Have you ever bought Genki Forest sparkling water because it’s advertised as “sugar-free”? The company recently apologized for a misleading advertisement.

The company said the drinks are “sucrose-free” (零蔗糖), but this is not the same as “sugar-free”. Now the company has changed the words “sugar-free” to “low-sugar” on the bottles.

In fact, there are many kinds of sugar. Sucrose is just one of them. Other kinds of sugar, such as fructose and sugar alcohol, are still in Genki Forest drinks. These types of sugar are used as sweeteners (甜味剂). They offer little energy, but a small amount of them can make drinks taste sweet. That’s why diet drinks like Genki Forest are popular among people who want to lose weight. They believe that they can not only enjoy sweet drinks, but also avoid taking in too much sugar. However, studies find that the sweeteners might make people eat more. When you eat sweet-tasting things, sweeteners send up your brain a “sweet signal”. Then your brain tells your body to prepare itself to take in energy. But since the diet soft drink has little energy, the brain will not receive what it is expecting. At this time, you will feel hungry and start getting energy by eating more food.

According to China Daily, drinking too many diet drinks might make you fat and lead to type 2 diabetes. It’s time for you to think twice about the diet drink trend.

What’s the best thing to eat on a hot summer day? Many people would say ice cream.   Yes, eating ice cream with some fruit on top is a great way to cool down. But think before you eat. If your body is hot from playing sports, it’s not the best time to eat ice cream.

When your body is hot, a lot of ice cream may give your stomach some problems, and you could get diarrhea(腹泻). You can eat some ice cream after you’ve cooled down a bit and had some tea. Just try not to eat too much all at once!

After dinner is another time people shouldn’t eat or drink anything cold. Drink something hot instead, and your stomach will digest(消化) your food better. If you love fruit, summer is a great time for you. Go to the market and pick out the best fruit of the season. If you want to stay cool, oranges, bananas, pears and watermelons can help. Also, try to eat more ginger(姜) and gram(绿豆). They will help you stay cool and healthy.

In summer, bacteria grow very fast and make your food go bad quickly. Try hard to keep yourself and your home clean in summer. Always eat clean, fresh food. When you feel like eating a cold dish, put vinegar(醋) in it to kill bacteria. If you can’t finish your food and want to eat it again next day, make sure you heat it enough to kill the bacteria in it. And when you put food in the fridge, make sure to keep the cooked food away from the uncooked food.

Stay healthy this summer, and enjoy nice food now and then.

About 80% of people do not get enough vitamin (维生素) D every day. But this vitamin is very important for your health.

Vitamin D is really important for our bones (骨骼). When we are young, vitamin D builds up our bones and makes them strong. When we are older, we still need vitamin D to keep our bones strong. Our bodies keep the vitamin D in our bones and teeth. Then we lose vitamin D as we work and exercise during the day. But our bodies can’t make vitamin D. So we have to get it from outside of our bodies.

Where can a person get this very important vitamin? Vitamin D is in foods like fish and eggs. Sometimes, vitamin D is added to bread, milk, and orange juice. Food is not the only way our bodies can get vitamin D. The sun also gives us vitamin D. If we want to be healthy, we should spend some time in the sun each day. Too much sun is not good for you, but about 15 minutes a day is usually enough. And we should be sure to eat foods that are rich in vitamin D, too.