Choosing healthy food is important if you want to feel great and stay well, but equally as important is choosing the healthiest beverages.
Yet with so many apparently health-enhancing beverages to pick from nowadays, how are you to know what really are the healthiest beverages?
From stevia-sweetened sodas and waters with “natural flavours,” to coconut water and kombucha, it can be confusing to figure out the best choices.
What does research say about the healthiest beverages if you genuinely want to improve your health?
1.Green Tea
Did you know that while green tea may be one of the best drinks for preventing cancer, it has also been shown to improve artery function and lower the risk of cardiovascular disease?
The endothelium, a thin, protective layer of cells, lines the blood vessels in our bodies. Nitric oxide, a gas produced by the endothelial cells, promotes smooth blood flow. These priceless cells only have a 30-year lifespan. People in their 40s and 50s frequently see a reduction in endothelial function as these cells age and are replaced. An increase in the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases is linked to this decline in endothelial function.
Endothelial function can decline, but this is not always the case. In fact, the older Chinese studied had arterial function comparable to Australians in their 20s, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, which found that Chinese adults were less prone to endothelial dysfunction than white Australians.
What was their secret? The individuals’ traditional Chinese diet, which included green tea, which is high in flavonoids, is thought to have played a role.
In a different study, it was discovered that adding milk, whether it be cow’s milk or soy milk, significantly reduced the bioavailability of the antioxidants in tea.
However, it was discovered that adding lemon raised the amount of antioxidants. These anti-oxidants aid in shielding cells throughout the body from the harmful effects of oxidation.
2.Apple Cider Vinegar in Water
A common folk remedy for many illnesses involves adding apple cider vinegar to a glass of water.
Recent research has proven that taking vinegar with a meal lessens the rise in triglycerides, insulin, and blood sugar. Additionally, it heightens satiety, or the sensation of being full after eating.
Consuming vinegar decreased body weight and body fat mass in a recent Japanese study. During the 12-week trial, study participants were randomised into three groups and given similar vinegar beverages to drink each day – a high dose group, a low dose group and a control group, which had a vinegar flavoured drink containing no vinegar at all (a placebo) (a placebo).
Two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar were added to a beverage that was consumed daily by the high dose group. And the low dose group drank a beverage containing 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar a day. Over the course of 12 weeks, weight and fat mass decreased in both vinegar groups, while weight gain occurred in the control group. The high dose group dropped an average of 5 pounds and one inch of abdominal fat, outpacing the low dose group in both weight loss and fat loss!
Just mix 1 or 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with 8 ounces of water to create your own vinegar beverage.
3.Coffee
Although coffee has a long history of being a contentious health beverage, current research indicates that the world’s favourite method to get up may have received an unfairly bad rap.
Of course, how coffee is prepared has a big influence on how healthy it is for you. The health advantages of coffee itself can be more than negated by the addition of sugar, milk, artificial flavourings, high fructose corn syrup, and other chemicals in many coffee shops.
Nonetheless, drinking plain coffee helps to improve mood, reaction time, and general mental performance. By widening your blood arteries, it boosts circulation and may lessen your chances of dementia, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and even some malignancies. This is due in part to the fact that coffee is one of the best sources of antioxidants in the western diet.
Using Coffee to Prevent Dementia
Almost 1,500 randomly chosen Finns were followed for 21 years as part of the Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Dementia project, which looked at a variety of dietary and lifestyle factors and how they related to health outcomes. In comparison to non-coffee drinkers, the study found that people who drank three to five small cups of coffee per day at midlife had a startling 65% lower risk of dementia as they aged.
Using coffee to prevent strokes
Another study that followed 34,670 women in Sweden for more than ten years found that those who did not drink any coffee had a higher risk of stroke, whereas those who drank at least one cup daily had a 22 to 25% lower risk.
Coffee’s Role in Preventing Cancer
You may have heard that coffee contains acrylamide, a chemical created during heating that has the potential to cause cancer. While it is true that the acrylamides found in some foods can contribute to cancer, there is no evidence to suggest that coffee consumption increases cancer risk. Contrarily, consuming coffee may actually reduce your risk for skin, lung, liver, breast, uterine, mouth, and throat cancers.
4.carrot juice
Prepare yourself for the beet’s menacing resume. With zero trans and saturated fats and high levels of magnesium, calcium, and iron, beets support a healthy liver and can lower blood pressure, boost stamina, enhance blood flow to the brain in older persons (slowing the progression of dementia), and improve memory.
The only drawback? Most grocery stores don’t carry beet juice, so you might have to make your own or buy it from a juice shop for this recipe.
5.KaleJuice
A lot of kale. Everyone enjoys kale. Although it may seem obnoxiously trendy, there are valid reasons why so many people are attracted to this material. The lush, dark green is a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals that support everything from bone health to bowel control.
Also, drinking your vegetables is a great way to acquire several servings in a single beverage. Simply steer clear of bottled products because they frequently contain a lot of sodium. Buying a juicer and starting to make your own kale juice and other vegetable juices at home might not be a bad idea.
Soy milk, 6.
Soluble fibre and soy protein in soy milk lower triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. Get soy milk that has been fortified with calcium and vitamins A and D if you plan to substitute it for cow’s milk. One warning: Phytoestrogens found in soy may increase the risk of breast cancer. If you have had the sickness yourself or have family members who have, discuss this healthful beverage with your doctor.
7.Cranberry juice
Unsweetened cranberry juice is loaded with the phytonutrients that give cranberries their anti-inflammatory qualities, as well as vitamins and minerals including copper, vitamin E, and vitamin C.
According to studies by the American Chemical Society, drinking three glasses per day dramatically boosts blood levels of “good cholesterol” and plasma antioxidant levels, lowering the risk of heart disease.
That’s not all, either. According to Logan, many women drink cranberry juice to support the health of their urinary tracts and to try to stave off cystitis. Seek for a version without added sugar.
Tomato juice, 8.
One 250 ml cup of tomato juice provides more than one fifth of your daily vitamin A needs and nearly all of your daily vitamin C needs, making it a very nutrient-dense beverage. Lycopene, another potent antioxidant known for reducing inflammation, is also abundant in it.
Logan asserts that tomato juice is a fantastic source of lycopene. Lycopene has been associated with both prostate and heart health. But be careful; choose one without extra sugar or salt.