1 April 2011

For confirmed subscribers only: newsletter from Healthy Eating Made Easy.

Bake a Lovely Cake

There's nothing to beat a homemade cake, and we've just added a recipe to the site for a delicious and wholesome Healthy Banana Bread If you have a few well-ripened bananas in your fruit bowl, this is a great way to use them up.

Beware of Flavoured Waters and Vitamin Drinks

People are looking for healthier alternatives to fizzy soda drinks like Coca-Cola, which has fallen out of the global list of Top 10 brands for the first time.

But if you've been tempted towards water- and juice-based drinks that are enhanced with flavourings, or with added vitamins and minerals or energy-boosters, think again.

You might think that drinks which promise you lots of vitamins and are made with fruit juices were super-healthy. But almost all are highly sweetened with sugar - in the UK, for example, some varieties of This Water contain 42g of sugar in a 420ml bottle, which is more sugar than you'll find in a 500ml bottle of Coke.

It's so easy to consume sugar in a drink, and many people consume bottled drinks throughout the day, which can add up to a big sugar overload. A 2009 study found that in America, people get 25% of their daily calorie intake from liquids.

This is especially worrying for children - find out more about healthy drinks for kids.

What's the best drink? The answer is always going to be the obvious one - plain water, or carbonated if you prefer. It's the drink Nature intended humans to have, and is the one that is best for us.

Try a mug of warm water with a slice of lemon, lime or orange for interest, if you don't like it cold. But make it a habit to drink water and try bit by bit to cut out those bottled drinks.

Happy Healthy Eating!

Elizabeth

Healthy Eating Made Easy