Goal #1? Drink better!
I’m concerned about the amount of sugar that I consume and I’m pretty certain that a lot of it is in the things I drink. So I did a quick internet search to find out how many teaspoons of sugar we are consuming in the common things that I and my family drink regularly. I knew it would be high, but I was a little shocked at some of these. I made every attempt to find accurate sugar information on these drinks, but please keep in mind that this information is from various online sources.
- My favourite coffee: a grande Starbucks Caramel Macchiato – 6.5 tsps of sugar!
- My husband prefers a grande Latte at Starbucks – 3.5 tsps.
- I also enjoy a Tim Horton’s French Vanilla Cappuccino every now and then. The small size – 6 tsps.
- The small frozen lemonade at Tim’s – 5 tsps.
- Smoothies should be better, right? A Tim Horton’s medium strawberry banana smoothie with yogurt – 10 tsps.
- A McDonald’s medium strawberry banana smoothie with yogurt – 12 tsps.
- A Mcd’s medium chocolate shake – 22 tsps of sugar!
- What about a can of pepsi or coke? – depending on the info source, 8 – 10 tsps.
- 12 ounces of apple juice, a staple in every kids’ diet – 10 tsps.
- 1 cup of chocolate milk – 6 tsps.
- I enjoy vitamin water. That’s healthy, right? 1 bottle of vitamin water – 6.5 tsps.
- And, my son’s recent favourite pop? A 20 oz bottle of Mountain Dew – 15 tsps of sugar. I had no idea!
Just in case these shocking numbers alone are not enough to make me want to change my drinking habits, here are some real reasons to do so:
- Sugar contains no essential nutrients.
- Sugar is bad for our teeth.
- Too much sugar can cause insulin resistance which can lead to Type II Diabetes.
- Sugar might lead to obesity.
- Sugar might lead to diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
- Sugar might lower immunity.
- Sugar might cause inflammation in the body.
- Sugar might cause skin aging, or skin problems such as acne.
Take a look at these articles:
How Toxic is Sugar? CBC News
What Does Cancer Eat? Sugar Mostly… National Post
7 Surprising Reasons to Give Up Sugar ABC News
Okay, I’ll stop now! I am going to do a little more reading about sugar and I’ll share my findings in future blog posts. But for now, here is what I plan to do:
- I will gradually reduce the amount of sugar I put in my morning coffee until I can get away with only a bit, or maybe even none.
- I will drink more tea throughout the day, both hot and cold. This is a great excuse to experiment with homemade iced tea!
- I’ll drink more water and to make it appetizing I will infuse fruit in my water. I recently saw a very cool water bottle with a built in infuser compartment. Will have to go shopping!
- I will make fruit smoothies at home with no sugar.
Let’s talk about sugar. What are your thoughts?
Michelle
better eating 