This blog was written by Veronica HofMann. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.
Before you reach for that next drink, make sure you know what you are getting yourself into! Many of us know that some beverages pack in tons of calories, sugar, and fat. But there may be some on Eat This, Not That's Worst Drinks in America list that may surprise you! The sugar content in many of the drinks would rival a late-night snack binge on all of your favorite sugary foods. Here are some examples:
- Worst Water: Snapple Agave Melon Antioxidant Water (1 bottle, 20 fl oz). This has the sugar equivalent of two Good Humor chocolate éclair bars.
- Worst Bottled Tea: SoBe Green Tea (1 bottle, 20 fl oz). This has the same amount of sugar as four slices of Sara Lee cherry pie!
- Worst Energy Drink: Rockstar Energy Drink (1 can, 16 fl oz). You could just eat six Krispy Kreme doughnuts…that will boost your energy, right?
- Worst Beer: Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (1 bottle, 12 fl oz). If you want to splurge on beer in terms of carbs, you could have an entire 12-pack of Michelob Ultra for one of these!
- Worst Lemonade: Auntie Anne’s Wild Cherry Lemonade Mixer (32 fl oz). Dangerous levels of sugar in this one―same as 11 (yes 11!) bowls of Cookie Crisp cereal.
Worst Frozen Coffee: Dairy Queen Caramel MooLatte (24 fl oz). Moo in the name should be your first clue, but here is the shocker: 12 Dunkin’ Donuts Bavarian Kreme donuts have the same amount of sugar. WOW!- Worst Drive-Through Shake: McDonald’s Triple Thick Chocolate Shake (large, 32 fl oz). You could swap the shake for 13 baked apple pies and get the same sugar!
- Worst Smoothie: Smoothie King Peanut Power Plus Grape (large, 40 fl oz). So smoothies are healthy, right? Not this one; 20 Reese's cups has the same amount of sugar! Not to mention, who really needs 40 ounces of anything?
And the award for worst drink in America goes to:
Cold Stone PB&C (Gotta Have It size, 24 fl oz). At over 2,000 calories in just 24 oz, this is the one to avoid at all costs. That’s more than a day's worth of calories in one drink! You could have 30 Chewy Chips Ahoy cookies for the same sugar!
Usually we are guilty of grabbing drinks like these on the go or while at work. If you or your coworkers have packed on pounds due to sugary drinks, this could be a reason to speak to your employer about a worksite fitness program (if you don't already have one).
At the very least, this would be a great lunchtime conversation with coworkers. This information is shocking to most. If more people knew just how bad these drinks were, it might help them make better decisions.