A nutrition guru has warned that Brits are unwittingly piling on the pounds through their beverage choices - and is urging a major rethink. On the Zoe Health podcast, Professor Sarah Berry, who has spent two decades studying nutrition at King's College London, revealed that a staggering chunk of the calories consumed across the UK comes from what people are drinking.

She stressed that alongside monitoring food intake, individuals mustpay far closer attention to their liquid consumption. She said: "What you drink can have a huge impact on your health, and I'm not just talking about alcohol. On average, 18% of the calories we consume comes from drinks.

"Most of the drinks we consume today are incredibly high in sugarand lack any nutritional value. Research over the years has consistently. High consumption of soda leads to poorer health outcomes, and sugar-sweetened beverages seem to be driving non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which is a serious and rapidly growing metabolic disorder. Switch sugar-sweetened drinks for drinks that can support your health, like coffee, green tea, black tea or water kefir."

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Meanwhile, nutritional scientistTim Spector has weighed in on the health benefits of coffee, previously stating: "Drinking coffee is actually really good for you. Reduces your risk of heart disease by a third. That's good news for coffee lovers, but again, it's probably due to the microbes eating your coffee and producing healthy chemicals."

He has previously defended a beverage that he claimed had been 'demonised' due to its short-term negative effects on heart rate and blood pressure. The scientist highlighted that coffee is brimming with essential nutrients and an unexpected amount of fibre, and studies have indicated that it could lower the risk of heart attacks by 25%.

"Coffee is a health food, and we should all be drinking at least three cups a day, according to the latest science. And it doesn't matter if you don't want caffeine, just have decaf. It's probably just as healthy.

"In fact studies have shown that moderate coffee intake-about 2–5 cups a day-is linked to a lower likelihood of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver and endometrial cancers, Parkinson's disease, and depression. It's even possible that people who drink coffee can reduce their risk of early death."

One study suggests that consuming up to four coffees a day can decrease the risk of type two diabetes and high blood pressure. However, this benefit disappears if more than four cups of coffee are consumed.

Researchers from the universities of Navarre in Spain and Catania in Italy discovered an "association between coffee consumption and a decreased risk of type two diabetes" and that "long-term coffee consumption is associated with a decreased risk of hypertension". The study implies that a moderate consumption of both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee may be linked with a reduced risk of metabolic syndrome.

Diet expert Dr Federica Amati stated: "When we look at population data, coffee drinkers as a whole live longer, have reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and reduced risk of type 2 diabetes."