Category — Drinks

In a recent NYC Department of Health campaign they ask, “Are You Pouring On The Pounds”? The campaign is to increase public awareness that healthy weight loss and weight maintenance depends not only on what you are eating, but also on what you are drinking. For instance, did you know that the typical cola contains 16 1/2 teaspoons of sugar? That’s 260 calories! And some people drink several cola’s per day, especially children who love that caramel sweet taste. Now to get a visual of 16 1/2 teaspoons check out the poster that the DOH hung all over the city.

If that isn’t scary enough allow me to present you with an even better visual aid in the form of a home, school or office project. Take a small bowl and spoon out 16 1/2 measured teaspoons of sugar onto it. When you literally SEE how much sugar piles up it will blow your mind. Humm, that reminds me of the scene in Super Size Me when they measured out all the sugar Morgan Spurlock ate in one month while eating every single meal only at McDonald’s. He ate 30 pounds of sugar. In one month. Yikes! That is about one pound of sugar per day. Much of that sugar came from the all the cola he drank.

Anyhoo, don’t go thinking that you can switch yourself or the kids over to drinking apple juice because there are 13 teaspoons of sugar in that juice. That’s right I said it, THIRTEEN teaspoons of sugar in apple JUICE. It drives me nuts when I see parents filling up their toddlers bottles and sippy cups with juices. And they wonder why their kids are hyperactive, over-weight and Type 2 diabetics. It all boils down to over consumption of sugar. If you are bored with plain water, then you can add a splash of juice for flavor.

Oh and that Orange Delight Drink the DOH mentions on the poster is also known as Sunny-Delight. Sunny-D is NOT juice as many parents believe. It only contains 5% juice. The rest of the ingredients include water, high fructose corn syrup, yellow dyes # 5 AND #6 and something else I can hardly pronounce, called SODIUM HEXAMETAPHOSPHATE.  What the hec is that??? I looked it up. Okay are you sitting down? Are you ready for this? According to Chemicaland21.com Sodium Hexametaphosphate is an inorganic (chemical) product used as a seqestering agent. It is used in the industry of soap, detergents, water treatment, metal finishing and plating, pulp and paper manufacture, synthesis of polymers, photographic products, textiles, scale removal and agriculture. According to ScienceLab.com’s MSDS sheet on the chemical it “May cause gastrointestinal tract irritation with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. May affect behavior/central nervous system/peripherial nervous system (somnolence, convulsions, lethargy, flaccid paralysis), urinary system (kidneys- renal failure, acute tubular necrosis). It may also cause heart disturbances (fall in blood pressure, slow pulse) and blood chemistry effects (reduction of serum level of calcium). The toxicity of phosphates is because of their ability to sequester calcium. Systemic metabolic acidosis may result as this material is believed to be hydrolyzed to ortho phosphates when ingested (before absorption). Tetany may also occur as a result of reduction in serum level of ionic calcium”.

As far as I am concerned there is no redeeming quality in Sunny-D, even if the commercials want to tell me that the product will make my life as a mother oh-so much more convenient on hectic school day mornings. I am not believing their lies that Sunny-D is a healthy choice for my kids. I mean they want me to believe that feeding my son 12 1/2 teaspoons of sugar before school is going to keep him healthy and make him smarter in school. Pleeeeeease. Sure it contains 100% Vitamin C but weigh that against the 12 1/2 teaspoons of sugar and the sodium hexametaphosphate (among other chemicals) and I’ll stick with giving my kid a fresh whole orange to get his daily dose of C, thank you very much. Okay so let me get off of my sunny soap box.

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