Sugary Drinks

The chart to the right can be seen much better at it's source, the Harvard School of Public Health's Nutrition Source website. It is worth a close look as it shows the grams of sugar and amount of teaspoons of sugar in some of our most popular drinks. I have always spoke against orange juice and in case you can't see, it is the third red column from the left. I.e. red is bad.



http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-drinks/how-sweet-is-it/index.html



In the last day or two, I heard a commercial that I expect was commissioned from a beverage industry trade group. The ad was an attempt to get people like you and me to contact our legislators to let them know that "now is not the time to add a tax to soda and juices." Well, boy buddy, they don't know me because I say NOW is exactly the time for the sugary drink or junk food tax. This may increase the price of the products that have been most directly linked to the increase in our countries rate of overweight and obesity. And with stressful economic times, people are more likely to grab said foods due to lack of coping skills and because of cheap availability.

The expert researchers, scientists and nutritionists at Harvard School of Public Health have proposed several strategies for addressing the issue. One is a call for a class of beverages with no more than 1 g of sugar per serving. Another is a call for labeling changes so that the drink label gives info for the bottle, not an 8 oz serving from a 20 oz bottle. They have also a website available to help people make healthy beverage choices.

Before I send you there... water is calorie free as are teas and coffee..at least until we start adding stuff! I choose to drink diet, calorie free soda, in moderation, but cannot tell you that soda in any form is healthy. Stevia sweetened drinks could be an alternative, though I am not weighing in on that right now. Juice is really NOT a healthy option. Let me say that again, even 100% juice drinks are not the best option. Fruit is better than fruit juice. Fruit juice is not a low energy density item.. fruit is.

The link below has specific valuable information that you can apply to your life today. As always, I endorse all information associated with the esteemed Dr. Walter Willett.



http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-drinks/