Salud! L’Chaim! Sláinte! In countries around the world, when you drink, you often toast to your health and the health of your friends. What you drink is as important as what you eat, and it can have a large impact on your overall health. We have more beverage options now than we ever have before in human history. This tool reviews some of the research on various drinks and offers suggestions on how to drink for optimal health.

Around 21% of our daily caloric intake comes in the form of beverages.¹ This is about 500 calories a day for a moderately active male in the United States. If you are looking for a single piece of advice to give patients who want to lose weight, this is a low-hanging fruit: Changing what you drink has a powerful effect on weight loss.

By cutting out or minimizing the amount of soda, sweetened tea or coffee, juice, alcohol, energy drinks, milk (yes, milk), or smoothies you drink in a day, people cannot only improve their health, but they can also decrease their total caloric intake. More nutritious options include water, of course, but also unsweetened teas (e.g., herbal, green, or black), coffee, and wine or beer (in moderation). The ideal amount of liquid to drink in a day varies from person to person. The standard recommendation is 64 oz. of water (or eight 8-oz. cups daily), but this has not yet been confirmed by research findings.

People may require more or less liquid if they are very active; live in a hot, dry climate; or have a medical condition that causes them to retain fluid. If someone is thirsty, he or she is already showing signs of early dehydration. Another good guide to assess for hydration is whether or not they are passing colorless or clear urine every 2-3 hours.  If their urine is too yellow, they need to drink more!

More on Specific Beverages

Water