Top Unhealthiest Drinks You May Be Guilty Of Drinking
Most people know that sodas are not good for your health or teeth because they contain lots of sugar. In reality, sodas aren’t the only drinks claiming the “unhealthiest” beverage…
Most people know that sodas are not good for your health or teeth because they contain lots of sugar. In reality, sodas aren't the only drinks claiming the "unhealthiest" beverage title. Many beverages like sports drinks, fruit juice drinks, flavored waters, energy drinks, and more contain more sugar than you should consume in an entire day.
In fact, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends getting a maximum of 25 grams of added sugar per day for women and a maximum of 36 grams per day for men. But consuming less sugar is always a better idea. Additionally, the CDC says eating and drinking too many added sugars can contribute to health problems such as weight gain and obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
Unhealthiest Drinks, Ranked by Sugar
Eat This, Not That! put together a list of the unhealthiest drinks at the supermarket that you "should limit, or better yet, try cutting out of your diet entirely."
Number one on their unhealthiest drinks list is Naked Might Mango Juice. While the bottle of juice says it’s blended with 1¼ mangoes, 1¾ apples, ½ an orange, and ⅓ of a banana, the ranking points out that it has 57 grams of sugar. "you're not getting a smidge of fiber from these fruits. Skip Naked's mango smoothie and eat real fruit instead," they said.
Following behind is another Naked juice. Naked Blue Machine Juice. "Much like other Naked juices, the first ingredient in this blue bottle is apple juice concentrate," they said. None of the fruits' skins make it into this bottle, so you're missing out on the fiber. Additionally, it has 55 grams of sugar.
Wrapping up the top three is Monster Energy Drink. Each can hold 54 grams of sugar. Some research says that even sugar-free energy drinks can be harmful due to their high caffeine levels.
Sentient Media reported that food labels frequently use carefully crafted language that misleads consumers to believe the products are healthier or more sustainable than they actually are. "The center aisles of any grocery store are full of products that clamor about being 'sugar-free,' 'light,' 'low-calorie,' 'natural,' 'organic,' and any number of other attractive and seemingly beneficial qualities."
They said that the goal of selling more products is at the root of misleading labels, as companies attempt to use "trigger words" that describe flavors, ingredients, and their sources to attract consumers.
Eat This, Not That! also included drinks like Red Bull Vitamin Water, Ocean Spray, Dunkin' Iced Coffee, and others. Check out the complete list of Unhealthiest Drinks here.
