Nutrition
Low down on drinks other than water
Did you know?
Alcohol is fattening! Each gram has 29kJ. If you drink 2 to 3 glasses of wine every evening, you may be consuming 300 to 450 extra calories (1260-1890kJ) per day.
Top tips
- Drink plenty of water every day.
- Consume an amount of fluid equivalent to 6-8 cups of water per day (enough to make you urinate 4 to 5 times a day).
- Try low-fat milk sometimes, as a nutritious alternative to water or soft drinks.
- Avoid excessive intakes of alcohol, soft drinks and fruit juices.
- Fizzy drinks are not recommended for children under the age of 2 years.
- People susceptible to caffeine should minimise consumption of tea, coffee and other caffeinated drinks.The National Heart Foundation suggests a maximum of 5 cups of coffee a day for the general population (NHF 1999).
Alcohol
I’s true - alcohol is fattening! While it doesn’t raise blood cholesterol, it can raise triglycerides (a common type of fat), blood pressure and body weight. So limiting your intake is an important way to keep your weight under control. There are, of course, other health benefits to limiting alcohol intake. For example excessive alcohol intake increases your risk of heart disease and stroke, liver disease, accidents and some cancers, as well as many other problems.
Limit your intake to 1 or 2 standard drinks per day. If you are trying to lose weight, you may want to reduce this amount.
Standard alcohol servings
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1 glass ordinary strength beer 300ml
1 glass fortified wine, eg. sherry, port, martini 60ml
1 pub measure spirits eg. gin, whisky, vodka 30ml
1 glass of table wine 100ml
Source: guidelines from the Alcohol Liquor Advisory Council
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Coffee
Many people find it hard to get through the day without their hit of caffeine, commonly gained from a cup of coffee – this ritual therefore contributes to daily fluid intake. And it’s good to know that drinking coffee in moderate amounts is currently considered safe for healthy individuals, and can improve memory and mental functions.
However, there are a few factors to be aware of:
- Coffee is the major source of caffeine in this country.
- Coffee may contain about 3 or 4 times as much caffeine as an equal amount of cola-flavoured drink.
- Caffeine has been associated with increased blood pressure in people prone to hypertension.
- Large amounts of coffee can cause irritability and jittery nerves. If that’s the case for you, and you don’t want to give up drinking coffee, perhaps give up other caffeinated soft drinks.
- May contribute to disturbed sleep - if so, avoid coffee after 4pm.
- Excess caffeine may be associated with irregular heart beats and raised blood lipids. Certain ways of preparing coffee (boiling ground coffee beans for long periods) may raise blood cholesterol levels.
- Some research suggests caffeine is a risk factor for bone fractures and bone loss, other studies have not found a link.
- Adding sugar to coffee or tea can add significantly to your daily energy intake, contributing to overweight and obesity.
Tea
As well as containing caffeine, tea, especially green tea, contains large amounts of polyphenols - antioxidants thought to protect against cancer and cardiovascular disease. Herbal teas commercially marketed in New Zealand are very dilute. Some might interact with prescription drugs.
Do caffeinated beverages hydrate or dehydrate?
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Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance in about 60 plants, so is present in many foods and drinks, including coffee, tea, chocolate, soft drinks and energy drinks. It’s a stimulant that temporarily wards off drowsiness and makes you feel more alert. When consumed in moderate amounts, caffeine containing drinks can count towards daily water intake, contributing to hydration.
While caffeine has been shown to increase the flow of urine, this effect is short-lived, so the ‘diuretic’ effect is more than likely to be made up by the fluid in the drink. So you can count your coffee, tea and other caffeine containing drinks as part of your total water intake.
However, as with many things in life, too much of a good thing can be bad for you! Remember, caffeine has a diuretic effect, so many cups of strong coffee or can be dehydrating. So too can energy drinks, like V, that contain guarana. This naturally occurring compound may be an effective energy booster but it contains about twice the amount of caffeine that is found in coffee beans.
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Fruit juice, cordials, fizzy and sports drinks
These drinks all contain water, so they can contribute to total fluid intake. And, in some cases, they also provide you with other nutrients, like vitamin C. It’s not uncommon for people to think fruits juices, in particular, are okay to drink every day, but all these drinks also contain sugar. In fact, fruit juice and soft drinks have about the same kilojoules as regular beer, so aren’t ideal to drink if you are trying to lose weight. Fruit juice typically contains even more sugar than fizzy drinks.
Another trap is the phosphoric acid and citric acid added to fizzy and sports drinks. These chemicals can damage tooth enamel. Latest research shows there is a stronger link between people drinking soft drinks and increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, than with people drinking juice. Soft drinks have very little nutritional value and fill you up so you are less likely to drink more nutritional fluids, like milk.
Many manufacturers use high-fructose corn syrup as the sweetener, and debate continues over whether or not regular consumption of high-fructose corn syrup leads to gout and kidney disease. Diet soft drinks tend to have higher levels of salt.
The message is, if you want to watch your sugar and salt intake, make soft drinks and juice an occasional treat. The Ministry of Health recommends sports and fizzy be given to 2-12 year-olds only as ‘treat foods’, like at birthday parties. Fizzy drinks are not recommended for children under the age of 2 years.
Milk
Milk is an important source of calcium, protein and other essential nutrients, and is recommended by the New Zealand Food and Nutrition Guidelines to be included as part of your daily fluid intake. If you choose milk to as a daily drink for its calcium and or water content, it’s sensible to choose reduced fat or low fat dairy foods.
Full fat milk is recommended for children up to 2 years old, but after that, reduced-fat milk should be offered, according to the Ministry of Health. Soy milk, too, is a healthy choice, but choose calcium-fortified varieties if you are relying on it to boost your daily calcium needs.