Lincoln Daily News 2025-26 Health & Wellness Magazine Pg.17 85 percent of a person’s daily nutrient intake should be healthy foods that are nutrient dense. The other fifteen percent can be things such as added sugars or saturated fats. Going into detail on each of these and explaining the pros and cons of consuming too much or too little is not possible here. There are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of studies and informational material that can be found by searching the internet. Some of them are credible and research based, and others are not. Most people do not have the time to sift through the sheer amount of information available to learn the “what and what nots” of nutrition. Here are five important things you should know about nutrition, as well as how it relates to beverages. Firstly, and most obviously, water is the most important beverage you can consume. As stated in The Nutrition Source from Harvard, water is “the perfect beverage for quenching thirst and rehydrating your system. In fact, up to 60 percent of the human body is water, lending even more credibility to the fact that water is the most important beverage you can consume. Water’s only drawback is that it does not provide you with any of the nutrients your body needs to function properly. This is where things such as meal replacement shakes can come in handy. While they should not be consumed for every meal, these meal replacement shakes can be beneficial for your health. You must be mindful of what is in these shakes, however, and recall some of the things you learned earlier in this article. You will want to be sure that your shake has everything in it you would be getting were you to eat a balanced meal. Third is understanding the function of different nutritional beverages. Just because something is listed as healthy does not mean that it is for everyone. Gatorade is a great example of this. Gatorade, while it does have a high sugar content, is meant to be consumed while you are exercising. According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, Gatorade does in fact have a “hydration efficacy” superior to water, but the participants of the study lost less body mass. Using Gatorade as a source of hydration while exercising is great for hydration but consuming it while not exercising is not the most beneficial way to use it. Fourth is moderation. Nothing is good in excess. Even drinks like water can be harmful if consumed in large quantities in a short period of time. Water poisoning, also sometimes referred to as water intoxication, can occur when very large quantities of water are consumed all at once. This can lead to death in extreme circumstances. While consuming too much of a nutritional beverage is unlikely to lead to death, it is still not recommended and can potentially lead to health complications. Last is, as stated earlier, understanding all the parts of a balanced diet. Some individuals may not be getting all the vitamins and minerals they need in the food they eat regularly. A great example of this is pregnant women, who are often encouraged to take prenatal supplements throughout their pregnancy as well as during breastfeeding, should they choose to do so. In cases like this, nutritional beverages may serve to deliver those missing nutrients to your body. Just be sure to consult a doctor before making this something you do regularly, especially if you are pregnant. Continued --
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