Day 9 - Sugary Drinks

We made it Sister! I know that yesterday was a big day with LOTS of info and nitty gritty details about micronutrients… and I promise, we’ve been through majority of the information that I want to share about general nutrition, macros, micros and all that in between.
.
The next few days, we’re going to be covering beverages…and even though they aren’t really what you might typically think of as “fuel” per say for our bodies, I think it’s important to cover them because a lot of drinks can affect our health goals and we may not even be aware of it! Again, by understand the processes, and understand how much sugar, nutrients, and more that different drinks can provide for us, we can make the best and most informed decisions for our health and our personal goals! The first beverage that we’re going to be covering what I would categorize as “sugary drinks!”
.
⭐️What are sugary drinks? ⭐️
https://buff.ly/2KpETqx

Sugary drinks (also categorized as sugar-sweetened beverages or “soft” drinks) refer to any beverage with added sugar or other sweeteners (high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, fruit juice concentrates, and more).
This includes:
⭐️Soda/Pop/Cola (regular and diet)
⭐️Tonic
⭐️Fruit punch
⭐️Lemonade (and other “ades”)
⭐️Sweetened powdered drinks
⭐️Sports and energy drinks
.
Typically, the drinks listed above have a crazy amount of sugar in them… just take a look at today’s picture in them (kinda makes it real if you think about eating that many spoonfuls of sugar!)
.
When it comes to nutrition, very rarely do any of these drinks bring any nutritional value to us (no vitamins and minerals to fuel us) – however because of the amount of sugar in them they have high caloric value, and by just having even 1-2 a day it can completely throw us off our calorie in vs out goals!
.
If the visual is helpful for you, there is also a guide on this website that has more drinks and exactly how many spoonfuls of sugar are in each one! https://buff.ly/2J14zqy

⭐️A few things to think about sugary drinks⭐️
👉As a category, these beverages are the single largest source of calories and added sugar in the U.S. diet.
👉Typically these beverages provide us with extra calories and virtually no other nutrients.
If you drink a sugary beverage, you are more likely to not feel as full as if you had eaten the same number of calories from solid food.
👉The average can of sugar-sweetened soda or fruit punch provides about 150 calories, almost all of them from added sugar.
👉If you were to drink just one of these sugary drinks every day, and not cut back on calories elsewhere, you could gain up to 5 pounds in a year.
👉Beyond weight gain, routinely drinking these sugar-loaded beverages can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic diseases
👉Although consumption of sugary drinks in the U.S. has decreased in the past decade, half of the population consumes sugary drinks on a given day; 1 in 4 people get at least 200 calories from such drinks; and 5% get at least 567 calories—equivalent to four cans of soda!
.
⭐️So how can you help reduce the amount of sugary drinks you consume? ⭐️
When it comes to our health, it’s clear that sugary drinks should be avoided. There is a range of healthier beverages that can be consumed in their place, with water being the top option (we’ll be chatting about water next week!).
Of course, if you’re a frequent soda drinker, this is easier said than done. If it’s the carbonation you like, I recommend giving sparkling water a try. If the taste is too bland, try a naturally flavored sparkling water.
.
⭐️Wanting to learn more? ⭐️
I came across this awesome Registered Dietician on YouTube who does really great in-depth videos talking about the good, bad, and everything you should know about sodas, diet sodas, and juices! I think that this is great information to check out, because let's be honest it something that can sneak up on us, on our kids, and can really impact our health if we aren't enjoying in moderation!
.
Video about diet sodas: https://buff.ly/2XqjL9G

Video about sodas:https://buff.ly/2N1M3mU
Video about fruit juices:https://buff.ly/2WTZ46x
.
⭐️ACTION: Do you consume a lot of calories from beverages? Share below what a typical day looks like in drinks only for you!⭐️