If you’re watching your weight and trying to take a healthier approach to living, chances are you pay attention to caloric intake and you might even be a calorie counter. While you’re a whiz with handling meals and snacks, how much do you know about the beverages you consume? Just what’s in those sodas, iced coffee drinks, sports drinks and prepackaged teas you love so much?
Chances are if you take a look at the nutritional information behind some of your favorite drinks you might be taken aback by more than a bit. Many of the most popular drinks on the market today are not quite as healthy as we think they are. Many, in fact, can wreck your diet each day by adding hundreds of extra calories that are not necessary.
If you’re a Phoenix apartment dweller, you already know that keeping properly hydrated in the Arizona sun is vital. But, to make sure you’re getting the proper balance of fluids and not wrecking your diet at the same time, it pays to seek out nutritional information. What you don’t know about your favorite drinks can hurt you.
Search the Web for Nutritional Info
While it isn’t as easy to check the nutritional values of take-out or bar drinks, you can do some research at home. The Internet offers some valuable information on the caloric values and nutritional content of fast-food beverages, such as shakes and smoothies, and it’s a great place to find out more about your favorite alcoholic beverages.
Nutritional Value of…
- McDonald’s milkshakes
- Planet Smoothie’s smoothies
- Starbucks coffees and specialty beverages
- your favorite Cocktails, Coolers, and other alcoholic beverages
Check the Labels at the Store Before Buying
Now, for your prepackaged juices, teas, sodas and more, you can check right in the grocery store before buying. Most marketed drinks have labels that explain their nutritional values right on their boxes. You may have to commit more time to grocery shopping if you are going to take the time to read labels; however, reading the labels of the food you intend to buy will pay off in the end. Some of what you find out might surprise you.
Did you know, for example, that most juice drinks contain high fructose corn syrup? Sodas contain tons of sugar and chemicals you likely won’t be able to pronounce. Sports drinks can be just as bad, but not always. You might even find that some of your favorite “thirst busting” drinks actually make you thirstier by containing too much sodium or caffeine.
Here’s a Healthy Grocery-Shopping Buying Guide
Eating healthy, exercising and keeping properly hydrated while living and working in the Phoenix climate are all excellent ideas. Unfortunately, there are hidden pitfalls that await around every corner. To avoid some of them, take the time to read the nutritional information on your favorite drinks. If you don’t have the time to spare, good old fashion water always works wonders, too!
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