The simple answer to this question, which you probably already know, is water. Water is the healthiest drink of choice and is vital to your body. About 60 percent of your body is made up of water; therefore, it is important to maintain that fluid balance.
Drinking water benefits your body in many ways. Some of these ways include keeping your body hydrated, flushing out the toxins in your body, helping with weight loss, maintaining digestion and boosting your immune system.
One of the main causes of headaches are dehydration. Water can solve this problem naturally, rather than using over-the-counter drugs. Water also aids in filling your appetite, which ultimately promotes weight loss. When you are feeling hungry, opt for a large glass of water rather than an unhealthy snack.
With the stresses of school and our busy schedules, college students often rely on caffeine to keep them awake throughout the day. Coffee is usually selected to provide students with the caffeine they feel they need.
Drinking coffee does have some benefits. Coffee is a natural stimulant to the nervous system, which increases the levels of epinephrine (adrenaline) in your body, giving you more energy.
Coffee is not necessarily an unhealthy drink, but it can be made unhealthy. Adding flavorings, sugar and cream to your coffee can pack on the calories. By doing this, you can unknowingly drink up to 400 calories in one cup of coffee. With that, if you are going to choose coffee, try stick to drinking it black or with very little skim milk and sugar, rather than a high-caloric latte, macchiato or Frappuccino.
If you find you are craving caffeine, a better option is tea. Though tea has less caffeine than coffee, the antioxidants found in tea have better benefits. Particularly, green tea boosts your immune system, increases your metabolism and is a great fat burner. If you are feeling stressed or anxious, opt for chamomile tea. Chamomile tea is a nighttime tea that relaxes you and is great for treating symptoms of insomnia.
College students tend to lean towards unhealthy drinks that ultimately have no benefits for their bodies. These drinks include soda and alcohol.
Drinking soda is basically equivalent to drinking a bunch of chemicals. There is absolutely no nutritional value to soda. Soda contains various artificial flavorings and sugar that can lead to obesity, kidney damage and harmful effects on your teeth.
For students that are of age, increased alcohol intake can be very detrimental to your liver and can cause your body to dehydrate greatly. Alcohol inhibits the neurotransmitters in your brain affecting your normal brain function, specifically targeting the cerebellum, the part of your brain that is responsible for primary motor functions, such as maintaining balance.
What you eat is not the only component to nutrition. What you are drinking also contributes greatly to your health and diet. When choosing a drink, the best choice is water, due to the body’s need for it and its many beneficial effects.
Try to limit your intake of caffeine, or if you are going to drink caffeinated drinks such as coffee, pay attention to the extra, unneeded calories that can be easily added. Choose tea over coffee if your body is craving caffeine. Lastly, try to steer clear of excessive intake of soft drinks and alcohol, which do not have beneficial effects to your body.
Leave a Reply