We spend a lot of time worrying about what we eat. We count calories, measure fats, spend time at the grocery store reading labels.
So, why don’t we pay the same attention to what we drink?
You feel better when you order a chicken with a salad over a burger and fries, but don’t think twice when you follow it up with a cappuccino or cola. Why?
Your body responds to what you drink just as much as what you eat.
Your body uses water to function properly. Things like digestion, temperature regulation and digestion are all dependant upon you drinking water. It also helps support healthy skin, maintain a healthy weight, and naturally detoxifies.
Water is however, not the end-all, be-all of beverages. There are other beverages you can drink to reap additional health benefits, and give your tastebuds some variety.
Here are three:
Vegetable Juice: You don’t have to eat your vegetables. It’s true. You can drink them! Juicing vegetables holds a myriad of benefits, both health and otherwise.
Juicing vegetables allows you to absorb all the nutrients from vegetables. This means you can actually get more health benefits from your broccoli, carrots, spinach, etc. than you would receive by just eating them. Plus, you can add some healthy flavor, by mixing in things like lemons, limes, ginger, or coconut water.
Coconut Water: Regularly used as a sports drink, due to its natural salts and electrolytes, Coconut water is also low in sugar and calories, while still having a deliciously sweet taste, making it a great beverage to consume on a regular basis.
Also present in this tasty natural drink are many nutrients such as B-vitamins and trace minerals. Amino acids, antioxidants, enzymes and anti-viral/anti-bacterial properties round out the number of reasons you should have yourself a coconut water today.
Green Tea: Packed with antioxidants and catechins, green tea has been one of the most highly researched substances of the last several decades, establishing it as one of the foremost health foods available.
EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate) is the catechin specific to green tea, which is touted and the most powerful catechin and holds the key to countless health properties.
In choosing your green tea, it is important to pick the right kind. We will be covering this in next Saturday’s article. Please check back while we unpack and compare the many differences of today’s green tea.