Authors: Kiyah J. Duffey, PhD; and Brenda M. Davy, PhD, RD. Virginia Tech researchers talk about how and why they developed the Healthy Beverage Index (HBI) and describe how this tool can be used to more accurately evaluate dietary consumption of all types of fluids. They found that higher HBI scores were associated with more favorable lipid profiles, decreased risk of hypertension; and, among men, better C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. (DOI: 2010.1016/j.jand.2015.05.005).