When trying to lose weight we often curb our eating habits, but forget to watch what we’re drinking.
But even drinks we consider to be healthy can contain lots of calories and large amounts of sugar.
If you’re trying to be healthier this year it’s important to think about everything you’re putting into your body as many drinks can ruin your teeth and make you pile on the pounds.
Here are seven supposedly healthy drinks that you should consider cutting from your diet:
1. Fruit juice
Most labels will tell you that this fruit juice contains two of your 5-a-day, but you shouldn’t always take it on board.
Most shop-bought fruit juices are pasteurised (essentially boiled), which destroys a lot of the valuable nutrients, while concentrating the sugars.
The juice is also extracted from the whole fruit, which leaves behind the fibrous part of the fruit that helps to slow sugar absorption into the blood.
2. Diet alternatives
“Diet” drinks may be sugar-free but they contain artificial sweeteners and research suggests that individuals who regularly consume these sweeteners are more likely to put on weight.
These alternatives tend to be more sweeter than the original drink and will drive cravings that lead you to wanting more.
3. Shop-bought smoothies
Just because a drink is green, it doesn’t always mean it’s healthy. Some smoothies actually contain more sugar than fizzy drinks.
Avoid ambient smoothies – those that don’t need refrigerating – which will have been heavily pasteurised and will have added preservatives. Always check the labels.
4. Vitamin waters
If a drink is enriched with vitamins, it doesn’t always make it good for you. These drinks may have added vitamins, but it doesn’t make up for the sugar and flavourings that are also added to them.
One bottle of “healthy” vitamin water will contain 31g of sugar, which is almost 8 teaspoons. You would be better of getting your vitamins from fresh fruit and vegetables instead.
5. Sweetened nut milks
Unless the nut milk is unsweetened, then you’re getting a few extra heaps of sugar into your drink.
Always go for the unsweetened option, be wary of sweeteners used in these milks such as “date syrup” or “rice syrup”, as they’re just different forms of sugar.
6. Flavoured waters
Although they may seem like the healthier option, and for some who don’t like plain water, these actually contain more sugar than a fizzy drink. And to make it worse, you’re usually paying over double the price of a normal bottle of water.
