Watch your drink

Barbara J Rolls,a nutrition researcher at Penn State and the author of Volumetrics,and her colleagues have demonstrated in many studies that people consume fewer calories when their meals and snacks have a high liquid content. Drinks consumed with and between meals do not have the same satiating effect,their research has shown.
People who drink lots of high-calorie beverages rarely compensate by eating less,and they can end up with a caloric overload. And if people who try to limit calories fill their daily quota with high-calorie drinks,they can easily shortchange themselves on foods that supply essential,health-promoting nutrients: fruits and vegetables (which,incidentally,are an important source of liquids in a well-balanced diet),protein-rich foods and whole grains.

Dehydration is dangerous
The effects of dehydration can be subtle,with an array of confusing symptoms that can leave people feeling fatigued,irritable and unproductive,often with side orders of headache and muscle cramps.
Athletes,whether amateur,recreational or professional,often fail to drink enough to compensate for the fluid they lose through sweat and respiration,and as a result they may not perform up to par. Even the totally sedentary are at risk when high heat,dry air (air-conditioning in the summer,heating in the winter) or high altitudes increase their bodies’ water needs.

For the elderly,who often restrict their liquid intake for fear of having to get to a bathroom quickly,dehydration is commonplace and can be downright dangerous. It is one of the most common causes of hospitalisation for people over 65.
Despite their caffeine,which is a mild diuretic,coffee,tea and other caffeinated beverages can count toward your daily liquid intake,though not as completely as the equivalent amount of water. But beware of the calories in the souped-up coffees now on many chain restaurant menus.

Alcohol,however,definitely increases the body’s water need and cannot be included in your liquid intake unless the drinks are prepared with plenty of unsweetened nonalcoholic mixers.
Flavoured bottled waters may carry an aura of healthfulness. But the 150 calories of sugar,when consumed in place of plain water,can increase your weight by 15 pounds in a year,points out David Zinczenko,co-author of Drink This,Not That!,an enlightening new book on the calorie and sugar content of scores of popular drinks. Better to get your antioxidants from fruits and vegetables,which come packaged with valuable nutrients.
Stick to plain,old water from the tap (filtered at home),as you can reduce the dependence on oil (plastic water bottles are petroleum-based) and the pressure on landfills and let foods remain your best source of needed nutrients.

Don’t get fat on drinks
The most recent nutrition survey in the US found that sugar-sweetened sodas are the single largest source of calories: 7.1 per cent. Yet they supply nothing but water that is of value to the body. And their sugar content actually increases the body’s water needs. The average American now consumes about a gallon of soda a week,and most of it is not the sugar-free diet variety.
When I was growing up in the 1940s and ’50s,soda (8 ounces,not 32) was a drink for special occasions. Water,milk and orange juice — not ersatz sugary juices — were the beverages served at meals and snacks.
My brother and I drank a fair amount of chocolate milk,but a shake was a rare treat and far more modest than the 1,160 calories and 168 grams of sugars in a popular fast-food chain’s 32-ounce chocolate shake,as described in Zinczenko’s book. And I don’t recall any smoothies. In my youth,adults drank coffee and tea,but there were no latte.

Think green tea is good for you? The scientific evidence certainly suggests that,with antioxidants and about 40 milligrams of caffeine in each cup,it can boost metabolism,among other health benefits. But those research findings were based on plain green tea,with perhaps a teaspoon (16 calories) of sugar,not on a well-known brand’s 17.5-ounce “mango” green tea with 140 calories and 33 grams of sugar.
_nyt