Cold drinks Vs Milk beverages, which one is better, and why?
In the warm climes of most of India, a cool drink is an ideal energiser but there is a wide choice of ready to drink options. Let’s compare the two most popular choices – milk beverages and cold drinks.
Milk is a powerhouse of most essential nutrients and is an ideal drink for growing children. Calcium, vitamin-d, and potassium in milk keep muscles, teeth, and bones healthy. A glass of milk provides more protein than an egg.
National Dairy Development Board -Foundation for Nutrition distributed flavoured milk in select government and public schools to about 44,000 students daily for 1 year and monitored the effects. The study found that the consumption of milk helped in fighting infections in children. Also, there was a 7% decrease in the number of stunted children. This study and other empirical evidence suggest that ready-made milk beverages favoured with cocoa, chocolate, vanilla or fruits, and dry fruits share all the goodness of natural milk. Many urban parents also find milk beverages as an ideal accompaniment to breakfast for school-going children.
On the other hand, cold drinks or carbonated beverages do not contain any nutrients and are loaded with sugar. Regular consumption of cold drinks increases the intake of calories. This results in much higher body weight. They have also been linked to type-2 diabetes, heart disease, tooth decay, and other health problems. Diet drinks have also linked to health problems such as type 2 diabetes. Experts suspect that artificial sweeteners in diet versions of soft drinks trick our body into wanting more calories and this may also result in weight gain.
To conclude, it is time to stay away from cold drinks as milk beverages are a much healthier alternative to cold drinks.
Courtesy – Chef Manjit Gill.