PLANT WATERS MAKING A SPLASH
All
that our forebears drank for thousands and thousands of years was plain
water. It’s all that they had available (apart from breast milk as
infants). It’s also absolutely essential to life. Our bodies need it to
transport nutrients to our organs and oxygen to our cells; to remove
waste; to protect our organs; and to regulate our body temperature.
Plain
water faces stiff competition these days, however. The proportion of
tap water in our diet has diminished as we have shifted to drinking
other beverages from tea and coffee to soft drinks and mineral waters.
The
latest commercial beverage trend is “plant waters,” once part of
traditional diets in northern Europe, Asia, the Pacific Islands and
North America. Now endorsed by celebrities and sports people, they have
hit the hype home run. Take the health claims made about them with a
large pinch of salt (the evidence is excessively thin on the ground) and
enjoy them in moderation if you wish. Remember, they are a pricy
alternative to “Chateau Tap,” and they come with calories. They will
also affect blood glucose levels.
BIRCH WATER Drunk straight from the tree, birch sap was a
traditional springtime tonic in northern Europe renowned for its
strengthening and curative powers. Over two hundred years ago, Baron
Pierre-François Percy, army surgeon and inspector general to Napoleon,
extolled its benefits making health claims that would have modern
marketers blushing to their boots. “Throughout the whole of northern
Europe . . . birch water is the hope, the blessing, and the panacea of
rich and poor, master and peasant alike . . . It almost unfailingly
cures skin conditions such as pimples, scurf, acne, etc., it is an
invaluable remedy for rheumatic diseases, the after-effects of gout,
bladder obstructions, and countless chronic ills against which medical
science is so prone to fail.”
These days, it’s not just
a springtime tonic. It is bottled and sold in Japan, Korea,
Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe as a refreshing beverage. Leading brands
include Denmark’s Sealand Birk and Finland’s Nordic Koivu.
What’s
in it? According to the manufacturer, a 250ml (9fl oz) serving of
Sealand Birk provides 210kJ (50 calories), 12.5g available carbohydrate
(12.5g natural sugars) and 4mg sodium.
COCONUT WATER
Tropical coconut palms (Cocos nucifera) flourish on shorelines in a
worldwide band 25 degrees north and 25 degrees south of the equator.
It’s considered the tree of life in many cultures, and is certainly a
contender for gold when it comes to “world’s most useful plant”. With
each tree yielding thousands of coconuts over a 60–80-year lifespan, it
provides, in one neat package, a high-calorie food, potable water, fibre
that can be spun into rope, and a hard shell that can be turned into
charcoal. What’s more it makes a handy flotation device if you need it.
And it’s not a nut, it is a drupe or stone fruit.
The
clear liquid inside the coconut has long been a popular drink in the
tropics. There’s a lot of hype about its benefits, but little research
to support the claims.
What’s in it? The Nudie brand,
the only one tested, has a GI value of 55. According to the
manufacturer, a 250ml (9fl oz) serving provides 198kJ (47 calories), 11g
available carbohydrate (including 8g natural sugars) and 57mg sodium.
The glycemic load is 6.
MAPLE WATER Maple water
is a refreshing drink straight from the tree when the sap is running in
maple country, and not just in the United States and Canada. In South
Korea, drinking maple sap (gorosoe) is a springtime ritual with
festivals and sap-drinking contests.
Until recently,
maple water had a very limited season, as it could only be harvested
during a narrow, six-week window. Now “the sap is frozen to maintain its
healthful benefits and maximize its fresh shelf life,” says the
manufacturer of KiKi Maple Sweet Water®. “At a local bottling plant, a
hot fill process, with the liquid heated to just below 96 degrees
Celsius, ensures that the drink remains below pasteurization temperature
to preserve its purity, highlight the flavour and maintain healthful
benefits. The product is then shipped, stored, and served chilled.”
What’s
in it? A 240ml (9fl oz) serving of KiKi provides 115kJ (48 calories)
and 12g available carbohydrate (11g natural sugars (sucrose, glucose,
and fructose)). There are claims that it is low GI, but no published
data. We assume the claim is based on the GI for maple syrup (GI 54).
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