It is a hot,
sticky day. The air is heavy and your mouth is dry. The sun’s rays burn deeply
into your skin. A cool, refreshing bottle of Snapple would be a quick relief. Ever looked at the back of this bottle or that of other types of
sugar-sweetened beverages?
While this may
not be concerning for someone that regularly consumes these types of
sugar-sweetened beverages, research has shown that a diet that regularly includes these types of
beverages can have a severe impact. There has been a concern with the increase
in the amount of added sugar that children and adolescents are consuming. Added
sugar means that there is a sugar or syrup put into the food or drink while it
is prepared, processed, or at the table. Unlike those found in fruits and milk,
these sugars are not naturally found in the food. Zhang et al. surveyed a large
number of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18. They asked the adolescents
what they ate for two full days and determined how much added sugar was consumed. For the
majority of adolescents, out of all of the foods and beverages consumed, greater than
10% of the calories were from added sugar. A small number of adolescents
consumed greater than 25% of their total calories from added sugar. They
compared the group with the higher amount of added sugar consumed to the lower
amount of added sugar consumed.
The adolescents
that had more added sugar in their diet also had higher amounts of
triglycerides in their blood. Triglycerides are a type of fat found in the blood. When there are more triglycerides in the blood, it may increase the risk for Coronary Heart Disease. Coronary Heart Disease is when the arteries
that bring oxygen-rich blood to the heart become narrower because fat
increases in them. Blood cannot flow as well to the heart and this may lead to
a heart attack. The adolescents that consumed more added sugar also had lower HDL
cholesterol levels. HDL cholesterol is High Density Lipoprotein cholesterol,
which is known as the “good” cholesterol. It moves through the blood and picks
up Low Density Lipoproteins, which are the “bad” cholesterol, and brings them
to the liver. This lowers the overall cholesterol level in the blood.
Since the
adolescents that consumed higher amounts of added sugar had higher
triglycerides and lower HDL levels in their blood, this puts them at a greater
risk for coronary heart disease as adults.
Half of the
total added sugars that adolescents consumed were from sugar sweetened beverages
and other sweetened fruit drinks. Someone that drinks a large amount of sugar-sweetened
beverages is more likely to suffer from obesity, type II diabetes, or
cardiovascular disease. The higher risk for these health issues is the reason why The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
suggests that people consume less added sugar. Therefore, when it is a hot,
sticky day or you are just looking for a drink, check the back label first.
Literature
Cited:
Zhang, Z., Gillespie,
C., Welsh, J.A., Hu, F.B., Yang, Q. 2015. “Usual Intake of Added Sugars and Lipid
Profiles Among the U.S. Adolescents: National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey, 2005–2010.” Journal of Adolescent
Health. 56 (3): 352-359.
I am a huge fan of Snapple and it seems to me that most of the adolescents that are a target of these high sugar diets are similar to me. Normally, I neglect the sugar content of the nutritional label and buy a drink if it tastes good, especially if it says "zero fat" on the back. However, after reading this, I am more cautious of what I am drinking.
ReplyDeleteI can't lie, Snapple is one of my favorite drinks. I don't even know what flavor the pink Snapple is but it might be the best tasting drink I have ever had. I used to be so happy when my parents would come home from the store and have a pack of the amazing drink. But as I got older and started to think about what I ate more I began cutting back on it. Now I really only drink it on a hot summer day after I finish yard work. I figure I just used a lot of energy to cut the grass or trim the hedges so I can treat myself to a sugary drink.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog that shows that how many adolescents think that Snapple is healthy because it contains 0 grams of fat. I believe educating from children to adults it very important. Lot of people don't really understand the nutrition label. Many of my friends don't like the taste of water, so they tend to drink Snapple or add artificial powder to their water. It would be interesting to see if the participants were choosing Snapple over other drinks like Coke or Pepsi because they do not like water. Did the article suggest a specific drinks that might be considered healthy except water?
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog that shows that how many adolescents think that Snapple is healthy because it contains 0 grams of fat. I believe educating from children to adults it very important. Lot of people don't really understand the nutrition label. Many of my friends don't like the taste of water, so they tend to drink Snapple or add artificial powder to their water. It would be interesting to see if the participants were choosing Snapple over other drinks like Coke or Pepsi because they do not like water. Did the article suggest a specific drinks that might be considered healthy except water?
