Guest Post: Four Beverages That Can Contribute to Poor Health

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In addition to knowing what you eat, paying attention to the beverages you drink is a critical aspect of health. Water is an important component of your diet, as it makes up more than half of your body’s tissues and has a role in almost all of your body functions, including detoxification, temperature regulation, and cushioning of joints.

It’s best to stick to just pure water. The following are some beverages you should consume less of or eliminate from your diet completely:

1.       Coffee and other caffeinated drinks – Prolonged consumption of caffeinated drinks, like coffee and energy drinks, can make you prone to a number of health problems, such as insomnia, irregular blood pressure, palpitations, anxiety, and mineral deficiencies.

2.       Alcohol – Consumption of beer and other types of alcohol should be limited (or eliminated completely) if you want to improve your health. It should be completely avoided if you have high uric acid levels. Overconsumption of alcohol can lead to metabolic syndrome, abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, poor liver health, and more.

3.       Fruit juices – Most commercial fruit juices contain only 10 percent fruit juice. They may as well be called “sugar water,” as they are loaded with high-fructose corn syrup, which can cause great damage to your system. Fruit juices also contain synthetic nutrients, artificial colors, and preservatives.

4.       Soda – Whether it’s regular soda or diet soda, you should not drink it at all. While regular soda contains high concentrations of fructose and synthetic ingredients, diet soda contains artificial sweeteners that are linked to brain and neurological disorders.

How to Get ‘Healthy’ Water

To determine if you’re drinking enough water, check your urine: it should be light yellow. A darker shade of color may mean that you are dehydrated. It is important to stay hydrated, as insufficient water levels in your body can cause fatigue, dry skin, headaches, and constipation.

However, you shouldn’t settle for just any water. Having some type of water filtration system at home is highly recommended, because the water treatment procedures done by your local water company can add contaminants to your water.

Adding chlorine to water is one of the most common treatment methods used to clear water of inorganic material. Once chlorine reacts with the organic substances in water, toxic disinfection byproducts (DBPs) can form. Studies show that DBPs are carcinogenic and can cause reproductive problems in lab rats.

Some treatment plants add fluoride to the water, as it is believed that fluoride can help promote oral health. The truth is fluoride is a neurotoxin that can worsen dental health and accumulate in your bones, causing skeletal fluorosis.

Aside from investing in a high-quality water filter, you can also:

·         Avoid distilled water – Aside from being too acidic, it can leach minerals from your body.

·         Avoid alkaline water – While distilled water’s pH level makes it too acidic, alkaline water’s pH makes it too ionized. This type of water is only good for short-term use (about two weeks) or detoxification.

·         Avoid bottled water – 40 percent of bottled water is actually tap water, which may have not been treated. Plus, there are over 30 contaminants found in bottled water, including arsenic and carcinogenic compounds.

·         Store water in the right containers – Even if you have the purest water on the planet, storing it in a plastic container can cause chemicals like bisphenol-A (BPA) to transfer to the water. Use glass containers instead.

·         Add lemons or limes to water – Adding these can normalize water pH levels, especially if your pH is too acidic, and provide a refreshing twist to your drink.

About the Author

Because of her interest in natural health, Adrienne Nicole R. regularly reads about health news and strategies. She is subscribed to the Mercola natural health newsletter, which enables her to discover steps to take control of her health. She is currently researching the benefits of having an efficient whole house water filtration system in your home.