Are Your Drinks Making You Fat?

Most of us grab a cold drink or a caffeine boost without giving a second thought to our waistline. Many of our favorite drinks are packed with calories. So before you take another sip, find out if you really know what you're drinking. Jacquie Dale sheds some light on eight common dietary saboteurs.

You exercise daily for up to an hour to stay in shape. Depending on the intensity you burn between 200- 500 calories, but did you know that in just one of the drinks below you may be replacing all the calories you just worked hard to burn. The calories we consume in our beverages have increased significantly in the past 20 years. Portion sizes have increased form 400mls to 600mls and the consumption of sugar based drinks has increased.

Health claims seem to be the current buzz in food manufacturing, you’ll find hundreds of products in the supermarket all claiming to add value to your health. I found water with added vitamins, yoghurt with a special strain of bacteria, fortified smoothies and energy drinks, even milk with added minerals for bone health.

The current situation in the western world is that we are all eating more calories than required, and half of those extra calories are coming from our beverages. A study published in the International Journal of Obesity in 2000 showed that 450 calories of sweetened fruit juice produced a significant increase in body weight that was not found when the same amount of food was consumed by the same individual. It seems our bodies are not equipped to burn off excessive amounts of sugar in liquid form.

Soft drinks have been removed from most of our schools, which is a positive step for the health of our children, however plenty of sugar is still passing our lips under the guise of a value added health claim. 99% fat free does not mean sugar free.

Café Coffees
Even if your latte is made with trim milk, two a day adds up to 320 extra calories. Switch for a long black or glass of water and you’ll lose 14 kilos over a year. It will take you 45 minutes of intensive cardio on a cross-trainer or a 90 minute walk to burn off those 320 calories. Considering most of us want to burn fat when exercising, it would pay not to load our blood stream with lattes.

Real Fruit Smoothies
Fruit smoothies are usually high-calorie versions of fruit drinks and therefore are not recommended for healthy weight management. Many designer smoothies have added herbs or vitamins for health, however the amounts of vitamins are too small to really make any difference to the diet. A balanced diet should not have to rely on fluids to provide energy or nutrient needs

Spirulina Drinks
Many people use Spirulina in their own self-care strategy for more energy, nutritional insurance, weight control and cleansing. If you are drinking spirulina in a smoothie with added juice and fruit then expect to be drinking 200- 600 calories. That’s a lot of sugar, and contrary to popular belief spirulina does not provide much protein to the diet. Supplementing your diet with a good broad spectrum multi-mineral supplement and eating plenty of green vegetables would be a better choice.

Flavoured Water
Read the label, most of these drinks contain 2- 4 serves per bottle and contribute lots of extra sugar to the diet. They may look healthy and refreshing but before you drink them check the nutritional panel. How much sugar does it contain per 100mls? If it’s a 600ml bottle multiply it by six. One popular flavoured water I sampled contained four and a half teaspoons of sugar.

Sports Drinks
Sports drinks contain anywhere between 50-90% of the calories of sweetened soft drinks. They do provide small amounts of essential minerals and are advantageous during endurance events where exercise lasts longer than 60 minutes. Water is a better choice if you exercise for 1 hour or less.

99% Fat Free Smoothie
Beware the fat free smoothies, a banana berry smoothie we sampled contained 12 teaspoons of sugar and a whopping 292 calories. Advertised as a lighter choice I hate to imagine how many of these smoothies have sabotaged someone’s weight loss goals.

Vegetable Juice
Vegetable juices are healthy alternatives to fruit juices as they contain fewer calories, however juices such as tomato or vegetable cocktail contain high amounts of sodium or salt. We encourage you to eat your vegetables rather than drink them.

Hot Chocolate
A large hot chocolate we sampled at a popular café packed a 750 calorie punch with 20 teaspoons of sugar. Fortunately I didn’t eat the muffin that came with it. I had already consumed half of my daily energy requirements in just one drink.

Different combinations of beverages can be used to fulfill the fluid needs of a healthy person, for instance milk provides calcium for bone health. My take home message is to become a well educated drinker. Don’t be fooled by miraculous health claims and fancy water.