Calories in Soda - Sticky Soda Statistics

June 13, 2009

Did you know that drinking a can of soda is like eating 10 teaspoons of sugar? As FOX NEWS explained, drinking one extra can of soda per day can make you gain 15 pounds in a year.

Aside from making you gain weight, why does this matter? Soda and other artificially sweetened drinks are a leading cause of obesity. And obesity is a leading cause of many ailments, such as diabetes and heart disease.

But calories in soda aren’t the only culprit. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), other sweeteners to look out for in all of your foods and drinks include:

✤ Brown sugar; ✤ Corn sweetener; ✤ Corn syrup ✤ Dextrose ✤ Fruit juice concentrates ✤ Glucose ✤ High-fructose corn syrup ✤ Honey ✤ Invert Sugar ✤ Lactose ✤ Maltose ✤ Malt syrup ✤ Molasses ✤ Raw sugar ✤ Sucrose ✤ Sugar ✤ Syrup ✤

Fortunately, there are several ways you can lower the negative impact of soda on your life. Here are 6 tips are based off of information from the CDC.

1. Switch to water, which has 0 calories, or a healthy alternative like milk or soymilk.
2. Make sure you’re not just switching to different artificially sweetened drink, such as juices that are not 100% fruit juice. These types of drinks may lower the benefits of reducing your soda intake.
3. If you do keep drinking soda, always ‘spot the box’ and pay attention to the calorie count and nutrition facts. Each 20 oz bottle of regular soda has 250 calories and at least 16 teaspoons of sugar.
4. Choose the smallest serving size and the smallest container possible. One 20 oz bottle of regular soda has 2.5 servings of 8 oz each.
5. You don’t have to finish your whole drink.
6. Drinking soda is like drinking “liquid candy.” If you have soda now, skip dessert later.