The 24 Worst Drinks for Your Health (2023)

FAQs

The 24 Worst Drinks for Your Health? ›

Water is the best choice for quenching your thirst. Coffee and tea, without added sweeteners, are healthy choices, too. Some beverages should be limited or consumed in moderation, including fruit juice, milk, and those made with low-calorie sweeteners, like diet drinks.

Water is the best choice for quenching your thirst. Coffee and tea, without added sweeteners, are healthy choices, too. Some beverages should be limited or consumed in moderation, including fruit juice, milk, and those made with low-calorie sweeteners, like diet drinks.

Sugar-sweetened drinks (such as soda, pop, soft drinks, flavored milks, sports drinks, flavored water with sugar, and juice drinks) contain added sugars. These drinks are different than 100% juice. Children younger than 24 months old should avoid added sugars.

Water is the drink of choice for heart health. If you're thirsty, drink water. When the weather is warm or we're exercising, our bodies need more water than usual. Unflavoured milk, tea and coffee can be enjoyed in moderation.

What is the best drink every morning? ›

Even caffeinated drinks — such as coffee and soda — can contribute to your daily water intake. But go easy on sugar-sweetened drinks. Regular soda, energy or sports drinks, and other sweet drinks usually contain a lot of added sugar, which may provide more calories than needed.

Not only can drinking soda (and other sugar-sweetened beverages, or SSBs for short) lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer, soda can also lead to a much shorter, and unhealthier life.

But Gatorade contains high levels of sugar and food dyes, which may increase people's risk of certain health conditions, including weight gain and type 2 diabetes. Gatorade and other sports drinks are not inherently healthy or healthier than other beverages.

While Gatorade can help you stay hydrated, it's best to only drink it when needed. For people who aren't exercising for at least one hour, five days per week, water is the best bet for staying hydrated. Electrolytes coming from natural sources without added sugars and dyes are recommended.

Best Choice: Water

Water is essential for your body. It prevents dehydration, constipation, and kidney stones. Plus, with no calories, it's the best beverage for your waistline. If you add 1 to 3 cups of water a day to your diet, you could end up taking in less fat, salt, sugar, and up to 200 fewer calories per day.

In general, you may start to experience physical benefits such as increased energy, reduced anxiety, and improved liver health. You might also notice positive changes in your personal life, such as improved relationships and more free time for hobbies.

Staying hydrated

A 2017 study found that a 335-milliliter drink of water could reduce resting heart rate over a 30-minute period. This decline continued for another 30 minutes. Drinking plenty of beverages throughout the day could lower a person's heart rate.

Which fruit is best for the heart? ›

Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries are jam-packed with important nutrients that play a central role in heart health. Berries are also rich in antioxidants like anthocyanins, which protect against the oxidative stress and inflammation that contribute to the development of heart disease ( 9 ).

Sprite is a caffeine-free lemon-lime soda. Yet, its high added sugar content can provide a quick boost of energy. That said, Sprite and other sugary sodas should be limited in a healthy diet.

The most controversial ingredients in Crystal Light are artificial colors and sweeteners. While the FDA generally recognizes them as safe, some claim aspartame, sucralose, stevia, and artificial colors lack long-term evidence and may have adverse effects.

Two early signs of dehydration are thirst and dark-coloured urine. This is the body's way of trying to increase water intake and decrease water loss. Other symptoms may include: dizziness or light-headedness.

Research shows that milk is one of the best beverages for hydration, even better than water or sports drinks. Researchers credit milk's natural electrolytes, carbohydrates, and protein for its effectiveness.

Water. While it likely comes as no surprise, drinking water is most often the best and cheapest way to stay hydrated and rehydrate. Unlike many other beverages, water contains no added sugars or calories, making it ideal to drink throughout the day or specifically when you need to rehydrate, such as after a workout.

One of the best times to drink warm water is when you get up in the morning. This helps to kick-start your metabolism, so it functions at optimal levels throughout the day. It's also a good idea to drink warm liquids with your meals as this helps to keep everything fluid and protects your internal organs.

The bottom line

While breakfast options abound, the best choices are high in fiber, protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. Many nutritious, healthy foods and drinks are also easy to prepare in the morning. These include fruit, whole grain toast, eggs, green tea, coffee, and protein shakes.

How long does it take for a glass of water to go through the body? ›

The average person will take about 10 minutes or less for their body to process one glass of water because they have normal levels of bodily functions such as digestion and absorption.

