When you’re starting a diet, or just going on a general health kick – what you eat matters.
However, what you drink is another factor which is often overlooked and can make all the difference.
Sure, we’ve all heard to drink plenty of water – but what other options are there?
In this short article, we break down 5 other beverages you can add to your diet to keep your health at a high level.
This is what you need to know:
Green Tea
Arguably one of the best natural fat burners out there – and also a really refreshing drink.
Green Tea is an ideal choice for anyone wanting to live a healthier lifestyle.
Breaking it down, it has 3 main benefits; it helps fat loss, focus and energy.
How does it help fat loss?
One of the main benefits of Green Tea is that it is packed with antioxidants – namely, catechins. Once absorbed by your body, catechins can help to promote your body’s overall levels of norepinephrine – this is your body’s fat burning hormone.
With more norepinephrine your body can burn more fat, with no extra effort required on your part.
So what about Focus?
The other area where Green Tea can help is with focus. This all comes down to the L-Theanine in the herb.
L-Theanine is an amino acid that is commonly used as a brain booster. It works by increasing the amount of relaxation hormones in your body like serotonin and GABA.
With a higher level of these hormones in your blood stream, you’ll feel more relaxed and calmer, which can allow you to concentrate more for longer.
And what about energy?
Green Tea has trace amounts of caffeine. Not enough to get you wired, but enough to feel more alert.
Caffeine has got to be one of the best natural stimulants on the market. It has been seen in numerous studies to help promote energy, metabolism, focus and even power output.
It’s a great addition to any diet if you’re looking to improve your overall health.
Hot Cocoa
Not only is this is a great treat due to it’s sweet chocolatey taste – it’s also great for you.
Cocoa is packed with the amino acid theobromine. Theobromine is great, and it has numerous benefits such as energy, lower blood pressure and relaxation.
It’s roughly 10 times weaker than caffeine, but can still give you a little stimulative boost to get you going for a big day.
However, it also has the ability to relax you and dilate your blood vessels. This allows your blood pressure to lower, and relax your body.
It’s even been seen in some cases to work as a natural cough medicine. Theobromine can help to relax the bronchi muscles in your lungs which can stop them from reacting when they’re inflamed.
This is a good addition, and a guilt-free treat for a healthier life.
Cranberry Juice
The first fruit juice on our list and one of the most beneficial to your health.
Cranberry juice’s main claim to fame is how it can help your urinary tract, and defends against UTIs.
But how exactly does this work, why does drinking Cranberry Juice reduce your chance of having infections down there?
It all comes down to something called ‘Proanthocyanidins’ in Cranberry Juice. Once absorbed by your body, these proanthocyanidins help to reduce bacteria from binding to cells in the walls of your bladder.
By reducing their ability to multiply, your chance of catching a UTI significantly decreases.
So what else can Cranberry Juice do?
Helping with UTIs is just one of the many benefits you can get from drinking Cranberry juice.
Other positive ways Cranberry juice can help include:
Cardivascular Health
By containing various flavonoids, Cranberry juice can help reduce the build of fat, calcium and other negative things in your blood stream. It allows more oxygen-rich blood to flow through your system which may help you deliver a better physical performance.
Helps to reduce Kidney Stones
The high level of acid in Cranberry Juice helps to prevent and break down potential kidney stones that may form in your body.
Supports Joint and Bone Health
Cranberry Juice is high in calcium which can help to strengthen joints, bones and teeth.
And many more – it’s a great addition to any health conscious diet.
Orange Juice
A standard breakfast beverage, with numerous great effects for promoting your overall health.
The main reason this is down to the sheer amount of Vitamin C in this drink. One serving of sweet OJ contains over 200% of your body’s daily requirement of Vitamin C.
High levels of Vitamin C can help to destroy free radicals in your body before they can cause harm to your system. In doing so, it can help to dramatically improve your immune system.
It also contains a high level of antioxidants which can help preventing cancer.
Orange Juice also has numerous other benefits that can help to promote overall health – and it also tastes great!
Peppermint Tea
We’re going to finish how we began – with another tea.
Peppermint Tea doesn’t work in the same way as Green Tea, but it still has a great range of benefits that can help to promote your overall health.
The main advantage of this herb is how it can help to settle your stomach.
Over the years, there has been a lot of studies that confirm Peppermint Tea delivers when it comes to a stable stomach.
It works because it’s a carminative – which means it helps to move gas through your body. By extension, this means that it’s great for reducing bloating and cramping.
It has also been seen to help move bile which can help with healthy bowell movements.
This is a great supporting weapon of choice when it comes to keeping your body regular and healthy.
Summary
As you can see, a healthy diet isn’t all about what you eat – what you drink can play a big role too.
If we could only choose one from this list – we’d have to go with the Green Tea.
Not only is it an effective fat burner, it can help in numerous ways to keep your weight down, with your energy and focus up.