Feeling thirsty? How about a glass of cool, refreshing water?

When it comes to beverage options, your first choice should be water. Why is that?

Water is a great alternative to sweetened drinks, such as certain soft drinks, sweet tea, sports drinks and energy drinks. Sugar-sweetened beverages tend to pack a lot of calories but few or no nutrients. Health experts call these empty calories, and there can be a lot of them in just one drink.

Take one 12-ounce can of regular soda. It can contain as many as 10 teaspoons of sugar, or 155 calories! Those calories can add up, increasing your risk for unhealthy weight gain.

Quenching your thirst with less-sugary beverages or with water might be easier than you think. A few helpful pointers:

• Switch to water a little at a time. You might start by replacing one or two of your usual beverages with water. Maybe that's water instead of soda with dinner.

• Make water more appealing. Serve it cold and with a slice of lemon, lime or melon or a few berries for a taste your whole family might enjoy.

• Make water the easy choice. Carry a reusable water bottle to work and other places where you go. Keep a water pitcher front and center in your fridge.

• Slowly adjust to the taste of less sugar. If you drink coffee or tea, put in less sugar than you normally do. Gradually add less and less.

• Check your favorite drinks' ingredients. Buyer beware: Sucrose, glucose, fructose, dextrose, honey and concentrated fruit juice are all just other names for added sugars.

Your Watson Clinic Internal Medicine or Family Medicine provider can provide a referral to a registered dietitian if you find it hard to slow down on added sugars.

Sources: American Heart Association; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention