It's simple to overlook, but getting a balanced diet requires making healthier beverage choices.
Hot chocolate and other instant powdered beverages are among the sugar-heavy soft drinks.
Sugar-rich foods and beverages are frequently calorie-dense, and consuming too many calories increases your risk of gaining weight.
Some energy drinks contain large amounts of both caffeine and sugar. You can choose healthier options by reading the nutrition labels on soft drinks, such as fruit juices and carbonated beverages.
We should consume 6 to 8 cups or glasses of fluid per day. Water, milk with less fat, and beverages without added sugar, such as tea and coffee, all count.
Take in a lot of water
Water is a healthy and cheap choice for quenching your thirst at any time. It includes no sugars that can harm teeth and has no calories.
Plain tea, fruit tea, and sugar-free coffee can all be beneficial for your health.
Try sparkling water or add a slice of lemon or lime if you don't like the taste of plain water.
Alternately, warm the water and steep a tea bag, some coffee, or a lemon slice in it.
For flavor, you might also use some fruit juice or no-added-sugar squash.
Drink semi-skimmed, 1% fat or skimmed milk
Calcium, a mineral that helps create and maintain strong bones, is found in milk.
Milk does not cause tooth decay and also contains protein, vitamins, and other minerals.
Select semi-skimmed, 1% fat, or skimmed milk for a healthier option.
Limit your consumption of flavored milks, milkshakes, condensed milk, and energy or malt drinks that contain milk. These have extra sugar in them, which is unhealthy for your teeth.
For young children, milk is especially crucial. Because lower-fat milks might not provide them with the necessary number of calories, they should have whole milk until they are two years old.
Cows' milk should not be offered as a drink until a baby is 1 year old since it does not provide the balance of nutrients a baby requires.
From the age of 2, children can gradually move to semi-skimmed milk as a main drink as long as they're eating a varied and balanced diet and growing well.
Smoothies, juices, and the 5 a Day
Smoothies and juices made from fruits and vegetables are packed with vitamins and minerals.
Maximum 1 portion of your recommended 5 daily portions of fruit and vegetables can be satisfied by a 150 ml glass of unsweetened fruit juice, vegetable juice, or smoothie.
Limit the amount of fruit juice, vegetable juice or smoothie you have to no more than a combined total of 150ml a day (1 small glass) (1 small glass).
Have other sorts of fruit and vegetables for the additional 4 (or more) pieces.
This is because the sugars in fruit and vegetables are released when they're juiced or blended, making them "free sugars".
Once released, these sugars can damage your teeth, especially if you drink juice or smoothies often.
The sugars found naturally in whole fruit and vegetables are less likely to induce tooth decay because the sugar is contained inside the structure of the fruit.
It's ideal to consume juice or smoothies with a meal because this helps avoid injury to your teeth.
Flavored waters, carbonated beverages, and sugar-sweetened squash
Keep your intake of fizzy drinks, squashes, and juice drinks to a minimum because they often have high levels of added sugar and few nutrients. They should be completely avoided by kids.
A surprising amount of sugar can also be found in flavored water drinks, so make sure before you buy.
Also beware of "juice drinks" as they may not have enough fruit in them to count towards your 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
A beverage with a lot of sugar will also have a lot of calories, which can make you gain weight.
Cutting down on these drinks is a smart way of decreasing the number of calories you consume while not missing out on any nutrients.
Similar to this, encouraging kids to drink fewer sugary beverages is an excellent method to reduce the amount of sugar they eat.
Children who consume large amounts of sugary beverages are more likely to gain weight.
The extra sugar in these drinks also means they can damage teeth.
If you do have sugary or fizzy drinks, drinking them with meals can help reduce the damage to teeth.
The ideal drinks to give youngsters are water and milk.
If you or your children favor fizzy beverages, consider diluting fruit juice with sparkling water instead.
Remember to dilute squashes well to lower the sugar level in the drink.
Caffeinated drinks
Caffeine is a stimulant. Caffeine-containing beverages can temporarily increase our alertness or decrease our drowsiness.
Some people are more affected by caffeine than others, and the effect can vary depending on how much you typically consume.
Pregnant women should minimize their intake of caffeinated drinks because of the caffeine level.
Caffeinated drinks are also unsuitable for toddlers and young children.
Drinks that contain high amounts of caffeine include coffee, tea, colas and energy drinks.
Tea and coffee
Tea and coffee are acceptable as part of a healthy diet. Bear in mind, though, that caffeinated drinks can make the body produce urine more quickly.
Although some people are more prone to this than others, it also depends on how much and how frequently you consume caffeine.
Reduce your caffeine intake by switching to low-caffeine tea, coffee, fruit or herbal teas, or other beverages if you suffer from urine incontinence.
You might be unknowingly harming your teeth and packing on unwanted calories to your diet if you consume tea or coffee with sugar or flavoring syrups.
There are numerous tablet and granular artificial sweeteners that are suitable for use in hot beverages.
However, many people who decide to cut out sugar from their hot beverages quickly become used to the flavor.
Energy drinks and caffeine
Caffeine levels in energy drinks are frequently high, and sugar content is also frequently high (calories).
Other stimulants, vitamins, minerals, and occasionally herbal ingredients may also be present.
The caffeine amounts in these beverages vary, but there's normally roughly 80mg of caffeine in a small 250ml can.
This is the same as 2 cans of cola or a small mug of coffee.
Taking coffee while pregnant
Pregnant women should have no more than 200mg of caffeine a day.
About 100 mg of caffeine are included in one mug of instant coffee.
Low birthweight in newborns due to high caffeine intake can raise the risk of health issues in later life.
Miscarriage may also result from consuming too much coffee.
Energy drink labels should be carefully read because they frequently state that the beverage is not suitable for minors or pregnant women.
For more information about how much caffeine is safe during pregnancy, see foods to avoid in pregnancy.
Sports drinks
Sports drinks might be handy when you're doing high-level endurance sports and need an energy boost.
They contain a lot of calories and promote tooth disease, but they are no different from any other sugary soft drinks.
Unless you're taking part in high-level endurance sports, water is the healthier choice and the best way to replace fluids lost through exercise.
