Sunday, July 5, 2009

Sugar Load in Drinks

I just read an article about an idea to add a specific tax on sodas and energy drinks. I think that is probably not a bad idea. Research has shown that sodas and energy drinks are contributing to obesity in this country. Obesity is linked to heart disease, arthritis, cancer and Type 2 Diabetes.

Even the sodas and energy drinks with artificial sweeteners are contributing to the obesity. People believe that because it says there are no calories that it is safe to drink as much as they want. Not true.

One of the reasons people need to be aware of this problem is that sodas and energy drinks are the largest source of added sugar to the diet of young Americans. Teenage boys consume on average 1 quart a day.

The other misconception is that energy drinks or juices are OK. Look at the calorie load from sugar. Cranberry juice coctail has 200 calories and 12 teaspoons of sugar in a 12 ounce serving!

Better drinks to be drinking, try water with a little lemon or lime. Unfortunately, the soft drink industry is not going to change their drinks any time soon because this is extremely profitable for them.

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