With Latinos facing higher rates of diabetes (1), traditional Latin American foods and drinks are under intense scrutiny.
It’s very easy as a dietitian to immediately try to find every source of added sugar in a diet and make that your target. And Mexican food does have a rich tradition of sweetened beverages.
Mexican-Americans are more likely to drink sugar-sweetened beverages than other groups, according to the CDC, after all.
The reasons behind this are complex and include issues around access to safe, clean water as well as our long tradition of aguas frescas and other sweet drinks being built into our food culture.
And working as a dietitian in the United States, the overwhelming approach I see in my industry is to take this information and respond by trying to brainstorm ways to eliminate all sweetened beverages in Latino diets.
But I would argue that our approach shouldn’t be so cut and dry. As I’ve done more digging into the potential health benefits of aguas frescas, I’ve realized they are part of a long tradition of food culture developing to meet the nutrition needs of its people.
In addition to having a variety of vitamins and minerals (depending on the ingredients used), aguas frescas are a natural source of hydrating electrolytes, and they became popular in a very hot climate. They are also a sustainable way of using up produce.
That’s why when I see agua fresca, I don’t see a source of sugar worth getting too worked up over, I see Latino ingenuity and nutrition wisdom. But not everyone in the field of nutrition sees it that way.
This article is featured in the aguas frescas issue of our zine! Read the whole issue here.
How dietitians talk about aguas frescas
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend plain water and other sugar-free beverages. They specifically recommend limiting sugar-sweetened beverages, because they are the main source of added sugar in American diets.
While aguas frescas aren’t mentioned by name, most dietitians would include them in the sugar-sweetened beverage category and recommend limiting them.
This matches up with my experience when talking to dietitians about aguas frescas. When I’ve talked to them about the Mexican tradition of aguas frescas, they’ve told me these are the alternatives they would suggest to clients:
- Recommending water infused with fruit but not sweetened
- Recommending flavored sparkling water
- Finding ways to encourage clients to eliminate aguas frescas in favor of plain water
If you’re a dietitian reading those suggestions you’re probably thinking “sounds about right,” and if you aren’t a dietitian you’re probably thinking “UGH!” Am I right?
This is because so few dietitians are Latina–approximately 9% (2). Which means most dietitians just don’t “get” agua fresca. They just see it as a sweet drink, and not for the cultural symbol it really is.
Which is why, sometimes, it can feel like the field is dismissive of agua fresca.
What makes aguas frescas different from other sugar sweetened beverages
But as a Mexican-American dietitian who grew up drinking agua de jamaica at my local taqueria, I know agua fresca is so much more than just a sweetened drink.
Here are some of the reasons I think agua fresca deserves a second look:
Sweetness level may be more individual than a standard soda
I see an example of Latinos taking the initiative to meet their own nutrition needs within their cultural foods.
A bottle of soda is usually very standardized. A can of cola will have the same sugar content a month from now, and even if you go to a different store.
This is not necessarily the case for agua fresca.
While there are commercial, bottled aguas frescas (and even powdered agua fresca mix), these aren’t the default options. You’re just as likely to find homemade agua fresca as a bottled or powdered agua fresca.
And the sugar content can vary widely from recipe to recipe, depending on who’s making it and who’s drinking it.
And another cultural nuance that comes up with agua fresca is hard to explain to non-Latinos, and instantly recognizable to many Latinos. That would be the tendency to water down or dilute a drink to “make it less sweet.”
If you’ve ever seen someone take an agua fresca (or even a juice or a punch) and add water to make it less sweet, you’ve seen the customizability of agua fresca in action.
I’ve tried to explain this tendency to other dietitians, and the reaction is usually “but it’s the same amount of sugar.”
But where other dietitians might see an opportunity for education, I see an example of Latinos taking the initiative to meet their own nutrition needs within their cultural foods.
There are a lot of positive nutrition behaviors I see in this small action of adding water to agua fresca:
- Customizing a food to meet your own needs, without imposing your changes on others
- Allowing space to enjoy sweet treats without shame or guilt
- Using your body’s feedback to guide you (tasting the sweetness level and adjusting)
- Adding more of a beneficial nutrient (water) to help cushion a more difficult one (sugar)
If I’m working with someone who waters down their agua fresca, and they have a medical reason to closely monitor their blood sugar, about the total portion size and making sure they aren’t just consuming the same amount of sugar in a larger glass. But I still love this behavior!
The main takeaway for dietitians and health professionals here is just because someone said they drank an agua fresca, it doesn’t necessarily mean they had a ton of sugar. Ask more questions!
