They always say breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. I feel like there is always a lot of discussion about what to eat for breakfast: waffles or pancakes, avocado toast or a bagel, dry or milky cereal. But one thing that I feel isn’t talked about enough is the drinks that accompany your breakfast.

Water
You can never go wrong with just choosing to drink water in the morning. In fact, experts and health officials say that chugging a glass of water when you wake up, before eating or drinking anything else, is great for you. Doing this will help to rehydrate the body, flush out toxins, and balance your lymphatic system. Additionally, this can help increase your metabolism and help indigestion. Other than a quick chug right after waking up, drinking water is always beneficial. It can help to regulate your body temperature, hydrate your body, increase energy, and help with acne. In fact, I think this is the one beverage that does not have any negative consequences to drinking it.

Coffee
Coffee is one of the most popular beverages to drink in the morning, especially for high school students wanting to stay awake throughout their rigorous course load. I think one reason for its vast popularity is the endless possibilities of how you want it to taste. You can easily control how sweet, bitter, and creamy you would like it to be. You can even choose to give it an extra special flavor: vanilla, mocha, caramel. And to make it even better, it can be served at any time of the year because you can choose to make it hot, cold, or frozen. There are several reasons, besides the great taste, to drink coffee in the morning. It can help you stay awake in class, strengthen your liver, help your body process glucose better, and reduce the risk of heart disease. However, as it has a lot of caffeine in it there are several negative effects of drinking too much caffeine: caffeine-induced anxiety, high blood pressure, insomnia, and negative effects on concentration.

Plain White Milk
Who above the age of 5 voluntarily drinks plain white milk for breakfast? Just the thought of drinking a plain glass of milk seems repulsive to me. However, there are numerous benefits to drinking a glass of milk in the morning. Milk is very rich in nutrients as it has vast amounts of calcium, protein, and several probiotics. Additionally, milk can help to reduce blood pressure. But it is important to also consider the negatives of milk, other than just the taste. Milk has very high levels of saturated sugar and fat, it can disrupt one’s hormonal balance causing acne, and many people have some level of intolerance towards lactose. However, nowadays, there are many different types of milk that you can drink to still get the positive benefits of milk without all the negatives such as almond milk, oat milk, and skim milk.

Orange Juice
Orange juice is a classic breakfast drink that never seems to grow old. You can be 5 or 50 and still enjoy a delicious glass of orange juice. Not only is this drink delicious but it also has several great benefits. Orange juice is rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants. Additionally, due to its high water percentage, orange juice could be very beneficial in hydration. But, it is important to note the various negatives that come with drinking orange juice. Orange juice has a lot of sugar in it and can elevate one’s blood sugar, and increase the risk of diabetes. Also due to the high amount of sugar in it, orange juice is high in calories. One last thing to note about orange juice is that citric acid could stain your teeth.

Matcha Latte
Personally, an iced matcha latte with two pumps of vanilla is my go-to morning drink (other than coffee). It’s sweet, but not too sweet and has a creamy yet light taste to it. In my opinion, it tastes like liquified green tea ice cream. Not only is this exquisite drink easy on the taste buds, but it also has numerous nutritional benefits. It is high in antioxidants, boosts brain function, boosts metabolism. Furthermore, matcha has high caffeine content. Although not as high as coffee, the caffeine in matcha will be more than enough to get you through the day. However, it is important to note that there are some downfalls to matcha. It can be expensive and you may get all the negative effects of caffeine as you would get drinking coffee. Additionally, in drinking matcha as a latte and not just a tea, you are taking away some of its nutritional benefits as you are gaining some of the damaging effects of drinking milk.

Energy Drinks
Energy drinks are probably one of the most popular breakfast drinks among high schoolers. There are so many different options for energy drinks, you could drink a Red Bull, Bang, 5 Hour Energy, Celcius, and so many others. I feel like one of the big draws of energy drinks, other than the variety, is their convenience of them. You can just grab one out of the fridge while you walk out the door. Whereas for most other drinks you have to take the time out of your day to grab a cup, pour the drink, but the drink back in the fridge, and who has time for that? There are several positive effects of energy drinks, other than just the obvious plus of having a lot more energy. One is that they are known to help improve your mood. Some other positives of drinking energy drinks is more alertness and improved memory. As appealing as an energy drink may seem, it is important to take into account some risks that come with energy drinks. Energy drinks can cause increased blood pressure, insomnia, a variety of heart issues, anxiety, and restlessness.

In relation to all the mentioned morning drinks, the key to the healthy consummation of any beverage is moderation. Any drink can be toxic if it is not consumed in moderation.