Water: the Beverage of Choice

After oxygen, the body absolutely needs one substance more than any other. While some may believe it’s chocolate, it’s actually water.

The cells of your body are made of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and salts. In order to combine, transport, absorb and break down these substances for its use, the body must have water.

Up to 60 percent of the human body is water. The brain is composed of 70 percent water and your lungs are 90 percent water. Lean muscle tissue is about 75 percent H2O. About 83 percent of our blood is water. Even our bones are 20 percent. Not drinking enough water may cause all kinds of ailments from lower back pain and joint discomfort to headaches and constipation. Drinking adequate water can improve skin, decrease fatigue and may reduce the incidence of heart disease, high blood pressure and strokes. Drinking water can also help you lose weight.

Instead of drinking flavored, sugary beverages, drink water. Many labels on drinks have servings listed in grams instead of ounces. An eight-ounce drink is approximately 236 grams. Often, when ordering out, the drinks are 16-ounces or larger. The benefit in knowing the typical size allows you to assess how many calories you are ingesting.

For example, McDonald’s sweet tea label reads 90 calories for a serving size of 100 grams. One hundred grams is less than half a cup. Their 16-ounce large sweet tea (not super-sized) therefore contains over 400 calories and 46 grams of sugar. Since there are 4.2 grams of sugar in a teaspoon, there are 11 teaspoons of sugar in every 16 ounces of the popular beverage.

Calories can convert to weight-loss and weight gain. One pound equals 3,500 calories. If you have four 16-ounce McDonald’s sweet teas a week, in a little over two weeks, you will have gained a pound!

Conversely, Karrie Hawkins, a Westchase resident, recently lost 10 pounds and attributes a large part of her weight loss to the fact that she no longer drinks her sugary beverage of choice. Instead she drinks plenty of water.

Diet drinks with artificial sweeteners can be used to wean yourself off of sugary beverages. A lot of research, however, suggests that over time, artificial sweeteners can actually promote weight gain indirectly.

The beverage of choice for health and beauty is therefore H2O.

By Shannon Thigpen

Thigpen is a resident of The Fords and a nationally certified personal trainer and fitness instructor. She is the co-founder of Salsa & Soul Fitness, which can be found at www.salsaandsoul.com.