Electrolytes
Our ancestors didn’t need sports drinks or powders dreamed up in a lab, they just knew what worked in their climate and passed on that tradition.
When I say electrolytes, people often think of processed electrolyte powders or drinks like Gatorade or Liquid-IV. Electrolytes sound like a fancy, scientific concept that have only come about with modern advances in nutrition.
But electrolytes is just a term for minerals that can conduct electricity in water (3). The main sources of electrolytes are sodium, potassium, and magnesium, which means they are way more accessible (and natural) than you may have thought.
Electrolyte drinks are gaining popularity as sports/recovery drinks. This is because electrolytes do help increase fluid retention (rehydration), and also because we tend to lose electrolytes in our sweat (4).
While the average person doesn’t necessarily need dedicated electrolyte drinks (and definitely shouldn’t overdo them), they can be useful when you are having a very sweaty workout or spending all day out in the sun.
Knowing that electrolytes can help increase fluid retention and replace minerals lost through sweat, it makes sense to me that a tradition of fruit waters with naturally occurring electrolytes would arise somewhere like Mexico with its hot weather and beating sun.
It’s also not unheard of to add a pinch of salt to an agua fresca, or to serve an agua fresca in a glass with salt on the rim. This is just another example of how our tradition of serving aguas frescas supports our nutrition needs.
Our ancestors didn’t need sports drinks or powders dreamed up in a lab, they just knew what worked in their climate and passed on that tradition.
Sustainability
It’s a joke among 1st gen Latinos that our parents and grandparents did sustainability before it was cool.
This might show up in reusing plastic containers, eating planet-friendly proteins like beans, or finding creative uses for the odds and ends of food.
Aguas frescas are a perfect example of this last point! While a typical agua fresca recipe won’t specifically call for scraps, it’s very common to use the ends of fruit that aren’t as pretty or are leftover to make an agua fresca.
Encouraging hydration and lower sugar intake, without shaming aguas frescas
As much as I encourage everyone to enjoy their agua fresca, guilt-free, I understand that you may have questions about how that can work for you if you need to watch your blood sugar.
While I do think they have natural health benefits, aguas frescas are still a sugar source, and it’s important to talk about how to navigate that.
So how do we make space for aguas frescas in a balanced way? Here’s what I recommend (don’t think of this as a rulebook, but rather a set of flexible tools):
Portion sizes
An 8 oz serving of agua fresca is a good starting point, especially if it’s a full sugar version or you don’t have control over how sweet it is. This small serving should be enough for you to enjoy without going way over your sugar budget for the day.
I know, 8 oz sounds teeny tiny! We’re used to the very large cups of agua fresca that we get at the taqueria.
If you’re like me and you like having a large cup to enjoy, you could always try the classic trick of adding plain water to your agua fresca to get more volume without increasing the sugar.
It’s a common misconception in our community that adding water to agua fresca makes it less sweet. This is true in some ways and not others. It dilutes the concentration of the sugar, which of course makes it taste less sweet.
If you stick with your original serving size of the diluted agua fresca then yes, you would be consuming less sugar. But if you add water to your agua fresca and then drink the now larger drink, your sugar content is still the same.
But this can still be a benefit because you’re getting more water with the sugar, which is beneficial in its own right!
Pairing with meals
Try serving your agua fresca with a high protein meal with lots of veggies. Like chile verde or chicken tinga! The protein and fiber will help keep your blood sugar stable and help keep you full so you don’t overload on the agua fresca.
Adding chia seeds
Agua de chia is a popular variation of agua fresca, and it adds healthy fats and fiber to your drink!
Don’t strain
It’s common to strain agua fresca before serving, so you get a smoother drink. But if you don’t strain it and are okay with a little pulp, you can get some extra fiber in your drink to help keep you full and stabilize your blood sugar.
Final Thoughts
It’s my belief that our food culture is a culmination of centuries of wisdom and creativity, all with the intention of nourishing us.
That’s why I could never fully get behind eliminating something as culturally significant as agua fresca, even with its sugar content.
And I would argue that aguas frescas are more than just a sweet indulgence, they do have real benefits that serve us.
Of course we still have to be aware of our own nutrition needs and portions, but this goes for every food!
Before you cut out aguas frescas, think about how they fit into the overall picture of a diet. You may be surprised!
This article is featured in the Aguas Frescas issue of our digital zine! Read the whole issue for more refreshing takes and dietitian-approved agua frescas!