Professor Sarah Berry from King’s College London has said that drinks account for huge amount of our daily calorie intake
A nutrition specialist has revealed that Brits are unknowingly piling on the pounds through their beverage choices – and has urged the public to rethink their drinking habits.
During an appearance on the Zoe Health podcast, Professor Sarah Berry, who has spent two decades studying nutrition at King’s College London, disclosed that a staggering portion of calories consumed by UK residents comes from what they’re sipping.
The expert stressed that alongside monitoring food intake, individuals must pay far closer attention to their liquid consumption.
She revealed previously: “What you drink can have a huge impact on your health, and I’m not just talking about alcohol. On average, 18% of the calories we consume comes from drinks.
“Most of the drinks we consume today are incredibly high in sugar and lack any nutritional value. Research over the years has consistently. High consumption of soda leads to poorer health outcomes, and sugar-sweetened beverages seem to be driving non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which is a serious and rapidly growing metabolic disorder. Switch sugar-sweetened drinks for drinks that can support your health, like coffee, green tea, black tea or water kefir.”
Meanwhile, nutritional scientist Tim Spector has previously championed the health benefits of coffee, stating: “Drinking coffee is actually really good for you. Reduces your risk of heart disease by a third. That’s good news for coffee lovers, but again, it’s probably due to the microbes eating your coffee and producing healthy chemicals.”
He has previously championed a beverage which he claimed had been ‘demonised’ despite having a short-term adverse effect on heart rate and blood pressure. The expert explained that coffee is brimming with vital nutrients and a remarkable amount of fibre, whilst studies have demonstrated it could slash the risk of heart attacks by 25%.
“Coffee is a health food, and we should all be drinking at least three cups a day, according to the latest science. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t want caffeine, just have decaf. It’s probably just as healthy.
“In fact studies have shown that moderate coffee intake-about 2–5 cups a day-is linked to a lower likelihood of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver and endometrial cancers, Parkinson’s disease, and depression. It’s even possible that people who drink coffee can reduce their risk of early death.”
Consuming up to four coffees daily can cut the risk of type two diabetes and high blood pressure, according to one study. However, the advantage is eliminated if more than four cups of coffee are drunk.
Scientists from the universities of Navarre in Spain and Catania in Italy discovered an “association between coffee consumption and a decreased risk of type two diabetes” and that “long-term coffee consumption is associated with a decreased risk of hypertension”. The research suggests moderate consumption of both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee may be linked with a reduced risk of metabolic syndrome.
Diet expert Dr Federica Amati stated: “When we look at population data, coffee drinkers as a whole live longer, have reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.”