Your healthiest drinks options

Eat healthy? Drink healthy too

healthy eating,healthy living,drinks woman drinking from a mug We all know that what we put on our plates is pretty crucial, but so is what we pour into our mugs and glasses. Keen to know more? Quench that thirst for knowledge with our guide to healthy drinking. Bottoms up...

Water

healthy eating,healthy living,drinks glass water bottle That \'drink eight glasses a day\' mantra dates back to the 1940s. More recent advice is to drink 15ml (1tbsp) of water per pound of your weight. So if you\'re 10st (140lb) that\'s 2.1 litres. To help you work it out, 1st = 210ml

Tea

tea,healthy eating,healthy living,drinks cup of tea As a nation we get through 165 million cuppas a day. Happily for us, it\'s quite good for us: tea with milk contains vitamin B6, riboflavin B2 and thiamin B1, and is a source of manganese, essential for bone growth and body development, and potassium, vital for maintaining body fluid levels. It\'s also a natural source of fluoride. A cup of tea has less than half the level of caffeine than coffee, at 50mg per 190ml cup

Green tea

tea,healthy eating,healthy living,drinks cup of green tea From the same Camellia sinensis bush as black (ordinary) tea, but leaves are fermented for less time. Green tea contains antioxidants, which help protect the body from the ageing effects of free radicals, and it may also reduce cholesterol and cut the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. And its polyphenols, or flavonoids, can help to prevent heart disease and cancer. If you don\'t like its dry, grassy taste, don\'t brew it too strong, or try it blended with lemon, orange, mint or jasmine - see the next page...

Green tea with jasmine

tea,healthy eating,healthy living jasmine flowers For a deliciously floral and fragrant cup of green tea, try it with jasmine.  This beautifully delicate brew has been drunk by the Chinese for centuries.  to fragrance the tea, jasmine flowers are picked in the morning, then laid on the tea to suffuse it with their aroma. Dragonfly Tea Organic Moonlight Jasmine Green Tea costs £1.89 for 25 sachets from www.dragonfly-teas.com

White tea

tea,healthy eating,healthy living,drinks white tea No, not tea with milk. White tea is harvested before the leaf buds of the Camellia sinensis plant open fully, when they\'re still covered by fine silvery-white hair. It\'s rarer than green and everyday teas. Some studies have shown that white tea contains more active cancer-fighting antioxidants than green. It tastes lighter and sweeter than the other two but, as Giles Hilton of Whittards says: \'The important thing with all tea is to brew it how you like it, strong or weak.\'

Peppermint tea

tea,healthy eating,healthy living,mint,drinks peppermint leaves A great after-dinner drink, an infusion of peppermint is widely recognised as aiding digestion and dealing with wind. It also tastes pleasantly fresh and, well, minty. The menthol it contains gives a feeling of freshness in the mouth. You can buy it in supermarkets for under £1 for 20 teabags. Or, if you have a peppermint plant, just grab a handful of leaves, wash, and steep in boiling water

Juices and smoothies

healthy eating,healthy living,oranges & citrus fruits,drinks orange juice Remember, you can count only one a day towards your daily five fruit and veg. And do read the label. If juice is made from concentrate, it was squeezed a long time ago, then heated to lose the water and will have lost some of its nutrients, including vitamin C. If it says \'juice drink\' it can contain as little as 1% juice, and may contain sugar, and therefore added empty calories. Fruit is sweet enough - just ask the people at Innocent, makers of those delicious, all-fruit, only-fruit smoothies

Pomegranate juice

healthy eating,healthy living,pomegranates,drinks pomegranate juice Ruby-red with a deliciously dry, tart undertone, pomegranate juice has high levels of antioxidants, and is rich in folic acid. It also contains high levels of flavenoids which fight free radicals. High polyphenol levels can fight formation of cholesterols in blood, allowing better blood circulation. And studies have shown that it reduces blood pressure. Magic Monkey Pure Pomegranate Juice costs £2.15 for 250ml, from www.goodnessdirect.co.uk

Açaí

healthy eating,healthy living,drinks,South America & Caribbean acai juice Bursting with more antioxidants than the pomegranate, açaí (\'a-sigh-ee\') berries - originally from Brazil - are also the only fruit to contain essential fatty acids 6 and 9, which help to keep hearts healthy by lowering cholesterol. The taste has been compared to chocolate with blackberry and a touch of raspberry. Yum! Tracking down these Brazilian beauties in whole form is tough, so drink the juice. Happy Monkey açaí juice drink (grape with açaí) is £1.49 from their website, from www.ocado.com, www.goodnessdirect.co.uk, Waitrose or Holland & Barrett

Ginseng tea

tea,complementary health,healthy eating,healthy living,stress management,ginger,drinks ginseng tea Need a lift? Don\'t reach for the coffee - try ginseng tea. Birt & Tang combines ginseng with energising herbs such as ginger and cloves, to add zing to your day. Ginseng is renowned as an adaptogen, which means it helps the body to fight stress. It\'s also acclaimed as an all-round tonic, with recognised benefits including reducing the risk of getting a cold.
Birt & Tang Ginseng Tea costs £1.99 for 20 teabags, from www.birtandtang.co.uk

Yogi Women\'s Fitness tea

tea,healthy eating,healthy living,cardamom,cinnamon,rosemary,drinks Women\'s Fitness Yogi Tea

The latest of the Yogi Tea range, Women\'s Fitness tea contains pu-erh red tea, rosemary, nettle, rooibos and green maté - the South American plant and natural energiser that promotes a healthy metabolism. Pu-erh red tea is known to help treat poor digestion, and nettle helps to detoxify. The fermented, sun-dried leaves of rooibos, or redbush, are rich in minerals and antioxidants. 

 

Women\'s Fitness has been one of the most popular teas ever to grace my desk. It has a fresh, fragrant sweetness and a refreshing taste and is a good \'pick-me-up\'. A box of 15 teabags is £1.89 from Fresh and Wild and www.goldenuk.co.uk.

Tick Tock Rooibos Green Tea

tea,African food,healthy eating,healthy living,drinks,Africa PR - Tick Tock Organic Rooibos Green Tea

New in the UK, this organic redbush and green tea is a naturally caffeine-free green tea option. Our tester reported: \'tastes reassuringly - and refreshingly - like normal tea!\'. And, of course, it\'s high in antioxidants.

 

Tick Tock Rooibos Green Tea costs £1.89 for 40 bags, from Waitrose, Tesco, Whole Food, John Lewis food stores and Planet Organic. 

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