in a hat,
http://www.posterlounge.co.uk/duck-with-hat-pr37566.html

the world wonders wrote: »

would you say that that is healthy amount of sugar to have as a snack multiple times a day?

the person is getting sugar from othe rsources

i never said have it multiple times a day, stop trying to twist my word to gain points.

You are entirely bastardizing my point to suit your self.

fruit juice in itself as a drink is not unhealthy. lots of fruit juice is.
if youre not looking at the diet as a whole the sugar in one glass is irrelevant.
if its the only sugar in the diet then 1 glass isnt enough.
if the person is getting sugar from other sources then 1//4 of a glass could be too much.

Stench Blossoms

Jason Todd wrote: »

Why's that Stench Blossom? I am similar to the OP in that I am someone who has cut junk from my diet completely recently and now find myself limited in what I eat and drink. I am slowly expanding my horizons food-wise, but at the moment I am only drinking water as I have never liked Tea, Coffee etc.

As a treat I'll get myself a mango or strawberry smoothie maybe twice a week, is this not a good idea?

Are you trying to lose weight? Are you monitoring your calorie intake?

The problem I have with smoothies etc is that people really have no idea how many calories are in them. There is A LOT of calories in them because there is a lot of fruit in them.

I look at it this way: Would you be able to eat 5 large oranges, 1 banana, yogurt, and a pun-net of strawberries? If you can, then more power too you. I know myself that I couldn't eat all and if I did i'd feel majorly 'stuffed' but if I drank a smoothie made with the same amount, there's no way I'd have that 'stuffed' feeling.

Make sense?

the world wonders

thegreatiam wrote: »

if its the only sugar in the diet then 1 glass isnt enough.

So how much sugar is "enough"?

there is no minimum RDA for sugar; sugar provides only energy and no essential nutrients

i never said have it multiple times a day, stop trying to twist my word to gain points.

So are we agreed that it is not healthy to drink fruit juice continuously throughout the day? Cause I'll happily agree that a single glass of OJ with your breakfast is fine...

thegreatiam

the world wonders wrote: »

So are we agreed that it is not healthy to drink fruit juice continuously throughout the day? Cause I'll happily agree that a single glass of OJ with your breakfast is fine...

nope, not at all, you can have a few glasses through out the day, that's perfectly healthy

Jason Todd

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Are you trying to lose weight? Are you monitoring your calorie intake?

The problem I have with smoothies etc is that people really have no idea how many calories are in them. There is A LOT of calories in them because there is a lot of fruit in them.

I look at it this way: Would you be able to eat 5 large oranges, 1 banana, yogurt, and a pun-net of strawberries? If you can, then more power too you. I know myself that I couldn't eat all and if I did i'd feel majorly 'stuffed' but if I drank a smoothie made with the same amount, there's no way I'd have that 'stuffed' feeling.

Make sense?

I am trying to lose weight, yeah. I have a personal trainer buddy of mine helping me out in terms of training and a diet guideline, but never thought to ask him about smoothies. So too much of the natural sugars in fruit, and the fact that your probably over-feeding are the negatives would you say?

Would you recommend something to drink for someone who doesn't drink tea, coffee, etc.

siochain

thegreatiam wrote: »

now youre just twisting it to suit you. sure fags and crack are fine in moderation.

be realistic, sugar isnt unhealthy, your body runs on it. lots of sugar is unhealthy.
fat isnt unhealthy, your body runs on it, lots of fat is unhealthy.

fruit juice is a healthy drink, as it eating fruit.

if you are not currently trying to lose weight then you can drink quite a bit of fruit juice, or eat quite a bit of fruit each day.

if you are losing weight then then you need to watch calories from all sources not just sugar.

Since the op just asked for a healthy drink then fruit juice is healthy. IF he asked for a drink to drink as he was losing weight then I wouldnt suggest it.

There is so much wrong with this post it's hard to know where to start.

Stench Blossoms

Jason Todd wrote: »

I am trying to lose weight, yeah. I have a personal trainer buddy of mine helping me out in terms of training and a diet guideline, but never thought to ask him about smoothies. So too much of the natural sugars in fruit, and the fact that your probably over-feeding are the negatives would you say?

Would you recommend something to drink for someone who doesn't drink tea, coffee, etc.

Well I don't drink tea or coffee either (love the smell of coffee but the taste makes me gag) and I just usually drink ice water. If I wanna be wild i through a few mint leaves in it.

Like, I wouldn't stop drinking the smoothies if I were you if you enjoy them. Just don't be under the illusion that they are 'healthy'. There's probably more calories in one than there is in a coke etc. Just work them into your daily allowance of calories and you'll be grand.

Everything in moderation

Jason Todd

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Well I don't drink tea or coffee either (love the smell of coffee but the taste makes me gag) and I just usually drink ice water. If I wanna be wild i through a few mint leaves in it.

Like, I wouldn't stop drinking the smoothies if I were you if you enjoy them. Just don't be under the illusion that they are 'healthy'. There's probably more calories in one than there is in a coke etc. Just work them into your daily allowance of calories and you'll be grand.

Everything in moderation

:eek:

Had no idea! I'm sure I could do without it!

El_Dangeroso

rick_fantastic wrote: »

im quite partial to carbonated water with some fresh lemon / lemon juice when i get craving for fizzy drinks... stay away from diet sodas FTW!

I LOVE soda water with a squeeze of lemon and lime and ice on one of the (few) hot summer's days.

I'd advise staying clear of fruit juice when trying to lose weight. It's moreish, has a significant amount of cals and has zero impact on satiety. Plus people who have a track record of relying too much on sugar to get them through the day are better off going cold turkey for a little bit.

tunguska

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Well I don't drink tea or coffee either (love the smell of coffee but the taste makes me gag) and I just usually drink ice water. If I wanna be wild i through a few mint leaves in it.

