A healthy lifestyle is maintained through good nutrition and fitness. Staying active and eating right allows your body to repair itself more easily and helps prevent disease. It's not just eating the proper foods, however, that is necessary for overall health, drinking the right liquids also plays a part. Here are the top four healthy drinks you should consume to keep your body happy and healthy for many years to come.
Milk
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Milk is loaded with vitamins and minerals that are vital for your body. Most people are aware that the calcium in milk helps build and maintain strong teeth and bones. Calcium is also required for proper muscle and nerve functioning. The vitamins in milk (mainly vitamins A, B12 and D) assist in the absorption of calcium, regulate nervous system growth and activity, and are involved in blood formation. Milk is also a source of protein and nutrients which are beneficial to (and often required by) your body.
In addition, soy milk provides numerous health benefits and is higher in protein than regular milk. This type of milk contains isoflavones, chemicals which aid in the prevention of heart disease, cancers and osteoporosis. Unfortunately, it lacks the calcium that regular milk provides.
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Tea
Tea, which is a tasty alternative to unflavored water or coffee, offers numerous health benefits. More specifically, green, red (or oolong) and black teas reportedly lower bad cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease as well as the risk of several types of cancer. Additionally, tea contains hardly any calories, fat, salt, or additives. While it does contain a moderate amount of caffeine (20 to 70 milligrams per cup), this is actually beneficial for your body. Caffeine provides relief from fatigue and increases alertness and concentration. Like coffee (which contains 90 to 150 milligrams of caffeine per cup), tea helps stimulate the digestive system and metabolism. However, unlike coffee, it does not usually cause increased heart rate and nervousness.
Although you may be tempted to put milk in your tea in order to reap the nutritional benefits of both these drinks, you should refrain from doing so because mixing milk with tea cancels out the health benefits of tea. The proteins in milk, called caseins, block the ability of tea to relax the arteries which allows for a healthy blood flow/pressure. Thus, pick one drink or the other instead of mixing both together.
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Water
You've heard it before, but it can't hurt to say it again: drink at least eight glasses of water per day. Eight glasses? Yikes! That sounds like a lot, but it is essential for your body to function properly since almost all the cells in your body require water in order to function adequately. Luckily, flavored water is now available to facilitate the task of reaching this eight-a-day goal. These flavored drinks contain few to no calories and fat, and provide the same health benefits as water. Although these drinks they may cost slightly more than regular, unflavored water, they are worth the investment if they enable you to increase your water intake.
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Juice
Freshly squeezed juice offers a healthy serving of a variety of vitamins and minerals. It is important, however, that the juice be squeezed from raw fruits and vegetables to obtain maximum health benefits. Store bought fruit juices are generally packed with more sugar more than anything else, which leads to tooth decay and the consumption of excess calories. Conversely, fresh juice is full of phytochemicals, which are said to protect against chronic disease and have antioxidant activity.
If squeezing fresh juice is too time consuming for you, then search for fruit juice drinks that are listed as "100% fruit juice" instead of "fruit drink" or "fruit flavored" on the labels. Another helpful tip is to dilute your fruit juice with water. Sweetened fruit juices contain so much sugar that the difference will hardly be noticeable.
Consuming healthy drinks on a daily basis will hydrate and regenerate your body's systems. The vitamins and minerals in these drinks aid in preventing against diseases and assist in the proper functioning of your body's vital organs. So, enjoy a cool, healthy drink this summer on a sunny day! You'll definitely benefit from it!
Milk
Milk is loaded with vitamins and minerals that are vital for your body. Most people are aware that the calcium in milk helps build and maintain strong teeth and bones. Calcium is also required for proper muscle and nerve functioning. The vitamins in milk (mainly vitamins A, B12 and D) assist in the absorption of calcium, regulate nervous system growth and activity, and are involved in blood formation. Milk is also a source of protein and nutrients which are beneficial to (and often required by) your body.
In addition, soy milk provides numerous health benefits and is higher in protein than regular milk. This type of milk contains isoflavones, chemicals which aid in the prevention of heart disease, cancers and osteoporosis. Unfortunately, it lacks the calcium that regular milk provides.
________________________________________
Tea
Tea, which is a tasty alternative to unflavored water or coffee, offers numerous health benefits. More specifically, green, red (or oolong) and black teas reportedly lower bad cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease as well as the risk of several types of cancer. Additionally, tea contains hardly any calories, fat, salt, or additives. While it does contain a moderate amount of caffeine (20 to 70 milligrams per cup), this is actually beneficial for your body. Caffeine provides relief from fatigue and increases alertness and concentration. Like coffee (which contains 90 to 150 milligrams of caffeine per cup), tea helps stimulate the digestive system and metabolism. However, unlike coffee, it does not usually cause increased heart rate and nervousness.
Although you may be tempted to put milk in your tea in order to reap the nutritional benefits of both these drinks, you should refrain from doing so because mixing milk with tea cancels out the health benefits of tea. The proteins in milk, called caseins, block the ability of tea to relax the arteries which allows for a healthy blood flow/pressure. Thus, pick one drink or the other instead of mixing both together.
________________________________________
Water
You've heard it before, but it can't hurt to say it again: drink at least eight glasses of water per day. Eight glasses? Yikes! That sounds like a lot, but it is essential for your body to function properly since almost all the cells in your body require water in order to function adequately. Luckily, flavored water is now available to facilitate the task of reaching this eight-a-day goal. These flavored drinks contain few to no calories and fat, and provide the same health benefits as water. Although these drinks they may cost slightly more than regular, unflavored water, they are worth the investment if they enable you to increase your water intake.
________________________________________
Juice
Freshly squeezed juice offers a healthy serving of a variety of vitamins and minerals. It is important, however, that the juice be squeezed from raw fruits and vegetables to obtain maximum health benefits. Store bought fruit juices are generally packed with more sugar more than anything else, which leads to tooth decay and the consumption of excess calories. Conversely, fresh juice is full of phytochemicals, which are said to protect against chronic disease and have antioxidant activity.
If squeezing fresh juice is too time consuming for you, then search for fruit juice drinks that are listed as "100% fruit juice" instead of "fruit drink" or "fruit flavored" on the labels. Another helpful tip is to dilute your fruit juice with water. Sweetened fruit juices contain so much sugar that the difference will hardly be noticeable.
Consuming healthy drinks on a daily basis will hydrate and regenerate your body's systems. The vitamins and minerals in these drinks aid in preventing against diseases and assist in the proper functioning of your body's vital organs. So, enjoy a cool, healthy drink this summer on a sunny day! You'll definitely benefit from it!
