TOP 10 WORST Soft Drinks

The Top 10 WORST Soft Drinks For Your Health:

Soft drinks are virtually taking over the United States. And why? It's BIG Business with literally billions of dollars at stake. According to the National Soft Drink Association, Americans now consume more than 600 12-oz, soft drinks per year/ per person (what!?!?!); which is more than any other nation. The highest consumption rate can be found in young males between the ages of 12 - 29 who average 169 gallons per person a year. Common health risks abound including obesity, diabetes, tooth decay, osteoporosis and heart disease. As well, high sugar content, caffeine and artificial sweetners make some soft drinks worse than others.

We draw today from the LIVESTRONG.COM letter, 2011. *See "Just in" new headline below after the list!

10) Coca-Cola Classic: There are worse soft drinks but this grand-daddy of the group makes the list for the usual reasons; too much sugar, too much caffeine and too many synthetic colorings but mostly because it is so pervasive. This drink is everywhere.

9) A & W Cream Soda: A 12 oz. can of this stuff contains 29 mg of caffeine and 46 g of sugar made up mostly of High Fructose Corn Syrup. A & W Cream Soda contains 3.83 g of sugar per ounce which is much higher than Coca-Cola; itself coming in at "only" 3.38 g/ounce.

8) Mountain Dew: A fan favorite in the Appalachian Mountain region of the U.S., this drink is one of the most tasty sodas in existance. And why? It has more sugar than most; a 12 oz. can of MD containes 54 mg of caffeine and 47 g of corn syrup derived mainly from sugar. Both of these inventories are higher than Coke and A & W Cream. Good Morning America actually did an on-site special on the bizarre addiction to Mountain Dew that folks have in the Appalachian Mountain region with its attendant and pervasive dental decay issues. Those folks even give it to babies! Add to that, Mountain Dew contains Phenylalanine which is an analgesic and an anti-drepessant which means that Mountain Dew has psychoactive ingrediants. Strange.

7) Rockstar Original: This relative newcomer comes in 16 oz. cans which increases it's numbers but per capita, it's still a problem: a 16 oz. can contains 151 mg of caffeine and 62 g of sugar. It's just way too much for anyone and negates any nutritional value the B vitamins added in contain.

6) Sunkist Orange Soda: A 12 oz. can of this stuff contains 41 oz. of caffeine and a whopping 42 g of corn syrup derived from sugar. This ratio gives us 4.33 g/oz. Oh, and it contains zero orange juice.

5) Bawls Geek Beer: This 16 oz. "energy" drink contains carbonation, 100 mg of caffeine and  . . .  wait for it . . . .a mind blowing 72 g of total sugar. Do the math.

4) Jolt Cola: This relative newcomer comes in a easy to remember 23.5 oz can, the second biggest in the industry. A can of this stuff contains 280 mg of caffeine and a full 94 g of sugar, the latter coming from granulated sugar and high fructose corn syrup. As you can see, the higher up we get on this list, the more whacked the numbers get.

3) Lucozade: Another carbonated "energy" drink and, interestingly, made for us by our friends at Glaxosmithkline, the third biggest pharmaceutical company on the planet earth, working tirelessly in an effort to have every man, woman and child fully medicated on something. These are the same folks that brought us AZT for AIDS treatment and the famous anti-depressant Paroxetine as well as a virtual cornucopia of drugs for every conceivable occasion. And let us not forget the veritable conga line of State and Federal suits and fines GSK has had to pay adding up to tens of millions of dollars over the years due to all the side effects caused by their drugs. But I digress; A 13 oz can of this stuff contains 46 mg of caffeine and 68 g of sugar. Final ratio: 5.26 g of sugar/ounce. God help us; and we thought Coke was bad.

2) Rockstar Punched Guava: The only brand to show up twice on this list; Rockstar just couldn't leave bad enough alone; here we have a 22 oz bottle that contains a mind bending 330 mg of caffeine and 102 g of total sugar. What?!?!!?  Enough said.

1) Hype Energy Drink: Holding down the #1 spot on this dubious list is yet another of the so-called "energy" drinks. It is, in reality, another carbonated drink that contains 160 mg of caffeine in a 16 oz can and an industry leading 8.4 g of sugar/ ounce. This sugar comes directly from high fructose corn syrup.

Just In: *Beverage Digest 2010 Soft Drink Ratings just named their top 10 selling soft drinks for 2010. I'll go through the top 5 right here: 1) Coke, 2) Diet Coke, 3) Pepsi, 4) Mountain Dew, 5) Dr. Pepper.  

Well, there you have it health enthusiasts; the 10 worst soft drinks. One of the general rules of good nutrition is to avoid liquid carbohydrates, ie: sugar. As bad as all these soft drinks are, generally speaking, beer is even worse. But that's for another discussion. Stay healthy and keep away from excess sugars, especially liquid sugars.

Dr. Haberstroh is a Boston Chiropractor and a Somerville Chiropractor.
_____________________________________________________________________

*Just In!: 11/22/11:  "Energy Drinks tied to Upsurge in ER Visits"

Sharp rise in hospitalizations tied to energy drinks
updated 11/22/2011 4:40:54 PM ET 2011-11-22T21:40:54

CHICAGO — Emergency room visits linked to energy drink consumption have surged in recent years, according to a report released on Tuesday, as more people combine the popular beverages with alcohol and drugs.

Hospitalizations in the United States tied to energy drinks have jumped tenfold to 13,114 in 2009 from 1,128 visits in 2005. The most recent year for which data is available is 2009. The agency, a unit of the Department of Health and Human Services, said that 44 percent of the visits involved people who had combined the stimulant-rich drinks with alcohol, pharmaceuticals or illicit drugs.

The vast majority of the visits were made by males between the ages of 18 and 39, the agency said. The researchers did not say what symptoms drove the people to go to the ER or what underlying medical conditions they may have had. But they said other studies have indicated that excessive use of the drinks on their own can cause adverse reactions such as arrhythmia, hypertension and dehydration.

"Combining energy drinks with substances of abuse raises the risk of serious, even life-threatening injury, as well as the likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors such as driving under the influence," the researchers said.

The report was immediately criticized by a trade group for makers of the energy drinks, which usually contain stimulants like caffeine and guarana as well as other additives that can compound the beverages' effects. The fact that nearly half the hospitalizations involved people who had also consumed alcohol or taken illegal substances or pharmaceuticals made "their consumption of energy drinks potentially irrelevant," the American Beverage Association said.

The group also said that most mainstream energy drinks contain just half the caffeine of a similar size cup of coffee.