When it comes to beverages, the huge number sugary drinks like sodas or juices available at grocery stores gives a U.S. consumer a lot of choices. But, indulging in these beverages has its downside in the form of weight gain as well as health issues.
Studies suggest that if one can replace one sugary drink with water, it will prove to be beneficial in the long run. And, no matter how many sugary drinks one consumes in a day, replacing just one drink with water is sufficient to reap the benefits.
This theory was tested by Kiyah J. Duffey, who is a professor at Virginia Tech and a nutrition consultant, and her colleagues. They analysed the calorie difference that was caused by substituting an 8-ounce sugary drink with a glass of water of the same weight. The outcomes were based on the daily dietary intake of an adult as found in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2007-2012.
The test had an 8-ounce of sugary drink replaced with 8-ounce of water and with this small substitution, the calories from added sugar was reduced to 11 percent as compared to 17 percent when no substitution was made. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015 recommends that the daily calories from sugars should not be more than 10 percent. The researchers suggest that this change can be beneficial even for people who consume many sugary drinks in a day.
The researchers further stated that this small change might also influence the food consumption patterns. Duffy, in collaboration with Brenda Davy, created an index in 2015, and it shows that read meat, refined grains, starch as well as sweets are the predominant foods chosen by people consuming more of sugary drinks.
On the contrary, people consuming more water choose foods like whole grains, fish, fruits, vegetables and poultry. These foods are known to be good for health and also for those who aim to manage their weight
