Sources: ChristopherReeve.org, OregonProvidence.org
Of all of the beverages sold in all of the grocery stores, coffee shops and restaurants on the planet, there is only one that your body actually needs: water. The others, for the most part, are simply unnecessary – and expensive – calories.
Water is essential for your good health. It keeps your blood flowing, provides cushioning for your joints, transports nutrients into your cells and flushes out waste. In the hot summer months, drinking water is especially important – drink too little and you could find yourself dehydrated and overheated.
As another health bonus, water is great for weight control. Simply put, water takes up space. When you drink a glass before a meal, it can make you feel less hungry, functioning as an appetite suppressant. Researchers have found that drinking four to six glasses of water a day is associated with weight loss. Drinking even two glasses of water a day will speed up your metabolism and help you burn calories faster.
Water is the perfect, no-cost, no-calorie beverage, and it comes right out of the kitchen tap whenever you want it. But instead of drinking water, too many Americans are choosing sodas, energy drinks, coffee drinks, fruit drinks, sports drinks and other high-calorie beverages. Today, an average of 21 percent of our daily calories comes from beverages — it should be closer to ten per cent.