As the Spring Festival approaches, it's not uncommon to see media outlets commenting on local Spring Festival diets or offering related health advice. It's all the same old advice: eat less greasy food, drink less alcohol, eat more vegetables, and get more exercise. However, this is a good opportunity to talk about diet and health.
A newspaper asked a more specific question: If we don't drink alcohol, what should we drink with our meals? Can you rank the different drinks for us to choose from?
This is not an easy question to answer. After some thought, drinks can be divided into four main categories based on their properties:
First category: Most recommended drinks, which can be consumed without much limitation.
This category includes sugar-free, fat-free, zero-calorie or low-calorie drinks, which are also traditional beverages. These include mineral water, light lemon water, various teas like green tea, black tea, Pu-erh tea, and oolong tea, flower-based infusions like rose, chrysanthemum, and osmanthus, as well as barley tea, buckwheat tea, and light soy milk.
Mineral water, light lemon water, barley tea, and light soy milk are suitable for everyone. Barley and buckwheat teas contain B vitamins and amino acids and aid digestion; teas contain vitamin C, potassium, and a large amount of polyphenols, which also help with digestion; and the nutritional value of soy milk goes without saying. The choice of tea should be based on individual constitution: for those who prefer a cooling effect, drink green tea or chrysanthemum; for those who prefer a warming effect, drink black tea, rose, or osmanthus. To avoid affecting sleep at night, it's best to avoid varieties containing caffeine and theophylline.
Second category: Recommended drinks, which are harmless for healthy people to have two cups of and beneficial when consumed in moderation.
This category includes sugary and caloric drinks that are relatively nutritious and beneficial to health when consumed in moderation. These include sweet soy milk, yogurt, lactic acid bacteria drinks, 100% fruit juice, pure tomato juice, hawthorn fruit tea, fresh corn slurry, fruit vinegar, and low-sugar sports drinks.
These drinks contain relatively rich minerals, a certain amount of vitamins, and fruit and vegetable drinks contain pectin and other dietary fibers, especially hawthorn drinks which are rich in them. Currently, corn slurry is often made with a "corn slurry partner," but besides flavorings, this partner contains no other unhealthy substances, and some soluble dietary fiber is added for thickening. Dietary fibers like pectin can play a positive role in preventing overeating, controlling the rapid rise in blood lipids and blood sugar, and slowing alcohol absorption, making them harmless and beneficial for holiday diets.
It should be noted that because these drinks contain sugar, diabetics should control their intake, except for tomato juice, which has very low sweetness. Fruit vinegar is often sweeter than pure fruit juice, so it's suitable for sipping in small amounts as an alternative to alcohol, rather than drinking it in large quantities.
Third category: Sweet drinks with low nutritional value.
Such as various fruit juice drinks and tea drinks. These drinks have low vitamin and mineral content and contain sugar, flavorings, and colorings. It's acceptable for adults to drink them in small amounts as an alternative to alcohol, but children should not have them with every meal or in large quantities.
Fourth category: Drinks that are clearly detrimental to nutrition and health.
Such as various carbonated drinks, coffee with milk and sugar, and pearl milk tea. Besides having extremely low nutritional value, containing sugar, and saturated fats, they also contain other ingredients that are unfavorable for nutrient absorption or disease prevention, such as phosphoric acid, caffeine, and trans fatty acids. Such drinks should be used as little as possible, and it's best for children and people with chronic illnesses to avoid them altogether.