After having a focus on making the right food choices, it is important not to forget about what we drink. This week we’d like you to focus on making healthy beverage choices and if you’re an adult and a drinker of alcohol, reducing your intake of alcohol.
Making healthy beverage choices doesn’t mean you’re restricted to drinking only water (although that’s pretty great!), but we suggest you consider removing sugary soft drinks and even fruit juices unless they’re freshly squeezed from your diet. From here you can start to look at adding lemon, lime or strawberry to your water, or choosing sugar free soda water (soda streams are great for this) as a fizzy alternative. You can be creative with your soda water, try adding fresh fruit slices of any kind with some ice and you’ll quickly find a mix you like.
There is of course amazing benefits to making smoothies or juices from your favourite mixes of fruit and veg, but those aren’t generally an option for all the time, and are more of a meal than just a refreshment.
Alcohol, when consumed in moderation, can make us feel happier and more relaxed. However, in excess it can increase our risk of accidents and injury, high cholesterol, organ damage, dementia and brain damage, and also increase your risk of some cancers.
No amount of alcohol is technically considered a safe amount, but if you do choose to drink then less is best. According to the latest Australian Guidelines, healthy men and women should drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day.
To help you to reduce your alcohol intake, here are some tips from our Dietitian:
- If you’re feeling thirsty, have a glass of water first to avoid quenching thirst with alcohol or sugary drinks (remember that drink bottle we mentioned back in Week 6?).
- Set on a limited number of drinks you plan to have before you start drinking alcohol.
- Be aware that ‘low-carb’ alcoholic drinks often have the same amount of alcohol as regular varieties.
If you have any questions about your own diet or would like dietary advice from your Able Dietitian, send us a message letting us know what you’re after and we’ll be in touch to help you achieve your goals!
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