Rosalee Brown
MANY JAMAICANS like to have a drink with their meals, between meals and also as a 'pick me up'. It was always a common practice for persons to make sucrose-based drinks, 'wash', sugar and water only, or sugar with some citrus such as lime, lemon or sour orange, and this would do the trick. The more creative would make some home-made concoction from the many fruits and vegetables available on the island, especially on weekends when there is more time.
The situation has changed somewhat with more women working outside the home and the availability of more convenient options for making a quick drink, such as flavoured sugar syrup, ready-made drinks such as fruit drinks, sodas, fruit juices, milk-based drinks, soy-based drinks, sports drinks, and the assortment continues. Many of these drinks are quite economical and cost as little as $20.00 per bottle. Apart from the seemingly addictive taste, these drinks are mostly sugar or have a lot of sugar added.
Sugar is a carbohydrate, which provides energy and there is a lot in eight ounces of most drinks. Most persons consume more than eight ounces at one time, and do this several times throughout the day. A drink does not usually provide the same satiety, calorie for calorie, as solids, especially those with their fibre content intact. Energy not utilised as fuel in the body is stored as fat, and with reducing daily physical activity in the general population, excess energy from foods, including those with sugar added and 'drinks', is fuelling the obesity epidemic. Most nutritional guidelines advise us to use sugar sparingly. WHO/FAO advises us to make added sugar less than 10 per cent of our total calories on a daily basis.
The most recent recommendation is by a group of nutrition experts from the United States, who have published a beverage guideline for adults and adolescents. Water is the beverage whose consumption is allowed most often, with women allowed nine servings and men 13. Unsweetened tea and coffee follow with eight servings. The beverages which the panel said should be had only once per day included calorie-dense beverages without additional nutrients and 100 per cent fruit juices, vegetable juices, sport juices and whole milk. One serving in this guideline is eight ounces.
So what should we drink? Water is always best, it is zero calories and it hydrates. There are times when some form of carbohydrate in liquid form is beneficial, especially for active persons during training or a game; this usually has a small amount of carbohydrate to liquid. There are other local beverages that can quench our thirst or satisfy our taste buds and there are many local fruits and herbs which also make refreshing drinks. These can be had without added sugar or a small amount. Orange skin, lime leaf, mint, ginger and fever grass, are just a few of our local herbs that can be used for teas. Coconut water makes a refreshing drink as well.
Below are some drink ingredients and their caloric and sugar content.
Reduce your high sugary drinks, have water, coconut water or some refreshing herbal tea, they are refreshing without sweeteners, but if you must add some sweetener, do so in moderation.
Rosalee M. Brown is a registered dietitian/nutritionist who operates Integrated Nutrition and Health Services; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
