Naturopathic Recommendations for Drinking Well

Our naturopathic doctor, Dr. Morgan Winton, has discussions every day with patients about what beverages they should and shouldn’t drink. Her general belief is “everything in moderation”, but this changes depending on your current state of health.

The two beverages she recommends to all patients are water & herbal tea. Please see Dr. Morgan’s earlier blog post to learn more about the benefits of water for your health. Juice and pop fall into the “treat” category – ok once in a while but definitely not on a daily basis. It is important to know that both green & white tea contain caffeine. They also contain many other health benefits, but if you’re trying to avoid caffeine then they’re not the teas for you.

Fruit juices are full of sugar, even freshly squeezed juice. It takes on average 4 oranges to make a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice but in the process you’ve lost all of the fibre. In essence, your body has to deal with the sugar of four oranges without the fibre to slow the absorption – and who would normally eat four oranges in a row anyway?

Pop is simply water with sugar and chemicals. There was recently a study that came out showing that drinking diet sodas daily is associated with an increased chance of suffering a heart attack, stroke, or of dying due to conditions that affect the circulatory system. Those who drink them daily were 43 percent more likely to have a heart attack, stroke or other vascular event. The study was published online on Jan. 27, 2012 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

It is important to not only think about what you are eating, but to also think about what you’re drinking. If you would like to improve your eating and/or drinking habits, please come see our naturopathic doctor.