If you’re having trouble ditching those sodas and juice bottle drinks, the winter season can help. The incentive is already there, with a typical soda can delivering almost 40 grams of sugar. That’s 10 teaspoons of sugar in a single small can. On really hot days, your thirst may lead you to opt for the oversized 44-ounce Big Gulp soda. With that drink, you reduce 128 grams or a whopping 32 teaspoons of sugar!
If that’s not bad enough, the sugar used in these drinks is high in fructose, which is highly available to your digestive system. This amount of sugar will cause massive insulin spikes and you will put on the pounds of fat as fast as you can drink it. The ripple effect of this leads to glucose resistance, diabetes, inflammation, and more. Yes, the incentive is fine.
The obvious and healthy alternative to sugar-laden drinks to stay hydrated is to simply drink plain water. When it’s cold, a hot drink seems preferable, and if you choose correctly, it can provide health benefits you didn’t expect. A warm cup warms your hands and the hot drink warms your entire body with each sip.
Surprisingly, a good cup of tea can do more than just warm you up. Drinking green or black tea consistently for a period of at least three months can lower blood pressure. This benefits your cardiovascular system and helps keep your heart healthy.
Low blood pressure is just the beginning of these highly beneficial drinks. Black tea is rich in antioxidants that are believed to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer, and green tea may reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer. In fact, the antioxidants in tea have been shown to reduce the risks of heart disease, cancer, and health problems that affect both men and women. The polyphenols (antioxidants) in green tea are also known to help regulate blood sugar, making the tea a useful agent for fighting diabetes.
Tea is not the only healthy option. Brewed coffee also provides antioxidants that provide anti-inflammatory properties and other benefits. Some of the antioxidants in coffee also help regulate blood sugar and therefore may help reduce the risk of diabetes. The only side effects of drinking coffee or tea may be the buzz of too much caffeine after several cups and the diuretic effect of coffee that leads to emptying your bladder. Supplement your tea and coffee intake with an occasional glass of water to stay well hydrated.
Whether you choose tea, coffee, or both, don’t spoil the benefits by pouring a large amount of sugar into each cup. That will only offset the benefits and get you back where you started. Try to avoid bottled tea products available on many store shelves. Many of these bottled tea and coffee products are loaded with sugar and other chemicals. More importantly, they may not provide the same intense antioxidant benefit. The American Chemical Society suggests that you may need to consume twenty bottles of store-bought tea to get the same benefit as one cup of brewed tea. Make a hearty drink this winter to steer your diet toward better health.