The next time you order your favorite coffee at Starbucks or order a juice at the gym bar, there are drinks you should avoid to promote your health, according to nutritionists.
And it’s not just alcoholic beverages that can be harmful to your health, but also some of the most popular drinks.
But some of the most popular nonalcoholic drinks can be just as bad for you — with the sweetest ones doing the most damage, nutritionists say.
Energy drinks
Energy drinks contain excess caffeine and stimulants and can cause “increased blood pressure, stress, and disrupted sleep,” Kylie Ivanir, a Within Nutrition dietitian, told me. Fox News digital.
“Other side effects of excess stimulants in pre-workout and energy drinks include headaches and nausea,” she added.
The same goes for pre-workout drinks.
Energy drinks are among the worst for your health, experts warn
She continued, “Pre-workout and energy drinks also contain artificial sweeteners and flavors, which interfere with gut health and brain health. The supplement industry is also notoriously unregulated, leading to contamination with toxins or banned substances that are harmful to our health.”
A healthier substitute could be coffee or matcha tea.
Sweet alcoholic cocktails
Sweet alcoholic drinks are bad for your health because they can contain a combination of alcohol and high fructose syrup.
“This compromises the liver’s ability to filter out toxins and hinders the conversion of fructose to glucose,” said Ivanir.
Sweet alcoholic drinks are bad for your health because they can contain a combination of alcohol and high fructose syrup
‘As a result, we are less able to detoxify and we end up storing that excess fructose as fat. This can then lead to an increase in triglycerides, a harmful blood lipid – and is one of the causes of fatty liver disease.’
Artificially sweetened drinks
Artificially sweetened drinks are no better for our health than sugar.
Artificial sugars like aspartame and sucralose “disrupt the microbiome and harm our gut health,” Ivanir said.
Other options for artificially sweetened drinks are stevia or monk fruit sweetened drinks which are also gut friendly
“This is detrimental to our overall health, as the gut plays a key role in many of our body’s systems, such as our immune health, hormone recycling, serotonin production, and nutrient absorption.”
Alternatives include Stevia or monk fruit-sweetened beverages that are also gut-friendly, she added.
Drinks sweetened with agave nectar
Agave-sweetened drinks may seem like a healthier option, but “agave is pretty much high fructose corn syrup with a glorified label,” Ivanir said.
Agave syrup is made from agave plant sap, which has been growing in popularity as a replacement for traditional sweeteners (such as table sugar and honey), according to the National Library of Medicine.
“Agave nectar can contain between 55% and 90% fructose – that’s higher than the amount of fructose in high fructose corn syrup,” added Ivanir.
Agave nectar can contain between 55% and 90% fructose – higher than in high fructose corn syrup
“The problem with taking in a lot of fructose is that your body has to convert it to glucose in the liver, but if you have too much it will be stored as fat.” Particularly belly fat,” she said.
‘An excess of fructose is also quite bad for your intestines. Your gut bacteria don’t like large amounts of fructose. For people with a sensitive gut, this can cause bloating, diarrhea, and discomfort. It leads to increased LDL (your bad cholesterol) and lowers insulin sensitivity.’
“If you think: ‘Isn’t fruit rich in fructose?’ consider this: “Some fruits are, but if fructose is in its natural and fiber-coated form, then it’s not harmful.” So there is no need to avoid fruit,” said Ivanir.
Juice ‘cocktail’
Just because a drink has “juice” on the label doesn’t always mean it’s healthy.
Experts say that when the word “cocktail” is on the label, it means juice mixed with added sugar.
Added sugar in juice cocktails can add extra calories to your day
“Added sugar is unnecessary and adds extra calories to your day.” But it’s not surprising that sugar-sweetened beverages are one of the leading sources of added sugar in the American diet, according to the CDC,” Ivanir said. “Go for 100 percent fruit juice instead.”
Soft drink
Nutritionists say soda is bad for your health because of all the added sugars.
“A 12-ounce can of Coke has about 10 teaspoons of added sugar,” Amy Gorin, a plant-based registered dietitian, nutritionist and owner of Master the Media in Stamford, Connecticut, told Fox News Digital.
A soda can contain 10 teaspoons of added sugar per drink
She said people should opt for “seltzer or sparkling water and add a splash of lime, lemon or orange juice for flavor.”
Icetea
Some iced teas contain as much sugar as soft drinks, experts warn.
Jinan Banna, a registered dietitian and professor of nutrition at the University of Hawaii, told Fox that the high consumption of such drinks can lead to type 2 diabetes.
High consumption of sugary drinks, such as iced tea, can contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes
“High consumption of sweetened beverages, such as iced tea, has been shown to be associated with the development of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes,” she said.
Frappuccinos and frozen lattes
Frappuccinos, frozen lattes and other sugary coffee drinks contain “sweet fats” that “hijack our brain circuits, leaving us wanting more and more.”
Frappuccinos and other sweet coffee drinks contain what I call ‘sweet fats’ – a combination of sugar [from the syrups and flavors] and saturated fats [from the cream]. While this combination of sugar and fat makes the drink taste deliciously creamy, it leads to excess fat storage due to a rise in the hormone insulin (our fat storage hormone),’ said Ivanir.
‘Sweet fats’ can hijack brain circuits, leaving us wanting more and more, experts say
“They also drive up insulin, which leads to insulin resistance and higher lipid levels and ultimately metabolic syndrome,” Ivanir added.
“In some establishments, this drink may contain more sugar than a can of Coke, such as the caramel latte found in some stores,” Banna said.
“Sweetened coffee drinks have been identified as a dietary item that makes a notable contribution to added sugar intake,” she added.
She pointed to a report published in the National Library of Medicine titled “Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption in Adults.”