Advice from Health Experts

pouring on the pounds
Most people don't realize how easy it is to gain weight from sugar sweetened beverages.  Sugar sweetened beverages add calories to your diet without any nutrients, and they don't even make you full.  Plus, sugar sweetened beverages are the single biggest contributor to the nation's obesity epidemic.  One 20 ounce soda or sports drink can pack on an extra 268 non-nutritional calories to your daily intake and extra calories can make a person gain weight.  A typical adult would have to walk briskly for almost an hour to burn off the calories in one bottle of soda.
 
What is a sugar sweetened beverage anyway?  It is a beverage with added sugars.  These added sugars can have many names.  Look on the ingredient list for words such as: high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, corn sweetener, dextrose, sugar, cane juice, organic cane juice, brown sugar, honey, molasses, sucrose, fruit juice concentrates, or syrup.
Sugar sweetened beverages include non-diet sodas, sports drinks, sweetened tea, sweetened waters, vitamin waters,  flavored waters, sweetened juices, and blended coffee drinks.  There are about 16 teaspoons of sugar (equal to 16 packets of sugar) in a single 20-ounce serving of a sugar sweetened beverage.  To make this more visual, check this out.
 
It's true. We do not need added sugar in our diets at all.  Sugar has no nutritional value except for providing calories.  The American Heart Association recommends a maximum intake, of no more than 100 calories (about 25 grams) from added sugars for women, and no more than 150 calories (about 37.5 grams) of added sugars for men. One 20 ounce soda has almost twice as many calories (268 calories).  If you were to drink one bottle of soda everyday for a year, that would be 97,820 extra calories a year.  If your physical activity were low, then this would lead to a significant weight increase.
 
Some wiser beverage choices include water, water with a wedge of lemon or lime, fat free milk, unsweetened tea, or even seltzer water. They are all healthy, hydrating choices.  Be aware of drinks that claim to be healthy and all natural, like vitamin waters or energy drinks with antioxidants because they tend to be packed full of sugar too.  Remember to always read the nutrition fact label.  
 
Katie Abbott, Master of Science, Registered Dietician, Licensed Dietician, & Certified Holistic Health Coach at SpyngaFlows katie@spyngaflows.com

it's often said that the greatest wealth is health

We often see very hard-working individuals who have gone through the rigors of "climbing the corporate ladder" only to find themselves 30 pounds heavier with a list of health risk factors to go along with their list of professional achievements. Getting healthy can be simple - simple because its a journey like any other that starts with a single step. Dr. Joey has got your first baby step toward health:

Start your day with at least 2 cups of water, ideally with a squeeze of lemon.

Sleep is dehydrating. Most people breathe out or perspire a few pounds of water during the night. On top of a possible trip to the bathroom in the wee hours of the morning, that's a lot of water loss! So, instead of further dehydrating your body with a cup of coffee, start your day with a long drink of water with lemon. It's alkalizing, energizing and every cell in your body will thank you for giving it the moisture it needs to function at optimal levels.

Dr. Joey Shulman is the author of The Metabolism Boosting Diet and is the founder of The Shulman Weight Loss Clinic. For more information, please visit www.drjoey.com or www.shulmanweightloss.com