Non-alcoholic Beverages

IN the usual British diet non-alcoholic beverages contribute a fair number of calories, variable amounts of other nutrients, and a great deal of pleasure. Plain water heads the list, of course, but many people actually get more water from other sources because they want more than simply to slake thirst. Tea and coffee have no nutritional value of themselves but they do serve as vehicles for the consumption of milk and besides they may supply a substantial amount of empty sugar calories, but this is not necessarily a good reason to decry them. Milk is in an entirely different class and should be considered as a liquid food. Soft drinks contribute sugar and little else.

Water

The body is constantly losing water in the excreta, in sweat, in the expired breath, and as vapour from the skin, even when these is no sweating. This mean a constant need for replacements and it is well to provide this abundantly; the kidneys nicely dispose of any excess, and this seems better than skimping. The most positive recommendation we can make about water is to take plenty, in one form or another, especially in hot weather.

Research in connection with military operations on water needs in hot weather has conclusively shown that few people spontaneously drink as much water as they should when they are sweating profusely. When men were persuaded to drink more than they would otherwise they showed less tendency to heat exhaustion and their circulation was maintained better. It is not often realized that doing physical work in hot weather can easily result in sweating 6 to 12 quarts a day. It is unnecessary to add salt to the drinking water in hot weather unless you do not eat or do not allow your taste to tell you how much salt to add to the food as you eat.

If you are on a reducing diet remember that the idea is to lose fat, not merely to change weight. Drinking water or other nonalcoholic beverages will not affect your weight for more than a few hours, so do not try to help your reduction by restricting water. Taking water with meals, in fact, will make you less aware of being deprived when the food portions are skimpy. People on starvation rations instinctively "soup" their scanty meals with water and reduce their hunger thereby, especially if they can also salt the "soup".

Mineral waters for table use have long since gone out of fashion. Certainly most of the health claims for various mineral waters have no basis, though it may be remarked that the calcium in mineral waters is useful. However, the mineral content of these waters is not why we mildly approve of them. Frankly, we enjoy good sparkling mineral waters. Try sparkling water with a little white wine. And try the latter combination, but with less water and more wine, to accompany meals. If you are supposed to be restricted in salt or sodium, mineral waters are not allowed of course.

Tea And Coffee

Tea and coffee are mildly stimulating beverages that no longer provide the violent opinions of former times. Both of them have a diuretic effect, that is to say they promote the formation of urine, but this seems to be harmless except in a few sensitive people. Coffee and, to a smaller extent, tea, are stimulants to the central nervous system also, but here again there is no objection for most people if these beverages are used in moderation; restriction late in the day and in the evening helps some people who have trouble getting to sleep.

Moderation with tea and coffee is wise, however. Besides being overstimulating, there is the question of calories. We know quite a few people who average ten cups of tea, each with cream and with three or four spoonfuls of sugar, daily. This means around 500 calories a day from this source alone, and no one can argue that this is the best way to get your calories.

Table 15, at the back of this book, lists, in common units, the calorie value of non-alcoholic beverages. Breakfast cocoa, or hot chocolate, is the richest, with over 200 calories in a six-ounce cup.

Moreover, a large share of those calories is provided by saturated fat, both in the chocolate and in the milk. Incidentally, chocolate contains some of the same stimulant drugs that occur in coffee and tea. In spite of the advertising, we do not recommend hot chocolate or concoctions of this nature, with or without malted milk, for a bedtime snack for adults who are concerned about either obesity or cholesterol.

Milk as a Beverage Milk is discussed in Chapter 11. We much approve of skim milk and buttermilk for everyone, and the sooner these are available to the British housewife the better. Whole milk is something else. Note that the calorie content of whole milk is twice that of an equal amount of either skim milk or buttermilk, but the three varieties are almost identical in protein, mineral, and water-soluble vitamin concentration.