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 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.
Caution: 6 Foods You May Want to Avoid at Restaurants
Tap Water
Even with filtration in place, restaurant water might not be as pristine as one would assume. A study conducted by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that approximately 3-10% of water systems in North America have annually violated health standards set by the Safe Drinking Water Act, and this includes restaurants, as reported by the water filtration company, Quench. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to find germs and chemicals in restaurant tap water that could potentially affect the health of patrons. Common impurities detected in tap water supplies consist of microorganisms like bacteria, germs, parasites, and viruses, as well as substances like lead, chlorine, aluminum, pesticides, and others.
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Raw Sprouts
If sprouts aren’t properly stored and cleaned, they can become quite risky. Unfortunately, when ordering food at a restaurant, we may not witness this process. Sprouts are commonly cultivated in warm, moist conditions, which makes them an ideal breeding ground for bacteria, according to Health Digest. Recent outbreaks of E. coli and Salmonella have been potentially linked to these greens.
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Drink Garnishes
Bartenders often don’t have to follow the same stringent sanitary standards as the kitchen staff. As a result, the fruits used in drinks are likely to be unwashed, and they might sit out for days without refrigeration. According to Good Housekeeping, it’s worth giving a second thought to that citrus fruit you might be adding to your drink while dining out. A study revealed that 70% of these sliced fruits carry “over 25 different types of germs.” Contrary to popular belief, even alcohol doesn’t seem to do the trick in killing these germs. Good Morning America visited six restaurants and discovered that the lemons were teeming with “fecal matter” and even harbored the dreaded E. coli bacteria.
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Fish
Consider giving those impromptu “All-You-Can-Eat” fish special days a second thought. The fish served on such occasions is often leftovers from a shipment received a few days prior, which means it may not be at its freshest. According to Healthline, fish not stored at the proper temperature might become contaminated with a toxin known as histamine, which is produced by bacteria in the fish. Moreover, Healthline highlights that cooking at regular temperatures does not eliminate histamine, making it a potential cause of food poisoning.
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Bottled Ketchup
Whether your ketchup bottle is already on the table at a restaurant or brought to you by the server, chances are it has been handled by multiple people throughout the day or even longer. Making it a potential carrier of germs. Reader’s Digest explains that the reason these same bottles keep circulating is that the ketchup in each of them is often “married.” This means that as the volume of ketchup decreases in individual bottles, servers will combine the contents of several bottles into one. However, there is a downside to this practice: you may end up consuming ketchup of an unknown age or expiration date, leading to an unpleasant taste.
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Fresh Squeezed Juices
It might be worth reconsidering your choice, just as you skip adding garnishes to your drink. Freshly squeezed juices can be teamed with bacteria, unlike pasteurized juices. A study conducted by the MSU Extension reveals that most commercially sold juices in the United States are processed or pasteurized to eliminate harmful foodborne illness bacteria. However, when fruits are freshly squeezed into juice, there is a risk of harmful bacteria lingering in the finished product.
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