Wednesday, May 12, 2010

The Not So 'Sweet' Stats on Bottled Drinks...

Fact: Americans consume an average of 66 pounds of ADDED sugar each year.  This much extra sweet stuff helps explain our current obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes epidemic.  The "white stuff" is found, most abundantly, in refined, processed, packaged foods and beverages (this includes sodas, juices, teas, coffee, etc.) 

How many times have you watched someone dump excessive amounts of sugar into their coffee and wanted to say, "why don't you have some coffee with your sugar"??  Or watched a friend drink two or three 20 ounce bottles of soda?  Well, those examples are fairly obvious, but have you ever thought about what makes that Snapple, Vitamin Water or fruit juice taste so good - you guessed it SUGAR!!  Here's a neat slide show from "Eat This, Not That" comparing the amount of 'junk' food it would take to get the same amount of sugar as is in some bottled beverages.  So, what'll it be a 16 ounce can of Rockstar Energy Drink or 7.5 Chocolate Drizzled Rice Krispie Bars??

And there's more!  On the food side of things, the KFC "Double Down" Chicken Sandwich is all over the press.  It's a 540 calorie fried chicken, bacon and cheese sandwich (with no bun).  While it's far from a 'healthy choice' it is considerably better than alot of restaurant offerings.  Check out this article comparing how many "Double Downs" some restaurant meals are equivalent to. 

To sum all of this up - stick with what you know.  Lean meats, vegetables, some fruit, fat from avocado, coconut, olive oil, nuts, and drink water!!  Your body will thank you!

Comments...

9 comments:

  1. They have a Grilled double down too :)

    -Luis

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  2. In the spirit of "science" I tried both the grilled and original. The grilled is much harder to eat because the chicken is much more firmer. It also tasted significantly saltier.

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  3. Good post!

    Unfortunately, CA legislation just tabled the proposed soda tax. We are merely treading water on this issue--more needs to be done! Sugar is ubiquitous and like Lustig says, our sugar-saturated foods are an "obesigenic nightmare."

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  4. I know, how sad is it? People in general still have a very hard time letting go of all the things that society calls "normal" Not sure that the soda tax would have really helped all that much. Folks love their addictions. It's taken a long time and high prices for people to quit smoking or smoke less - with age restrictions. Before soda really reaches that point...it will be some time, I think. I see mom's put soda a.k.a toxic fizzy drink into kid's sippy cups. Amazing!

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  5. Hey Amy

    Robb directed me your way and I was wondering if you have a minute. I have a client who has recently sent me his FA blood work. Would you be willing to take a look at this and basically just sum it up as good or bad? I've looked it over, but I'm not positive where all the levels should be at? Is this something that you would be able to peek at real quick?

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  6. I don't think you can regulate behavior by taxation. It took years to educate people to the dangers of smoking and despite all the "sin" taxes and regulations people still smoke. Educating people to the dangers of consuming that much sugar and HFCS is the key.

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  7. Luis and David - thanks for taking one for the team and trying the "Double Down's". It was a dirty job, but someone had to do it... ;)

    Kristy, Josephine, and lj - A soda tax is worth a shot, but I agree with lj. People will pay to feed their addictions. High prices and taxes on tobacco don't slow down smokers and while it might deter some, my guess is soda will be much the same. It's liquid 'crack'. Education is important, but ultimately it comes down to individual choices. Smokers know their habit isn't healthy, but they continue to do it anyway - the same is true with soda and cruddy food. It's the unfortunate circumstances we face...

    rykoshi- I would be glad to look to take a look at the lab work. Email me at amyk.rd@gmail.com Talk to you soon!

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  8. I have a colleague who is a Phys Ed Teacher and in his morning coffee he pours in 12 sugar packages! This on top of a terrible diet, no activity and hours at his desk playing solitaire!

    Yes, a physical education teacher.

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  9. Soda tax? Stop trying to control other people. Stick with controlling yourself and those in your family for which you are still responsible.

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