Liquid Calories.

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How can a simple liquid be so harmful??

Though grabbing a tasty drink is easy and most of the time done without thinking, that liquid in your hand can shoot your daily caloric intake off the charts!!!

HERE’S WHY…

Research shows…

1. Plain and Simple more calories=risk of gaining weight! Liquid calories do not “run right through” our bodies, we actually metabolize the nutrients.

Ask yourself these questions…-How much do I weigh?-How tall am I?-How active am I daily?Then calculate how many calories YOU need per day! www.mypyramid.gov Now, do you have extra wiggle room to add in mindless sugary beverages?

There are four mechanisms that link high caloric beverages with increased weight gain.

2. Sweetened beverages have a chain reaction in the body

When ingested, sugary beverages can increase your blood sugar or blood glucose levels

Increased blood sugar can lead to health risks such as hyperglycemia (too much sugar in the blood)

Your body secretes insulin to lower levels of

sugar; but putting too much pressure on your pancreas can lead to hyperinsulinemia (insulin resistance)

Both these conditions typically make you hungry which makes you eat more then paves the way for weight gain!

Hyperinsulinemia can be early signs of TYPE II DIABETES!

3. Satiety FactorLiquid calories often aren’t as satiating as solid foods; replacing solid foods for liquids might leave you feeling hungry, wanting to consume more calories.-If drinking your calories don’t fill you up, then compensation will occur causing you to take in more calories than you use or necessarily need. 

4. Sweetened beverages end up replacing nutritious ones

“Empty Calories”

Nutrient Dense

How do I know it’s bad?Check out the Nutrition

Facts:1. How many calories are in this drink; how does

that contribute to your daily caloric intake?

2. How many of these calories are from fat?

3. Avoid fats such as saturated or trans fat (you should aim for less than 16g of saturated fat and 2g of trans fat per day)

4. Check out the total carbohydrates; how will this percentage of carbohydrate contribute to your daily intake?

5. Remember that excess sugar (meaning carbohydrate not burned up as energy) will be stored in your body as fat!

6. Lastly, check out that serving size…now multiply all those values by that number and that is your nutritional facts for this whole beverage!!!

So what SHOULD you drink?

Go with water: Women should drink up to 9 servings of water a day and 13 servings of water for men.

Unsweetened coffee and tea: As long as you aren’t using any type of sweetener at all, coffee and tea can have some positive health benefits; however, both contain caffeine which should be consumed in moderate doses such as 200-300mg/day.

Skim/lowfat milk or fortified unsweetened soy drinks: Recommendation is about 2-3 cups a day. By sticking with skim or lowfat, you are eliminating unnecessary fat calories which contribute to overall caloric intake and possibly weight gain.

Diet soft drinks and coffee or tea sweetened with artificial sweetener: Even though these drinks are calorie free, they may condition a preference for sweetness. Because of this, they are to be used in moderation. Trying staying under 4 servings a day.

100% fruit juices, whole milk and sports drinks: limit consumption to 1 serving a day. Athletes may incorporate these drinks in their diet to replenish glycogen stores and electrolyte levels in their bodies, but the general public should limit their intake due to high levels of glucose, fructose, carbohydrate, and fat.

Soft drinks and juice drinks: Also high in sugar, recommendation is no more than 1 serving a day.

Alcoholic Drinks: The biggest culprit?!

Alcoholic Beverages

Beverage Serving Size (ounces)

Number of Alcohol Servings/Beverage Calories

Beer 12 1 150

Light beer 12 1 110

Dark beer 12 1 168

Non-alcoholic beer 12 1 70

Red wine*** 5 1 105

White wine*** 5 1 100

Bloody Mary** (Vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, lime)

4.6 1 120

Chocolate martini** (Vodka, Creme de Cacao) 2.5 1.67 188

Cosmopolitan** (Vodka, Triple Sec, Rose's lime juice, cranberry juice) 2.5 1.67 131

Daiquiri** (Light rum, limes, powdered sugar) 2.7 1 137

Gin and tonic** (Gin, tonic water, lime) 7 1.33 189

Margarita** (Coarse salt, lime, white Tequila, Triple Sec, lime juice, crushed ice) 6.3 3 327

Martini** (Gin, dry Vermouth) 2 1.33 119

Mudslide** (Vodka, coffee liqueur, Irish cream, vanilla ice cream) 12 4 820

Pina colada** (Malibu run, pineapple juice, cream 8 2.13 312

Rum and coke****) 12 2.67 361

Screwdriver** (Vodka, orange juice) 7 1.33 208

Whiskey Sour** (Whiskey, lemon juice, powdered sugar, cherry, lemon slice) 3 1.33 125

How many servings do YOU typically consume?

Alcoholic Drinks: The biggest culprit?!

Alcohol contributes mindless calories to your diet

Alcohol often accompanies irresponsible eating

Alcohol slows down your ability to metabolize fat

Alcohol means more fat intake, which leads to less muscle. Less muscle = less fat burning

Alcohol dehydrates you; your body needs to be well-hydrated to build and maintain lean muscle mass

Remember the old saying…

“You are what you eat?”

Are you what you drink too?!

It is a common misconception that liquid calories are not as harmful as those from food sources.

If you are going to drink your calories, aim for nutrient rich and low calorie drinks.

Choose your drink portions carefully

And ask yourself this question…

For help calculating your food and drink calories, visit www.mypyramid.gov

References…Bachman, C., Baranowski, T., & Nicklas, T. (2006). Is There an Association Between Sweetened Beverages and Adiposity?. Nutrition Reviews, 64(4), 153-174. Retrieved from SPORTDiscus database.

Moncur, Laura. (2006, June 24). Liquid Calories Count. Retrieved March 28, 2010 from: http://www.starling-fitness.com/archives/2006/06/24/liquid-calories-count/.

Joshi, Mohit. (2009, April 23). Liquid Calories More to be blamed for weight gain. Retrieved March 28, 2010 from: http://www.topnews.in/liquid-calories-more-be-blamed-weight-gain-2155637.