By Adrian Kohrt
What do flavored juice drinks, sweetened tea, non-diet sodas, coffee drinks, sports drinks, electrolyte replacement drinks, and energy drinks have in common?
They are all sugar-sweetened beverages — with a lot of added sugar.
Sugary drinks are the largest source of sugar in the U.S. diet. The calories in sugary beverages provide little nutritional value and contribute to weight gain. They do not fill you up the way that food does, leading to extra calories that can contribute to other health risks, including tooth decay, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
Visualizing just how much sugar you are drinking can be helpful. A teaspoon has about 4 grams of sugar. Think about scooping 7 to 12 teaspoons of sugar and pouring it into a 12-ounce glass of water. Is this too sweet? That is how much sugar is in the typical can of soda.
Energy drinks are popular among young adults and teenagers. However, they have as much sugar as soda plus added caffeine, which can raise blood pressure. The long-term health effects of energy drinks are unknown, so it is best to avoid them or minimize the amount you drink.
Even natural beverages such as 100% fruit juices contain a lot of sugar. Although they often contain healthful nutrients like minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals, drinking these beverages should be limited as they have just as much sugar and calories as soda.
When ranking sugary drinks against other drinks and foods, they fall at the bottom because they provide so many calories and few nutrients. People who drink sugary beverages do not feel as full as if they had eaten their calories from an array of solid food.
Research indicates that people don’t decrease their food consumption to make up for the extra calories consumed with soda. The average can of sugary drinks or fruit punch provides around 150 calories, almost all of which are contributed by sugar. If you drink one of these sugary drinks daily for a year and do not cut back on calories, you could gain 5 pounds.
Children drink a lot of sugary beverages daily. According to the Rhode Island Department of Health, “On a daily basis, approximately 11% of the calories youth consume come from sugar-sweetened beverages. Each 12-ounce soft drink per day consumed by children increases their odds of becoming obese by 60%. Among young children, aged 1 through 5 years, consumption of sweetened, carbonated soft drinks was associated with an 80-100% increased risk of dental caries. To burn off the calories from a 12-ounce can of soda, a 75-pound child needs to bicycle vigorously for about 30 minutes — an average adult would need to walk at a moderate pace for 25 minutes to burn off the same soda.”
Pay attention to what you and your children are drinking to stay healthy.
Some drinks claim to contain vitamins, antioxidants, and other healthful ingredients, but they are still filled with sugar.
There are plenty of tasty and healthy alternatives to sugary drinks. If you need help to switch, start slowly. The Rhode Island Department of Health suggests choosing water or low-calorie beverages instead of sugary drinks.
Here are some ways to add flavor without adding sugar:
• Add freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice to plain water or sparkling water;
• Add ¼ — ½ cup of 100% juice to sparkling/seltzer water;
• Make your unsweetened iced tea with decaf tea bags or herbal tea bags;
• Use low-calorie hot chocolate and low-fat milk for a tasty treat;
• Make water more exciting by adding slices of lemon, lime, cucumber, strawberries or watermelon.
Sugary drinks are easy to consume, but the health risks are significant. Start limiting your sugary drinks one drink at a time. Slowly cutting back on these beverages will help your body stay healthy and avoid added weight gain.
Adrian Kohrt is a family nutrition coordinator for Cooperative Extension Service, a part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, working in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For questions, she can be contacted at amkohrt@alaska.edu or 907-474-7930.
