A Guide to Choosing Healthy Beverages
- The majority of your liquid intake should be pure, filtered water. Half your body weight in ounces (not to exceed about 100 oz) is the required amount to drink daily. To compensate for each cup of diuretic beverages (like coffee, tea or fruit juices) consumed, an additional cup and a half of water must be added to your daily total.
- The best water filters are those that remove both chlorine AND fluoride, and have some mechanism to deal with other contaminants. We personally use the Berkey brand water filter, a countertop gravity filter (that requires no power) which could render even dirty lake water drinkable, even with no electricity. Just a note, bathing water should also be filtered, and there are many suitable shower filters on the market.
- Herbal teas are made from herbs and spices and do not usually contain any tea leaves and are naturally caffeine-free. You can make a fantastic ginger tea with some grated ginger root, hot water and perhaps a teeny bit of honey swirled in at the end.
- Rather than drink traditional coffee, try an herbal coffee substitute like Teeccino or Dandy Blend. If you must drink coffee, choose organic, fresh roasted coffee, and grind it yourself, freshly before brewing. Instead of commercial decaffeinated coffee, which is generally chemically decaffeinated, try Swiss water decaf. Avoid sugary coffee house drinks and flavor your coffee with fresh raw cream from grass-fed cows and natural sweeteners, if any.
- Fresh squeezed fruit juices (not commercial, pasteurized juice) can be consumed, but its best to combine them with fat (like yogurt, coconut milk or egg yolks) to buffer blood sugar spikes.
- Cultured (naturally fermented) beverages like kombucha, water kefir, dairy kefir and coconut kefir all contain probiotics (beneficial bacteria) and can be flavored with herbs or fruit for endless flavor combinations.
- Coconut water or coconut milk (homemade or unsweetened from BPA free cans) are refreshing and healthful.
- Whole, raw milk is nutritious and tastes great!
- Smoothies can be made by combining yogurt or kefir, raw milk or coconut milk (or even coconut water), with fruit and vegetables, fresh squeezed juices and egg yolks, nut butter or other healthy additions for a quick meal or snack.
- Homemade bone broth/stock (or these beef or chicken stocks), seasoned with unrefined sea salt, is a nice, warm beverage for cool days and it is full of minerals and healing substances like gelatin and collagen.
