Your Guide to Choosing Healthier Drinks
Navigating the world of beverages can make a huge difference in your health journey. It’s easy to lose focus on drinks, especially when food gets all the attention. But with so many options out there, and deceptive marketing playing a role, it’s more important than ever to know what’s actually good for your body and what’s not. Don’t let big companies manipulate you, prioritize your health instead. Here’s a guide on what you should be drinking and what to avoid.
Drink These:
Water
For most of human history, water has been the primary drink. Our ancestors relied on rivers and lakes to survive, and now we have clean water available within seconds. There’s no excuse not to drink enough. Staying hydrated is key for regulating body temperature, aiding digestion, and transporting nutrients to your cells. Plus, it keeps your energy up, helps you stay focused, and flushes out waste. I personally love mineral water—Topo Chico with a splash of lemon juice is one of my favorites!
Coffee
Don't be afraid of coffee—it can be a great way to kick off your day. It’s packed with antioxidants that protect your cells from damage caused by certain foods. Just don’t go overboard. Stick to one cup a day to avoid too much caffeine, which can constrict the blood vessels in your brain, leading to symptoms like anxiety and headaches. Too much caffeine also messes with your cortisol levels, potentially keeping you up at night and leading to insomnia.
Tea
Tea is another excellent choice that provides antioxidants while keeping you hydrated. Depending on the type, teas offer endless health benefits. Black, green, and white teas are anti-inflammatory and can protect against heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, and even cancer. They also support immune health. Personally, ginger tea is one of my go-tos, especially when I’m feeling under the weather. It was one of the first things that made me feel better when I was in bed for six months. Today, I try to drink 2-3 cups of tea daily to boost my overall health.
Avoid These:
Most drinks in this category are sweetened, which triggers an insulin response—something you really want to avoid.
Why: Sweetened beverages spike your blood sugar, causing your pancreas to release insulin. Insulin helps your cells absorb sugar from the bloodstream for energy or storage, but frequent insulin spikes due to regular consumption of sugary drinks can cause several issues:
Insulin Resistance: Over time, constant insulin production can make cells resistant to it, meaning they don’t absorb sugar as efficiently. This can lead to dangerously high blood sugar levels and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Weight Gain: Insulin promotes fat storage, especially when there’s more sugar in your system than the body needs for immediate energy.
Energy Crashes: After the initial blood sugar spike and subsequent insulin release, levels can drop quickly, leading to mid-day fatigue, irritability, and cravings for more sugar—creating a vicious cycle of overconsumption. This is why breakfast foods like pastries, cereal, and orange juice often lead to energy crashes and overeating later in the day.
Chronic Inflammation: Frequent sugar consumption and elevated insulin levels contribute to inflammation, which is at the root of many modern health issues, such as cancer, obesity, heart disease, and other metabolic disorders.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, our bodies aren’t designed to handle quick, concentrated bursts of sugar and other harmful ingredients that are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream. Throughout most of human history, the natural sugars we consumed came from whole fruits, which are absorbed slowly thanks to their fiber content. Stripping that fiber away and consuming sugar in liquid form is something our bodies simply aren’t equipped to manage, leading to the health problems listed above.
Sweetened Coffee Drinks
Drinks like mochas and frappuccinos are loaded with sugar. For example, a small Dunkin' Iced Coffee Mocha has 31 grams of sugar—about the same as a can of soda! Regularly drinking this much sugar can lead to insulin resistance, weight gain, and energy crashes.
Healthier Alternative: Make your coffee at home with whole milk, a dash of cinnamon, and a touch of raw honey.
Energy Drinks
Energy drinks like Monster and Red Bull give you a quick energy spike but leave you crashing soon after. A can of Monster Regular has 41 grams of sugar, along with questionable preservatives. Drinking these regularly can also lead to insulin resistance, weight gain, and long-term inflammation. Stop setting yourself up for a crash later in the day.
Healthier Alternative: Stick to Coffee
Fruit Juice
Fruit juice might sound healthy, but it’s not much different from soda. When you drink something like orange or apple juice, you’re missing the fiber from the fruit, which helps slow down sugar absorption. The fiber from fruit is also crucial for digestive health and your gut microbiome. Without it, you’re essentially drinking sugar water that spikes your insulin and can lead to long-term health issues.
Healthier Alternative: Whole fruit
Skim Milk
Skim milk removes the fat, which also strips it of essential nutrients and makes it less filling. Whole milk contains healthy fats that support your cell membranes and help your body absorb essential vitamins like A, D, E, and K. Even if you're trying to lose weight, whole milk is better because it keeps you full longer, helping you avoid unnecessary snacking later on.
Healthier Alternative: Whole Milk
Sweetened Cocktails
If you’re drinking alcohol, skip the sugary mixers. In college, I quickly learned that sweet mixers can mask the taste of alcohol, making it easy to drink way more than you intended (cue the hangover). Plus, alcohol and sugar together mess with your liver’s ability to manage blood sugar.
Healthier Alternative: Vodka (or other spirit of choice) soda with lime or a glass of red wine.
Sports Drinks
Don’t let the word “sports” fool you. Drinks like Gatorade contain 21 grams of sugar per bottle. They’re full of empty calories and artificial ingredients that offer little to no nutritional value. As you can see by now, regular consumption of these drinks, combined with a sedentary lifestyle, quickly leads to excessive caloric intake and weight gain. Even if you’re engaging in intense physical activity, way less sugar is actually needed to sustain a high-performance level.
Healthier Alternative: LMNT, Liquid IV
Diet Sodas
Don't be misled by soft drink companies into thinking diet sodas are healthy. They're not, for two main reasons. First, they have been linked to weight gain. Research suggests that your brain reacts to diet sodas similarly to sugary sweets, increasing your cravings for high-calorie foods. Second, despite having no sugar, diet sodas can still cause insulin and blood sugar levels to rise.
Healthier Alternative: Health Sodas Like Olipop, Mineral Water, Liquid Death, Waterloo, Coffee
What about "Health Sodas"?
While sodas like Olipop are healthier than regular soda, some "health sodas" can still cause blood sugar spikes, which isn’t ideal if you're trying to manage your levels. However, they can be a helpful transition drink if you're trying to cut back on sugary sodas or want to enjoy them as an occasional treat. The ingredients in Olipop are actually quite good, but be mindful of how often you consume them—more than one per day is likely too much. These drinks remind me of fruit juice: anything sweetened and processed into a liquid is generally less optimal than consuming the whole food.
By being mindful of what you drink, you can take control of an often overlooked but critical part of your health. Every time you reach for water, coffee, or tea, you’re making a positive choice for your long-term well-being. Avoiding sugary, processed drinks may seem tough at first, but once you start feeling the benefits—more energy, better focus, and improved overall health—it’ll all be worth it. Let what you drink be a reflection of the life you’re striving to live.
