Drink to good health

[Priya]

Drink to good health

What you’re drinking could be damaging your health. Find out the effect that different beverages have on your body when had with meals

Your choice of meal-time drink may be doing you more harm than good. For example, everyday drinks such as tea, coffee and milk tend to interfere with your body's iron absorption. Similarly, alcohol is best avoided during meal times though wine could be a good choice.

Read on to find out how the common beverages affect our health.

TEA AND COFFEE
Any caffeinated drink (including fizzy drinks) makes it harder for your body to absorb iron. Tea and coffee reduce iron absorption by over 50 per cent. Caffeinated drinks also affect the absorption of calcium and zinc.

Calcium is needed for healthy teeth and bones, blood clotting and muscle strength. A deficiency is shown by soft and brittle bones, osteoporosis, fractures, back pain and muscle weakness. Calcium can be found in foods such as dairy products, milk, yoghurt, salmon and sardines.

When to drink it: It is best to drink tea and coffee in moderation, but if you must drink it, make it at least an hour before or after a meal to stop it from hindering the absorption of minerals such as iron, calcium and zinc.

MILK
Milk itself contains some iron, but not a lot. Essentially, it is the calcium and phosphates contained in milk and other dairy products which reduce iron absorption, and this is why you should avoid drinking milk with meals. Milky tea and coffee with your meal is best avoided too - since both milk and caffeinated drinks deplete iron reserves, it is not advised to combine the two at mealtimes!
When to drink it: As with caffeinated drinks, leave at least an hour before and after a meal containing iron. If the meal contains calcium but no iron, it is fine to drink milk with it to aid the calcium absorption.

ORANGE JUICE
Drinking any vitamin C drink at mealtimes will aid iron absorption. The ascorbic acid found in vitamin C promotes iron absorption. It is important that the iron and vitamin C are consumed together, so drink the orange juice whilst you are eating for optimum iron absorption. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, and is vital in keeping the immune system healthy.

As well as drinks, you could include foods with your meals that are rich in vitamin C. Add some fresh green salad, as leafy green vegetables are rich in iron, but the best bet is cauliflower as it can increase iron absorption by as much as three-fold.

When to drink it: This is one beverage you can have anytime, with any meal.

ALCOHOL
Generally speaking, alcohol is best avoided at mealtimes. It contains no vitamins or minerals itself, and over a long time period, it tends to deplete the body of most vitamins, especially the B vitamins. Alcohol causes vitamin B6 to be parted from its protective binding protein, thus destroying it. It directly hinders vitamin B12 absorption from the intestine into the blood.

[wmc26]

Gr8 piece of information..Thanks..)

[dluton1]

Although we have now come to know there are some benefits of the tea and coffee drinking alcohol I am afraid has none. Howver some strong believers would always have something to say in favor of alcohols but they are not true. With so many complexions that alcohol intake may result to its best avoided but for those who have already become addicted to it refraining from the same is hard. I would like to mention about Narconon Vista Bay which can offer suffiecient help in this aspect. Its always a good idea to act in time before things get too late.