ReplyDeleteSo many people think they are eating a healthy diet, but don't take their beverages into consideration. The amount of sugar and Calories within the beverages we all love add up fast. Even things like juice, which many of us think of as healthy have tons of added sugar.
ReplyDeleteI, too, always thought of Snapple as a somewhat healthy beverage choice, I mean how bad can tea be? It definitely makes sense that there is all of this added sugar, it seems like sugar is overly added to a lot of drinks in the United States. I wonder how diet Snapple and regular Snapple compare nutritionally.
ReplyDeleteYour blog did a great job portraying the problem we are currently facing in America when shopping for foods and beverages, which is the misinterpretation of the word "healthy" and "Free". Although this drink is "fat free" it contains a huge amount of sugar. Most foods in order to compensate for removed fat, corn syrup,etc. will up the sugar in order to create a sweeter more satisfying taste. It is important when shopping for beverages, especially for children and adolescents we don't become distracted by the "Fat Free" label on the front of the bottle, but make sure the other ingredients are not obscenely high.
ReplyDeleteMany people have a misconception that zero grams of fat or fat free means it is a healthier option of food or drink. This must be a great advertising technique since many of us including myself fall into the trap of thinking fat free must be healthier to consume. Unfortunately, just because the label says fat free does not mean it is good for us to consume. Since Snapple contains zero amount of fat it will not taste as good so many manufacturers pour other ingredients such as sugar into the product which adds calories to make Snapple taste delicious. Personally, I would rather eat my calories instead of drink them because I would not be full from just drinking sweetened beverages. So the next time you are at the store shopping for beverages make sure not to be fooled with the advertising fat free.
ReplyDeleteI think that is is very scary how much sugar can be added to beverages. As a child and an adult I knew that sodas contained a lot of sugar and I was brought up to try my best to avoid these drinks. What I loved though was juice, and I still do love it. What is scary about juice is that it can be 100% juice and still have tons of added sugars. Why this is scary is because to people who aren't checking labels, which I never did as a kid, you would probably consider the juice to be good for you because it's made with real fruits. The problems with fruit juices, and items like snapple is that unlike sodas people do not always realize that it is bad for you. After taking this nutrition course I find myself being much more aware of the sugary drinks and foods I consume.
ReplyDeleteI found this very interesting to learn that these sugar sweetened beverages and foods can lead to higher triglycerides and lower HDL levels later resulting in obesity, type II diabetes, and heart disease. I myself love Snapple, the peach flavor is my favorite. The next time that I pick up a fruit juice or sweetened beverage, I will definitely be looking at the label for added sugars. I have even found that Gatorade has quite a bit of sugar in it from the label. When we actually look at our nutrition labels to see what is in our foods and drinks we may be surprised that there is so much sugar in them.
ReplyDeleteI found quite ironic, currently as I am righting this I am drinking a Gatorade. Just for fun I thought I might as well checkout the nutrition label on the back of it. It has 34 grams of sugar and 0 grams of fat! I don't think we realize how much sugar all of these drinks we consume have. I used to drink several gatorades a day several years ago and after realizing the adverse affects sugar has, I cut down and switched to water and I have felt better.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to read about this because I have a patient that has type 2 diabetes and this is her favorite drink to consume. I already knew some of the risk that she was taking by drinking a beverage with that amount of sugar in it. However I learned that there are several other risk that comes with drink it. I always joke around with my patients when they ask me what they should have to drink that is ideally "safe" and I always say water. It seems like just about every drink out there is bad in some sort of way. I feel like there should be more regulations on what they can put in drinks and test the drinks out before placing them on the market, where it can potentially harm numerous other people who don't know how to interpret the nutrient label on the back of drinks.
ReplyDeleteWho doesnt love to hear the SNAP of the snapple bottle as you open it. Your mouth begins to water, seemingly like Pavlov's dogs, as you SNAP the cap off. But now we may want to recondition ourselves! It is surprising how much sugar is in some of these drinks and it is important to take them into consideration just like the food we put into our bodies! Better regulation of soft drinks needs to be achieved in order to make strides towards healthy diets.
ReplyDelete