Drink Responsibly!

 12 oz cola 140 calories, 39 grams of sugar (100% calories are sugar)
12 oz Mocha Frappuccino 280 calories, 41 grams sugar
12 oz Frappe Mocha, 480 calories, 56 grams of sugar
12 oz Orange Juice, 110 calories, 22 grams of sugar
6 oz Capri Sun, 60 calories, 16 grams of sugar (almost 100% of calories are sugar)

Sugar is a natural product in fruit (fructose) and in milk (lactose). In its natural state it works with a variety of other nutrients and things like fiber in fruit to be absorbed in your body in a beneficial way. Do you ever hear of anyone having a bad fruit habit (just can't get enough sugar..did you hear, Mike overdosed on nectarines the other day...) hardly. There is a beautiful symbiotic relationship between our bodies and whole foods and it works! So where do things get ugly?

Added sugars (not naturally occurring in your drinks and foods) sneak into our diets easily. Beverages like sodas, fruit drinks, and the amazing frappity coffees above are some of the worst. There are 4 calories in every gram of sugar. When you look at the Frappuccino above, 41 grams of sugar x 4 = 164 calories of the 280. Four grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon of sugar. The Frappuccino above has about 10 teaspoons of sugar. According to the American Heart Association guideline you just exceeded your intake. And you are not saved by being a diet drinker. Far too many studies are showing that the substitute sugars not only have bad long term effects on the body but they induce additional cravings, thus more calorie intake, thus weight gain, thus....

So how much sugar should we have?
"The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends limiting the amount of added sugars you consume to no more than half of your daily discretionary calories allowance.  For most American women, that's no more than 100 calories per day, or about 6 teaspoons of sugar.  For men, it's 150 calories per day, or about 9 teaspoons.  The AHA recommendations focus on all added sugars, without singling out any particular types such as high-fructose corn syrup."

The whole point here is that on average a healthy calorie intake for a woman is going to be about 1800 and men around 2200 (varies by age and activity levels). So when you look at your symbolic plate of daily calories what does it look like? Beverages can easily eat up calories and leave you nutritionally unsatisfied and physically unsatisfied. Make the most of your calories by picking quality foods. Limit sugary drinks, They lead to a host of problems, starting with weight gain and potentially diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and much more. So what can you drink? WATER! Our bodies need water for optimal performance. If you are breaking a soda or frappity habit then start by drinking less of it and migrate to things like unsweetened drinks...ice tea and water are readily available.

Drink Responsibly! :)