Hydration- What do drink and what to avoid

When we are thirsty we tend to grab a tasty beverage and generally think we are doing well by our bodies.  But what you may not realize is that what you drink can have profoundly different affects, some of which may be the complete opposite of what you are trying to achieve.

Hydration is what our bodies want when the sense or feeling of thirst is triggered.  But how we respond to that feeling can be quite counterproductive.  For example you reach for a can of cola or cup of coffee; which contain caffeine.  Caffeine is a diuretic and will actually take fluid from your body, and cause you to make a large deposit it into a nonrefundable receptacle of your urgent choosing.  Not quite what you wanted it for...  

Sweet and/or sugary beverages can also prove to be problematic.  Along with the fact that many of them are caffeinated, sugar beverages can also spike your blood sugar levels and sweet beverages (real sugar or not) may cause you to drink more than you intended due to their sweetness; thus injecting your with real or fake sugars/sweeteners and a host of other artificial products. 

Drinking sugary juices or sodas also introduce extremely large quantities of liquid calories, (which will turn into fat if your activity level isn't high enough to use them up).  Not to mention that pesky blood sugar spike of craziness coupled with the disaster crash of all sugar induced motivation.  It's kind of like sending your body on a roller coaster ride and I hazard a guess that if you partake in enough roller coaster rides you will feel ill.

So, be conscientious of what you drink to cure your thirst.  Try to stick to water- with juices and other drinks in strict moderation.  As always I encourage you to read the labels and see what is in your food/beverages and be ever mindful of the calorie and sugar content in your favorite drinks.

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