Worst Water
Snapple Agave Melon Antioxidant Water (1 bottle, 20 fl oz)
150 calories
0 g fat
33 g sugars
Sugar Equivalent: 2 Good Humor Chocolate Éclair Bars
While “Worst Water” may sound like an oxymoron, the devious minds in the bottled beverage industry have even found a way to besmirch the sterling reputation of the world’s most essential compound. Sure, you may get a few extra vitamins, but ultimately, you’re paying a premium price for gussied-up sugar water. Next time you buy a bottle of water, check the recipe: You want two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen, and very little else.
Drink This Instead!
Smartwater
0 calories
0 g sugars
Worst Bottled Tea
SoBe Green Tea (1 bottle, 20 fl oz)
240 calories
0 g fat
61 g sugars
Sugar Equivalent: 4 slices Sara Lee Cherry Pie
Leave it to SoBe to take an otherwise healthy bottle of tea and inject it with enough sugar to turn it into dessert. The Pepsi-owned company’s flagship line, composed of 11 flavors with names like “Nirvana” and “Cranberry Grapefruit Elixir,” is marketed to give consumers the impression that it can cleanse the body, mind, and spirit. Don’t be fooled. Just like this bottle of green tea, all of these beverages are made with two primary ingredients: water and sugar.
Drink This Instead!
Honest Tea Green Dragon Tea (1 bottle, 16 fl oz)
60 calories
0 g fat
16 g sugars
Worst Energy Drink
Rockstar Energy Drink (1 can, 16 fl oz)
280 calories
0 g fat
62 g sugars
Sugar Equivalent: 6 Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnuts
None of the energy provided by these full-sugar drinks could ever justify the caloric load, but Rockstar’s take is especially frightening. One can provides nearly as much sugar as half a box of Nilla Wafers. In fact, it has 60 more calories than the same amount of Red Bull and 80 more than a can of Monster. If you’re going to guzzle, better choose one of the low-cal options. We like Monster; it offers all the caffeine and B vitamins with just enough sugar to cut through the funky extracts.
Drink This Instead!
Monster Lo-Carb (1 can, 16 fl oz)
20 calories
0 g fat
6 g sugars
Worst Juice Imposter
Arizona Kiwi Strawberry (1 can, 23 fl oz)
345 calories
0 g fat
81 g sugars
Sugar Equivalent: 7 bowls of Froot Loops
The twisted minds at the Arizona factory outdid themselves with this nefarious concoction, a can the size of a bazooka loaded with enough of the sweet stuff to blast your belly with 42 sugar cubes. The most disturbing part isn’t that it masks itself as some sort of healthy juice product (after all, hundreds of products are guilty of the same crime), but that this behemoth serving size costs just $.99, making its contents some of the cheapest calories we’ve ever stumbled across.
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Fuze Slenderize Strawberry Melon (1 bottle, 18.5 fl oz)
20 calories
0 g fat
2 g sugars
Worst Espresso Drink
Starbucks Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha with Whipped Cream (venti, 20 fl oz)
660 calories
22 g fat (15 g saturated)
95 g sugars
Sugar Equivalent: 8½ scoops Edy’s Slow Churned Rich and Creamy Coffee Ice Cream
Hopefully this will dispel any lingering fragments of the “health halo” that still exists in coffee shops—that misguided belief that espresso-based beverages can’t do much damage. In this 20-ounce cup, Starbucks manages to pack in more calories and saturated fat than two slices of deep-dish sausage and pepperoni pizza from Domino’s. That makes it the equivalent of dinner and dessert disguised as a cup of coffee. If you want a treat, look to Starbucks’ supply of sugar-free syrups; if you want a caffeine buzz, stick to the regular joe, an Americano, or a cappuccino.
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Cinnamon Dolce Latte with Sugar-Free Syrup (grande, 16 fl oz)
260 calories
6 g fat (4 g saturated)
38 g sugars
Worst Lemonade
Auntie Anne’s Wild Cherry Lemonade Mixer (32 fl oz)
470 calories
0 g fat
110 g sugars
Sugar Equivalent: 11 bowls of Cookie Crisp cereal
There is no such thing as healthy lemonade, but Auntie’s line of Lemonade Mixers takes the concept of hyper-sweetened juice and stretches it to dangerous new levels. See, sugar digests faster than good-for-you nutrients like protein and fiber, which means it’s in your blood almost immediately after you swallow it. Drinking the 3 or 4 days’ worth of added sugar found here jacks your blood sugar and results in strain to your kidneys, the creation of new fat molecules, and the desire to eat more. Ouch.
Drink This Instead!
Diet Lemonade (21 fl oz)
15 calories
0 g fat
0 g sugars
Source: menshealth.com
I feel like I should go drink lots of water now to flush out ANY sugar in my body, haha!
CHEERS,
LC
10 comments:
hey lady.... have you started (or tried) to make your own Kombucha yet...? I did and its so challenging for me, so I was thinking, "I bet Lindsay could do this or knows how to do this easier than the way I was given" because your recipes are all pretty simple... since this is your "drink" post I figure I better ask you....
Hope all is well in the Cotter house!
Bree
Great post. I occasionally will grab a can of Hawaiian Sun POG when I'm out riding or after a race, but really try to stick to the old H2O other than that (all though I like some some CO2 in mine).
One word..ALARMING. I'm pretty good about staying away from sugary drinks. If I have somethings besides water it's sugar free lemonade or a Coke zero, but up until now it has been because they make me feel sick. Well now I know why. I think the Starbucks white mocha surprised me the most though. Thank you for this post!!
yes and th lemonade surprised me too. 11 bowls of cookie crisps? DANG!!
That's why I never really get sweetened drinks...they make me feel terrible with the inevitable sugar crash! What a wake up call indeed...those drinks...660kcal?! Gosh.
wow great post!! real eye openers when you relate it to grams of sugar. Im interning with an RD and have dramatically reduced my sugar intake after knowing the grams to sugar packet ratio...
wow some of those drinks are marked as healthy too...like the snapple! who knew it was so bad!?
Yuck, I have always hated bottled teas like Snapple. There is something so artificial tasting about it. My only real drink vice is diet coke which I have once or twice a week. Thanks for such an informative post. :)
If I am going to get that much sugar, I am going for the pie/cereal/ice cream... I would much rather EAT my calories than drink them :-) heehee
HOLY CRAP! Insanity.
If I am going to get that much sugar, I am going for the pie/cereal/ice cream... I would much rather EAT my calories than drink them :-) heehee
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