Replacing sugary drinks

Healthy Diet / Family Health

Did you know some sugary drinks can contain as much as 7 spoons of sugar in a single serving?

Sugary drinks include fizzy drinks, squashes, cordials and juice drinks. 

Drinking sugary drinks is linked with excess weight in children. Milk and water are the best choices.

This table shows how much sugar is in commonly available sugary drinks. 

Tips on how to cut down on sugary drinks
  • If your family loves soft drinks or other sweetened drinks, reduce them gradually.
  • Start by adding plenty of water to cordials and squashes.
  • Add extra water each time to squashes and cordials to reduce your child’s taste for sweetness.
  • Keep sweetened drinks for the weekend.
  • Make water freely available between meals.
  • Water is tastier when it’s cold: put a jug of water in the fridge
  • Add a slice of lime, lemon or orange to give it flavour and colour.

Healthy Diet Useful Resources

This course will provide you with some information about sport and exercise nutrition –...
BDA will enrich your events with food demos, health and nutrition check-ups, competitions...
Vital Nutrition’s Jane McClenaghan is known for her down-to-earth, practical approach to...
We all have good and bad days but what and when we eat can influence our mood, energy,...
Fat is an essential nutrient in our diet but may often be thought about negatively and...
We will enrich your events with food demos, health and nutrition check-ups, competitions...
Vital Nutrition specialises in developing bespoke, tailor made nutritional programmes to...
Certified by the AfN. This course is for those with an interest in nutrition and would be...
Cancer Focus NI can provide a wide range of presentations to meet the needs of your...
This course is for midwives and aims to explain the science behind the different types of...
We all have good and bad days but what and when we eat can influence our mood, energy,...
Do you want to eat in a way that helps you reach your ideal weight, gives you boundless...
This course will provide you with the basic nutrition knowledge and practical tools...
Taste Buds is a resource that helps children aged 8 to 11 enjoy learning about the...
The Quick Fit programme offers positive steps to improve your health through diet and...
This course is aimed at pharmacists and aims to explain the science behind the different...
We all have good and bad days but what and when we eat can influence our mood, energy,...
This course will provide you with the basic knowledge to help you adopt a healthier and...
Your Work Ready dietitian will visit your organisation. They will ask what you want, see...
Are you often too tired to cook? Not organised enough to have breakfast and lunch sorted...
We all have good and bad days but what and when we eat can influence our mood, energy,...
This course would be of particular use to health professionals and students wanting to...
We will enrich your events with food demos, health and nutrition check-ups, competitions...
Here at Vital Nutrition, we work with schools all over Northern Ireland to help inspire...
We all have good and bad days but what and when we eat can influence our mood, energy,...
Vital Nutrition offers a complete range of corporate health and workplace wellbeing...
This course provides caterers, food service providers and catering students with the...
We all have good and bad days but what and when we eat can influence our mood, energy,...
MediaWise is a FREE media literacy resource, designed by primary school teachers and...
Certified by the AfN. This course is for those who already have a basic knowledge of...
Fun, fast food for less. This is a practical six-week nutrition programme aimed at...
This course is aimed at practice nurses and aims to explain the science behind the...
We all have good and bad days but what and when we eat can influence our mood, energy,...
This course is about eating well and keeping healthy if you’re staying at home more since...
Your dietitian will look at any food and drink provision for staff including: canteen or...
Cancer Focus NI, Keeping Well vans are mobile drop-in units which bring health checks,...
Vital Nutrition’s Healthy Shift Workers workshop provides employees with a practical plan...
We all have good and bad days but what and when we eat can influence our mood, energy,...
Our free Easy Meals app is a great way to eat foods that are healthier for you. You’ll...
Food diary, exercise tracker and diet coach
Nutrition scanner
Develop healthier eating habits, be more active, and get on track to start losing weight...
Use this calculator to check your body mass index (BMI) and find out if you are a healthy weight. Or, use it to check your child's BMI centile.