Many people feel that drinking water is "tasteless" and prefer to use drinks instead of water. But sometimes, drinking drinks not only does not quench thirst, but makes people thirstier and thirstier the more they drink.
In fact, this phenomenon is related to the "sodium" content in beverages.
"Life Times" invites experts to explain why some drinks become thirstier the more you drink, and teach you to choose drinks scientifically.
Experts interviewed:
Gu Chuanling, director of the Capital Health Nutrition and Gastronomy Society
Ph.D. in Food Engineering, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, United States
When choosing a drink, look at the sodium content
If you consume a large amount of sodium, a large amount of sodium ions will increase the osmotic pressure of the blood, causing the water in the body fluids and cell fluids outside the blood vessels to flow to the blood, causing cell dehydration.
The lack of water in the cells sends signals to the brain to make people feel thirsty, which is why some drinks get thirstier the more they drink.
There are three main sources of sodium in beverages:
- Food ingredients. Sodium is found in almost all natural foods, including fruits, milk, etc., so sodium is found in fruit juices and dairy products, but generally in small amounts.
- Additive. For example, sodium ascorbate has an antioxidant effect, sodium bicarbonate can produce bubbles, sodium citrate helps regulate acidity, sodium phosphate salt can improve the taste of drinks and prevent discoloration.
- Salt. Most electrolyte drinks and sports drinks have table salt, also known as sodium chloride, added to them. In addition, in sweet foods, adding salt in moderation can help sweeten and adjust the taste, so salt is also added to many sweet drinks.
According to the national standard of "Sports Drinks" (GB 15266-2009), the sodium content of sports drinks is 5~120 mg/100 ml.
If you only sweat slightly, it is best to choose a drink with a sodium content of less than 20mg/100ml, a slightly higher level is fine, but not more than 100mg/100ml.
For example, if a saline soda contains up to 118 mg/100 ml of sodium, one bottle (600 ml) is equivalent to ingesting 1.77 grams of salt (1 gram of sodium equals 2.5 grams of salt).
The Chinese Nutrition Society recommends that the daily salt intake of adults should be controlled below 5 grams. Drinking such a bottle of salt soda not only does not quench your thirst, but also tends to exceed the salt intake.
Choose the right drink according to the label
In front of a dazzling array of beverages, people often don't know where to start. In particular, the labels such as "sugar-free" and "zero-calorie" on the packaging will make people wonder, can such a drink be drunk freely? In fact, there is a lot of knowledge in food labels.
Zero sugar≠ no sugar
According to the General Principles for Nutrition Labelling of Prepackaged Foods (GB28050-2011), "sugar-free" means that the carbohydrate content (i.e. sugar content) per 100 ml (or gram) of food is not higher than 0.5 grams, and that of "low-sugar" foods is not higher than 5 grams. Sugar here refers to all sugars, both naturally occurring and artificially added.
Therefore, even if the product packaging has the words "0 sucrose", it does not mean that it is completely sugar-free, and may contain very small amounts of sucrose, and may also contain lactose, maltose, fructose syrup, honey and other types of sugar.
Zero-calorie≠ no calories
People who lose weight or control their weight are concerned about energy intake, so there are many "zero energy" drinks on the market.
In nutrition labelling standards, "0 energy" can be claimed when the energy in a food is less than 17 kilojoules/100 grams (solids) or 100 milliliters (liquids).
In other words, a drink labeled "0 energy" does not mean that there is no energy in the drink at all, but the content is low and its intake has a negligible impact on human nutrition.
Plant-based protein ≠ high protein
There are various types of plant-based protein drinks, such as almond milk, walnut milk, soy milk, etc. Many people see "plant-based protein" and think that they can supplement protein through this drink.
According to the requirements of the labeling standard, if you want to claim a "high-protein" beverage, the protein content should be greater than or equal to 12 grams per 100 grams of beverage; If calculated per 100 ml or per 420 kJ, the protein is required to be greater than or equal to 6 grams.
However, the protein content in plant-based protein drinks is required to be no less than 0.5%, and the protein content in plant-based protein drinks on the market is generally marked as 0.6~1.0 grams per 100ml of beverages. Therefore, plant-based protein drinks may not meet the requirements of "high protein".
There are 5 kinds of drinks that you can drink regularly
The following drinks are low in sodium, sugar, and calories, hydrating and quenching thirst, making them a good choice when you want to drink a drink.
100% pure tomato juice
Pure tomato juice has only 23 kcal/100 grams, sweet and sour taste, helps to replenish potassium, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, etc., and is rich in lycopene, which has antioxidant effects.
100% mixed vegetable juice
In general, vegetable juices have significantly lower calorie and sugar content than fruit juices. The 100% mixed vegetable juice combines the nutrients of a variety of vegetables, and is rich in potassium and magnesium, making it a good hydrating drink.
Coconut water
It is a pure natural drink, with little sugar and only 21 kcal/100 ml. Coconut water is rich in minerals, especially potassium, and has a sweet taste, especially for people who are hungry and want to control calories.
Skim milk
The calories are only 34 kcal/100 grams, which can help replenish water, potassium, vitamin B2 lost through sweating, and can also replenish calcium, which is easily lacking in the human body.
Unsweetened soy milk
It has a caloric value of 31 kcal/100 g, a potassium content of up to 117 mg/100 g, and a sodium content of only 3.7 mg/100 g, and is very satiety, suitable for people who need to lose weight.
In addition to the above drinks, you can also make homemade mung bean soup, lemon passion fruit tea, etc., as long as you put less or no sugar, it is very healthy. ▲
(Source: Life Times)