Hydrate Smart: Choose Water Over Sugary Beverages

Imagine watching a wrestling match – the ultimate showdown between water and sugary drinks. Sugary drinks are the fan favorite, while water is the seasoned veteran. Some believe sugary drinks will win the match because of their sweetness, energy rush, and flashy appeal. Others choose to bet on water because of its reputation for endurance and consistent victories. 

Would you choose to bet on water or sugary drinks?

This is a silly example, but it’s a choice we make every day. In a world that prefers coffee in the morning, sports drinks for exercise, soda for an afternoon pick-me-up, and wine for a nice dinner, many think, “I should drink more water, but it’s just too boring.”

Choosing Water Does Not Have To Be Boring

Maybe the solution isn’t to stop drinking your favorite beverages altogether. In fact, that’s what I recommend not doing. Maybe the solution is choosing water more often in your day-to-day life rather than subtracting the drinks you love.

1. Choose to put both a bottle of water and a can of soda on your desk this afternoon, rather than just the soda.
2. Pour yourself a glass of water in addition to your cup of coffee, and pair each drink of coffee with a drink of water.
3. Add no-sugar flavor to your water. For ideas, skip to the section titled Creativity is Key.

Why Choose Water?

Water is affordable, and it has no calories or added sugars. 

Do you hit that mid-afternoon slump at work? Try drinking a glass of water. Do you have a headache? Down some water before you reach for Ibuprofen. Why? Our brain is made of 75% water, so a headache is a natural side effect if we are dehydrated. 

For a more in-depth look at the benefits of water, check out our blog Essential Hydration: Why Water Matters, but here is a list of some possible benefits of choosing water more often:

1. Decrease fatigue
2. Improve exercise performance
3. Help with weight loss – especially when replacing sugary drinks
4. Improve joint pain
5. Detox – helps us remove waste from our body
6. Improve digestion and skin elasticity

Don’t Sugary Drinks Still Have Water in Them?

You may wonder why we are focusing on the benefit of choosing water to hydrate us when sugary drinks also contain water. Can they hydrate us the same way?

Though there is water in sugary drinks, there are also lots of unwanted additives. The recommendation is for women to drink 72 ounces of water per day and for men to drink 104 ounces of water per day. if we reached this recommendation only by choosing the leading sugary soda, we would also be consuming over 230 grams of sugar – in our drinks alone! Though sugary drinks can be a fun addition to a balanced diet, we don’t want to consume all our water this way, which is why we emphasize choosing unflavored water or learning to flavor water without using sugar.

Why Are We So Hard On Added Sugars?

You may wonder why added sugars are such a big deal. Sure, they may add extra calories, but are there other issues?

1. Less nutritional value. Added sugars give us less bang for our buck, meaning they have a lot of calories but no vitamins, minerals, fiber, or antioxidants (all important to keep us healthy and happy).
2. Hard on our bodies. Our bodies work overtime when we eat lots of added sugar. Eventually, the organs that process sugar get tired and overworked, which puts stress on our entire body.
3. Spikes our blood sugar. Consuming a lot of simple sugars causes quick changes in our blood sugar, which can put us at risk for chronic disease in the future.

Why Rethink Sugary Drinks?

The American Heart Association recommends consuming less than 25 grams per day of added sugars.  See the table below for a breakdown of several popular sugary drinks and the amount of added sugar in a 12 oz serving (a regular-sized can of soda).

We sip unconsciously on these drinks throughout our day, which is probably why they contribute more added sugars to our diets than any other sweet treat – more than candy, desserts, or even ice cream!

Creativity is Key

Here are some tips to make choosing water a habit, and I included ideas on what to reach for when you crave a drink besides water – which is normal!

• Find a reusable cup you like, and bring it everywhere! Sometimes, people find using a cup with a straw helps them drink more water. 
• Add fruit, such as lemon, lime, or orange slices. You can add a dash of 100% fruit juice for extra flavor!
• Use sparkling water.
  • Recipe idea: sparkling water with a splash of orange juice, topped with orange slices. No-sugar-added, and definitely not boring!
  • Try our watermelon agua fresca recipe for a refreshing summer drink!
• Coffee with a splash of low-fat milk and a pinch of sugar – unless you prefer your coffee black, in which case, go right ahead!
• Tea, such as unsweetened iced tea or herbal teas. Most herbal teas, like green or chamomile, don’t have added sugar, but always check the label.
• Whip up a no-sugar-added smoothie, such as our Mango Smoothie recipe.

There are plenty of creative ways to increase your water intake – and it doesn’t mean you have to cut out your favorite sugary drinks. Pick one tip that stuck out to you and try it this week!