Making the change from sugary drinks to water
"We're drowning in sugary drinks… you just need to walk into a supermarket, and you'll see sugary drinks everywhere." Dr Simon Thornley
New Zealanders have on average 37 teaspoons of sugar per day.
To take care of our health and wellbeing it’s recommended that adults have no more than 6 teaspoon per day and tamariki no more than 3 teaspoons per day of sugar.
Fizzy drinks, energy drinks and fruit drinks are high in sugar, with no health benefits. Sugary drinks are less likely to make us feel full, so we keep on drinking, and often eating other foods, particularly processed foods.
Did you know
that a small box of juice contains 6 teaspoons of sugar and a 600ml bottle of fizzy drink may contain 16 teaspoons of sugar?
Let’s aim to make water our main drink.
Drink water how you like it: hot, warm, room temperature or cold with ice.
Get into the habit of offering water with meals.
Take water bottles for the whānau when you are out and about. This will save you lots of money, especially over summer.
Keep a jug of cold water in the fridge, so that’s the first place tamariki go for a drink.
Add some ice or a slice of lemon, mint or fruit to make water a little special.
Add a fruit tea bag for extra flavour.
We also get water from the vegetables and fruit we eat, so choosing plenty of these foods contribute to our fluid intake.
TIP: Have a piece of whole fruit rather than a glass of fruit juice if you are feeling like something fruity and sweet.
What about diet drinks?
Many diet (or artificially sweetened) drinks are harmful to teeth because they are acidic. Choosing water is the best option for protecting healthy teeth.
The research is still unclear about how diet drinks affect weight and gut health. Their sweet taste may encourage us to eat more sweet foods.
TIP: Ease yourself off sweetened fizzy drinks or diet drinks by having sparkling water.
