Functional Beverages in the 21st Century

Abstract

Underlying the dawn of humanity was primarily the search for food and access to drinking water. Over the course of civilization, there has been a significant increase in drinking water quality. By the average of the nutritional standards, the daily water demand is 2.5 L (also including liquid products such as tea, coffee, or soup). However, it is worth noticing that the need is strictly individual for each person and depends on two major factors, namely, epidemiological (sex, age state of health, lifestyle, and diet) and environmental (humidity and air temperature). Currently, our diet is more and more often enriched with isotonic drinks, functional drinks, or drinks bearing the hallmarks of health-promoting products. As a result, manufacturing companies compete to present more interesting beverages with complex compositions. This article will discuss both the composition of functional beverages and their impact on health.