Water, water and more water should be the number one priority in our family healthy daily lifestyle. Sports drinks, soda have large amounts of sugar and kilojoules. In fact, a can of soft drink contains around 12 teaspoons of sugar. Drinking too many sweetened drinks can cause a range of health issues.

Here are some ideas to help you to drink more water

•Pack a water bottle whenever you go out.

•In summer, pack a frozen water bottle ready to take with you

•Don't keep sweetened drinks at home; make cold water available instead.

•When playing sport, encourage children to drink water rather than sports drinks or energy drinks.

•Add slices of lemon, orange or mint to flavour water and, in summer, add ice cubes to keep it chilled.

•Serve sweetened drinks in smaller glasses and only have them occasionally – not every day.

Remember:

•Water is the best choice and a necessity for us human beings... sodas, sweetened drinks, fruit juice drinks, sports and energy drinks are not a necessary part of a healthy diet.

•If you have sweetened drinks or sodas on the menu at home, let them become a treat not the norm.