Sponsored: Think before you drink

Ask Leah! The Ingles Dietitian

Sponsored: Think before you drink

Sodas get a lot of bad press for the amount of calories from sugar and it’s important to remember that even "natural" sodas sweetened with cane sugar contain calories.

• A 16 oz Coke has 140 calories/ 41 grams of sugar – that’s equivalent to 10 teaspoons of sugar

• A 16 oz Root Beer has 203 calories/52 grams of sugar- that’s equivalent to 13 teaspoons of sugar

Many of us may not drink sodas but we can still manage to get calories from a variety of beverages like coffee drinks, fruit drinks and 100% fruit juices, energy beverages and alcoholic beverages like mixed drinks, beer and wine. Also please realize that caloric sweeteners aren’t limited to sugar and can also include honey, agave syrup, coconut sugar etc. since they all contain calories.

Tips:

1. If buying bottled/canned beverages pay attention to the portion size and calories.

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2. Pour beverages into smaller glasses or drink less.

3. Alternate caloric beverages with water or beverages sweetened with non-caloric sweeteners.

4. Dilute fruit juices or fruit drinks with water or club soda.

5. Limit alcoholic beverages to 1 drink per day for women/ 2 drinks/per day for men (1 drink =12 oz of beer, 5 ounces of wine, 1 small mixed drink)

Note: These are estimated calorie amounts based on commonly consumed beverages. Please check the serving size and calorie/sugar amounts of the beverages YOU typically consume!

Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN

Ingles Markets Corporate Dietitian

twitter.com/InglesDietitian

facebook.com/LeahMcgrathDietitian

800-334-4936

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