Worst: Salty Foods. Salty foods contain sodium, a nutrient that the body needs but only in small amounts. 10 You might want to enjoy some salty foods (e.g., peanuts, pretzels) before enjoying a drink, but those are the very snacks you'll want to avoid before indulging in adult beverages.

Research shows that drinking tea can lower risk of mortality and prevent poor health conditions. Using data from UK BioBank, researchers at the National Cancer Institute have found evidence to suggest drinking tea can lengthen your lifespan.

Fruit-flavoured fizzy drinks like lemonade and fizzy orange are slightly better choices than cola, but not ideal as your regular drink. The combination of sugar and acid can damage your teeth, and over time, excess calories from a high-sugar diet can lead to weight gain.

Pedialyte products generally provide fewer calories and sugar and a significantly higher electrolyte content than Gatorade. Pedialyte may help people of all ages recover from viruses, while Gatorade is specifically designed for adult athletes.

What is Gatorade Fit? Gatorade Fit is the newest electrolyte beverage from Gatorade and is formulated for those seeking healthy, real hydration with no added sugar.

IV therapy is a healthy way to stay hydrated without drinking or eating. IV fluids can rehydrate the body after alcohol consumption or intense physical activity. They can also alleviate dehydration symptoms of morning sickness, migraines, food poisoning and other health conditions.

Fluids like tea, juice, coconut water, and milk also provide plenty of water, as do many fruits and vegetables. In fact, research shows coconut water hydrates just as well as a carbohydrate sports drinks or plain water, and may be easier to drink in large quantities than sweeter sports drinks.

What is the best electrolyte water? ›

Green tea is generally considered the healthiest beverage globally due to its high levels of nutrients and antioxidants that fight off diseases and keep your organ functioning at its optimum level.

Juice drinks, fruit drinks, and fruit-flavored drinks have added sugars and should be avoided. Whole fruits are healthier options for your child than fruit juices.

If you stop drinking completely, one of the first things you notice should be improved energy levels, better sleep and finding it easier to wake up in the morning. Regular drinking can affect the quality of your sleep making you feel tired and sluggish during the day.

3-4 Weeks. At 3 weeks of not drinking, most drinkers have successfully reduced their risk of heart disease, including stroke, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Their kidney health and even their vision may improve. For dependent drinkers, blood pressure may reduce to normal levels by the 3rd or 4th week.

Summary. Across the month, your body is likely to have benefitted greatly from giving up alcohol. Better hydration and improved sleep will have increased your productivity and daily wellbeing. Your liver, stomach and skin will also have benefitted from not dealing with alcohol.

What drink can I drink all day? ›

Water is your friend, do not drink soft drinks, soda water or anything but water, obviously outside of the cocktails. Aim to have one glass of water for every alcoholic beverage you consume.

You've probably heard the advice to drink eight glasses of water a day. That's easy to remember, and it's a reasonable goal. Most healthy people can stay hydrated by drinking water and other fluids whenever they feel thirsty.

Moderate alcohol use for healthy adults generally means up to one drink a day for women and up to two drinks a day for men.

1. Make over your morning glass of water. The benefits of drinking water (at least 2 cups) first thing in the morning are plenty. Besides flushing out toxins and providing some much-needed hydration, this amount of water can increase your metabolism .

You'll feel less hungry and may even lose weight. You'll probably experience more comfortable digestion (less heartburn). Bowel movements might be easier and more regular. Your teeth and gums will be healthier and more resilient.

Heavy drinking is excessive drinking

Heavy drinking is defined as consuming 8 or more drinks per week for women, or 15 or more drinks per week for men.

As a general rule, you should take one-third of your body weight and drink that number of ounces in fluids. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, aim to drink 50 ounces of water each day.

If you stop drinking completely, one of the first things you notice should be improved energy levels, better sleep and finding it easier to wake up in the morning. Regular drinking can affect the quality of your sleep making you feel tired and sluggish during the day.

What are the 4 types of drinker? ›

NIAAA defines heavy drinking as follows: For men, consuming more than 4 drinks on any day or more than 14 drinks per week. For women, consuming more than 3 drinks on any day or more than 7 drinks per week.

To reduce the risk of alcohol-related harms, the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults of legal drinking age can choose not to drink, or to drink in moderation by limiting intake to 2 drinks or less in a day for men or 1 drink or less in a day for women, on days when alcohol is consumed.