Like, I wouldn't stop drinking the smoothies if I were you if you enjoy them. Just don't be under the illusion that they are 'healthy'. There's probably more calories in one than there is in a coke etc. Just work them into your daily allowance of calories and you'll be grand.

Everything in moderation

But not all smoothies are made the same, plus you dont have to lug it all down in one go. It all depends on what you put in them. The one I make every day has spinach, red cabbage, cinammon, watercress, blueberries, kiwis, ground seeds and nuts, water, hemp protein powder, tomato, moringa powder, avacado, grapefruit, beetroot, and plums. I bring it to work with me and sip on it over the course of a few hours. Im not 100% sure of the caloric content but what I do know is its packed with anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Theres probably a lot more cals in it than coke but similarly, not all calories are made the same. I'd rather get 1000 healthy calories into me than 500 cals from coke. Whats more important than counting cals is the quality of what you're putting into yourself.

Stench Blossoms

Yes you are right but the *average* person usually has an all fruit smoothie from the likes of Zumo, Innocent etc.

tunguska

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Yes you are right but the *average* person usually has an all fruit smoothie from the likes of Zumo, Innocent etc.

Sorry I didnt realise you were talking about store bought smoothies. Which are to be avoided at all costs.

The White Feather

tunguska wrote: »

Sorry I didnt realise you were talking about store bought smoothies. Which are to be avoided at all costs.

Are they all completely bad? surely they must have some goodness in them although obviously not as much as one homemade with lots of fresh fruit.

Is there a difference between 500 "healthy" calories from a homemade smoothie and 500 calories from coke? I would have thought it would just all add up and its best to keep the calories low to maintain or reduce weight

MicraBoy

The White Feather wrote: »

Are they all completely bad? surely they must have some goodness in them although obviously not as much as one homemade with lots of fresh fruit.

Is there a difference between 500 "healthy" calories from a homemade smoothie and 500 calories from coke? I would have thought it would just all add up and its best to keep the calories low to maintain or reduce weight

It's not really about the binary decision Good/Bad, it's a spectrum between.

Fruit juice->Smoothies->Whole Fruit
Fruit juice is a poor decision because it delivers the sugar hit with little of the nutritional value of fruit.
Smoothies are a better decision because at least you get most of the nutritional value of the fruit, but let's not kid our selves, you are also getting the sugar hit.
Eating whole fruit is a better decision again because you get all the nutrional value, all the fiber, all the sugar hit (but the fiber helps mitigate this a bit). Still some would argue you should still limit fruit in take (as in veggies are an even better nutrional decision).

You can apply this logic to all you food/drink habits. Think about what you cando better rather than absolutes.

To help with your original question how about getting one of these bad boys or it's equivalent Aquazinger

And as an aside: 30g sugar in 200ml of fruit juice? Are you effin kiddin me? There is 35g sugar in a 330ml can of Coke

I for one don't believe sugar is toxic in the way some people portray, but let's be real, consuming vast quantities in small hits like this is not good for your cells.

rubadub

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

I'd advise staying clear of fruit juice when trying to lose weight. It's moreish, has a significant amount of cals and has zero impact on satiety.

There was a program on the other week with 2 groups of people, one lot given bowls of fruit salad for breakfast, and the others given the same calories as fruit juice. Then they were let eat other breakfast stuff afterwards, I think unlimited. The fruit juice drinkers ate more.

I think your body is meant to recognise you are chewing stuff and it fills you more so you are less likely to be eating more.

MicraBoy wrote: »

And as an aside: 30g sugar in 200ml of fruit juice? Are you effin kiddin me? There is 35g sugar in a 330ml can of Coke

Apple & orange juice are about 10-11% natural sugar, similar % as coke. Grape juice is about 16%, so 200ml would be 32g of natural sugar.

brilou23

wat about vit hit is that ok

tunguska

The White Feather wrote: »

Are they all completely bad? surely they must have some goodness in them although obviously not as much as one homemade with lots of fresh fruit.

Is there a difference between 500 "healthy" calories from a homemade smoothie and 500 calories from coke? I would have thought it would just all add up and its best to keep the calories low to maintain or reduce weight

Theres some goodness in them alright but theres also some goodness in juice from concentrate. Its just that the bad outweighs the good. Plus you dont get to control what goes into to those store bought smoothies which is never a good thing. Manufacturers will pump as much sugar into their products so as to hook you in, they really dont care about your health they care about you wanting more of their product and when its sweetened up you'll go for it again and again. The best bet is to make your own smoothies and include a good balance of fruit and veg. Choose low GI fruits and add in some ground nuts & seeds to control the blood sugar spike. Spoonful of cinammon aswell which also has beneficial effects on blood sugar, plus its very high in anti-oxidants so you get a double whammy.
Theres definitely a difference betweeen calories from things like coke and calories from things like fruit & veg. The smoothie I drink every day has a lot of cals in it but it doesnt make a difference to my weight. Whereas if I drank coke(which I've done in the past)theres instant fat gain. And I say fat to distinguish it from "weight". Best to keep an eye on body fat as opposed to weight. You could have two people, both the same weight on a scales, say 11st, and being the same height but one person could have 8% body fat and the other, 20% body fat. The person with the higher body fat would have larger dimensions like a wider waistline and so be more at risk of diabetes and heart disease. Thats why Im not really down with the weight watchers philosophy of points. You could be consuming bad stuff and still hit a points target and keep your weight at a certain level but all the while putting toxic crap into your body.
The best thing to do is to eat clean and eat regularly. Its that simple. Forget counting calories, you'll drive yourself nuts doing that.