Published April 1, 2024

The beverage market has continued to grow and now includes convenient options that may provide added benefits to your health.

Recipes.

Our Better Choice Program can help identify smarter beverage options that best suit your needs. Our dietitians have evaluated the nutrient profiles of each drink category below and identified those that have fewer calories and less sodium or added sugar. While Better Choice criteria vary depending on the beverage, the shelf tag below the item will indicate the nutrients considered.

Let’s stroll down the aisle together and see what’s available.

Beverage categories.

Enhanced water includes additional ingredients like natural and artificial flavors, sugars, vitamins, and minerals.

Sparkling water is naturally or artificially carbonated water.

Coconut water is the clear, hydrating fluid harvested from coconuts.

Ready-to-drink teas and coffees sometimes contain added flavors, but there are unsweetened options to drink hot or cold.

Functional beverages are drinks containing nontraditional ingredients like minerals, vitamins, amino acids, probiotics, dietary fiber, and raw fruit.

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025, “a healthy dietary pattern will limit added sugars to less than 10% of calories per day.”¹ The average intake of added sugar in the US population, ages 1 and older, is around 266 calories per day—about 16 teaspoons.

Drinking smarter at home.

If you are looking to make your own smart beverage, try one of our Better Choice recipes at the top of this page. They taste great and feature ingredients that may provide additional health benefits.

Our delicious Grapefruit, Ginger, and Rosemary Soda recipe provides antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds.² Studies have noted that rosemary has been found to have a positive effect on mental health and sleep.³

And our Strawberry-Hibiscus Iced Refresher is perfect for cooling off on a hot day. Hibiscus has been found to have antioxidants such as beta-carotene, vitamin C, and anthocyanin.⁴

Whether you are walking the beverage aisles of Publix or trying one of our new recipes, know that we have your health in mind.

For questions, please reach out to our dietitians at publix.dietitian@publix.com.

For the love of you.

Choosing how you eat is uniquely personal. It’s about your needs, your preferences, and your goals. As your wellness ally, we’re in your corner with fresh ideas, recipes, and wellness icons that make it easier to shift toward wiser food choices. It’s all about you, at your very best.

Sources.

¹U.S. Department of Agriculture & U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025, 9th ed. December 2020. Available at DietaryGuidelines.gov.

²Ginger Benefits. Johns Hopkins Medicine. Accessed January 10, 2024.

³Rahbardar, Mahboobeh Ghasemzadeh, and Hossein Hosseinzadeh. Therapeutic Effects of Rosemary. National Library of Medicine. September 2020.

⁴7 Benefits of Hibiscus Tea. Cleveland Clinic. February 16, 2022.