2008 Woodie Awards
What is Hiding in Your Drink?
Katrina Harwood
Issue date: 10/10/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
As the semester and the cold weather progress, you may find yourself reaching for a hot beverage in the place of cold water that was more appealing in the hotter months. While some hot beverages, like hot chocolate, can be comforting when it gets chilly, you mush remember that it does add calories and sugar to your diet.
There are many drinks that are very high in calories, fat and sugar, but many people may not realize how many calories and grams of sugar they are consuming if they just drink it. Drinking a beverage with high amounts of fat, or cream, and sugar has the same impact on the body as eating a candy bar.
Likewise, having a high calorie beverage everyday has the same impact on the body as eating a candy bar (or a couple candy bars) a day. One reason why people may not realize they are consuming so many calories is because they are sipping the drink throughout the day or morning and not drinking the whole thing in a matter or minutes. It is important to realize that the sugar, fat and calories do add up, as portrayed next, and there are options in cutting back on the calories without completely eliminating hot beverages.
Just to show that hot beverages are not usually calorie free, here are some estimates of the calories, grams of fat and grams of sugar in some drinks at Starbucks. (Starbucks was chosen only because their nutritional information is available online at their website, which is a good resource when looking at what you are drinking. It also must be noted that the total calorie, fat and sugar amounts will vary slightly depending on the person who makes the drink and the totals depend on what kinds of "extras" you want in your drink.)
? A 16-ounce white chocolate mocha without whipped cream contains 430 calories, 15 grams of fat and 57 grams of sugar.
? A 16-ounce green tea latte contains 290 calories, 9 grams of fat and 42 grams of sugar.
? Green tea that is brewed from a tea bag with nothing added is 0 calories, 0 grams of fat and 0 grams of sugar.
And what about regular or decaffeinated coffees? A 16-ounce cup of coffee without the addition of cream and sugar is around 5 calories.
There are many options to enjoying a warm beverage without the added calories, fat and sugar. Many places offer whole, 2%, skim or soymilk as options to be added to the drink so there are many opportunities to cut back on the fat that is being consumed.
Some beverages naturally are low calorie or even calorie free. Black coffee and various teas are some drinks that do not contribute to a day's fat and sugar intake unless cream and sugar are added to it. Although most teas do contain some caffeine, the amount of caffeine in them compared to that in coffee (or an energy drink) is minimal.
There are many drinks that are very high in calories, fat and sugar, but many people may not realize how many calories and grams of sugar they are consuming if they just drink it. Drinking a beverage with high amounts of fat, or cream, and sugar has the same impact on the body as eating a candy bar.
Likewise, having a high calorie beverage everyday has the same impact on the body as eating a candy bar (or a couple candy bars) a day. One reason why people may not realize they are consuming so many calories is because they are sipping the drink throughout the day or morning and not drinking the whole thing in a matter or minutes. It is important to realize that the sugar, fat and calories do add up, as portrayed next, and there are options in cutting back on the calories without completely eliminating hot beverages.
Just to show that hot beverages are not usually calorie free, here are some estimates of the calories, grams of fat and grams of sugar in some drinks at Starbucks. (Starbucks was chosen only because their nutritional information is available online at their website, which is a good resource when looking at what you are drinking. It also must be noted that the total calorie, fat and sugar amounts will vary slightly depending on the person who makes the drink and the totals depend on what kinds of "extras" you want in your drink.)
? A 16-ounce white chocolate mocha without whipped cream contains 430 calories, 15 grams of fat and 57 grams of sugar.
? A 16-ounce green tea latte contains 290 calories, 9 grams of fat and 42 grams of sugar.
? Green tea that is brewed from a tea bag with nothing added is 0 calories, 0 grams of fat and 0 grams of sugar.
And what about regular or decaffeinated coffees? A 16-ounce cup of coffee without the addition of cream and sugar is around 5 calories.
There are many options to enjoying a warm beverage without the added calories, fat and sugar. Many places offer whole, 2%, skim or soymilk as options to be added to the drink so there are many opportunities to cut back on the fat that is being consumed.
Some beverages naturally are low calorie or even calorie free. Black coffee and various teas are some drinks that do not contribute to a day's fat and sugar intake unless cream and sugar are added to it. Although most teas do contain some caffeine, the amount of caffeine in them compared to that in coffee (or an energy drink) is minimal.
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