In today’s world, the term “healthy” has become synonymous with a certain type of body and lifestyle. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned over my years as a Registered Dietitian, it’s that health is complicated and multifaceted. It is not a one-size-fits-all concept and so many things beyond your food and movement choices alone can influence your health status. Factors like genetics, environment, and access to resources all play a big role in your overall wellbeing. Not to mention that health isn’t just about your physical body—your mental and emotional health matter, too!

While health will always be something that’s unique and specific to every individual, agencies like the USDA release general recommendations every few years to encourage us to engage in health-promoting behaviors. In 2020, the USDA published the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which offers four overarching guidelines that encourage healthy eating patterns at each stage of life. In this blog, we’ll dig into two of those four guidelines and highlight how SunSip soda with benefits can fit into these suggested patterns!

Guideline: “Focus on meeting food group needs with nutrient-dense foods and beverages, and stay within calorie limits.”

This guideline is all about eating (and drinking) a variety of nutrient dense foods and beverages regularly. Nutrient dense foods and beverages are filled with vitamins, minerals, and other health-promoting components and have little or no added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium (1).

It goes without saying the importance of including foods from all food groups in your intake—veggies, fruits, grains, protein-containing foods, and dairy (or dairy alternatives). But when it comes to beverages, it can be challenging to find fun, bubbly options that contain vitamins, minerals, and minimal added sugars. That is…until SunSip came along!

By FDA standards, any food or beverage containing 10-19% of the recommended daily value of a particular nutrient is considered a good source of that nutrient. Every can of SunSip contains 10% of the recommended daily value for vitamins C, B6, B12, zinc, and selenium.

Calories are units of energy that your body needs to fuel all your thoughts and activities. That said, you need an adequate amount of them daily! When possible, it’s a good idea to get most of those calories through nutrient-dense foods and beverages instead of foods and beverages with high levels of added sugars. Every can of SunSip has 35 or less calories per can with 5g of total sugar. Three of those grams of sugar come from natural fruit juice sources, while the remaining two grams come from cane sugar. Most traditional sodas, on the other hand, have around 150-180 calories per can and 40g of total added sugars. If you’d like a more in-depth look at how SunSip compares to traditional soda, check out this blog.

Guideline: “Limit foods and beverages higher in added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium, and limit alcoholic beverages.”

We’ve already talked about added sugar, but let’s dig into the other three aspects of this guideline.

Avoiding all sources of saturated fat and sodium isn’t realistic or necessary. However, foods high in saturated fat and sodium have been linked to higher blood pressure and cholesterol levels, both of which can be a concern for heart health (2, 3). The good news? SunSip is a beverage that’s both fat and sodium free!

When it comes to alcohol, the guidelines recommend limiting intake to two drinks or less in a day for men and one drink or less in a day for women. SunSip does not contain alcohol, so it makes the perfect, canned companion for anyone wanting to cut back on alcohol while still getting excited about a fun drink.

So, can SunSip help with your health goals?

Absolutely! How you define health and set your health goals is personal and unique to you. If any of your goals include engaging in behaviors to reduce your risk of chronic disease, manage existing health conditions, boost your energy levels, or even to simply feel good, know that SunSip by Health-Ade is here to help as your new bubbly bestie. Every time you crack open a can, you’ll be getting a balance of:

• Gut-healthy prebiotics from agave inulin
• Vitamins C, B6, and B12
• Essential minerals zinc and selenium
• 5g of total sugar with no stevia!

Ultimately, prioritizing health means acknowledging its multifaceted nature and making choices that support your unique needs. With SunSip, you're not just enjoying a refreshing beverage; you're nourishing your body with gut-healthy prebiotics and essential vitamins and minerals. Cheers to a gut-healthy soda full of flavor, fizz, and fun-ction!

Sources:

1. https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2021-03/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans-2020-2025.pdf
2. https://www.who.int/tools/elena/interventions/sodium-cvd-adults
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34649831/

This blog post was written by Claire Chewning, RDN & Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor

Claire is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor who's not on board with restrictive diets. She’s the owner and founder of Yours Chewly Nutrition, a virtual private practice where she helps individuals heal from chronic dieting and disordered eating so that they can discover peace and trust in their relationships with food + body. She’s also Health-Ade’s Registered Dietitian Advisor and loves educating employees and consumers about all things gut health from a non-diet perspective! She even writes a few blogs from time to time. Cheers!