Healthy Food Choices: Sodas

One soda can contain up to 11 ounces of sugar and fill you will empty calories. Learn more about soda as well as some healthy alternatives in this healthy shopping video.

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Sodas contain empty calories
11 teaspoons of sugar
Soda linked to obesity

About this Author

Alice Merritt is currently the Campus Dietitian at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She has a masters degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in public health with a concentration on nutrition. Alice has worked as a registered dietician for four years, and believes that helping people reach their nutritional goals will lead to a long and healthy life.

ALCIE MERITT: I am going to talk to you about sodas. Over the past couple of decades Americans have increased their soda consumption greatly. And sodas are a source of empty calories, which means that they are very high in calories and very low in nutrition value. So you drink sodas you do not get any of the good nutrients like you do from drinking milk. A lot of people think diet sodas are a good alternative to sodas because you are not getting the calories, but you are still not getting any vitamins and minerals from drinking diet sodas. And a lot of times, people that drink diet sodas are not drinking other health resources like milk and they are lacking calcium in their diet. One thing to think about with sodas is a 12 ounce soda has about 11 teaspoons of highly refined sugars, which is just a large amount of sugar to bombard our body with at once. High soda consumptions have also been linked with increasing obesity rates. So, one thing to think about when thinking of the healthiness of sodas is really working on decreasing your soda intake and increasing your water intake. Important things to remember about sodas is that they are very high in calories and they are empty calories, which means they have very little nutrition value. High soda intake is also been linked with increased rates of obesity and weight gain. So try replacing some of your sodas eventually with drinking more water, hundred percent fruit juice, milk, those are all healthier choices for your body and you are getting a lot more nutritional value from that. While diet sodas don't have the calories that regular soda has, they are still not a good alternative to drink on a regular basis. Remember, sodas and diet sodas in moderation if at all and replace those drinks with other healthy things like water, milk, fruit juices and non-calorie carbonated waters. These are all healthy things to know about soda.

Healthy Food Choices: Sodas Video

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