News In Brief

The worst drinks in America

Daryl Paranada Jun 7, 2010

Heading to the grocery store any time soon or grabbing a quick bite to eat after work? Choosing the beverage you get with your meal can have a bigger caloric impact than you think.

Beverages now make up nearly 25 percent of the average American’s daily caloric intake. And deciding what you should get to drink has become more complex because of the number of beverage choices out there.

So before you grab that bottled Starbucks Vanilla Frappuccino, you may want to know this, courtesy of Men’s Health:

With an unreasonable number of calorie landmines peppered across Starbucks’ in-store menu, you’d think the company would want to use its grocery line to restore faith in its ability to provide caffeine without testing the limits of your belt buckle. Guess not. This drink has been on our radar for years, and we still haven’t managed to find a bottled coffee with more sugar. Consider this–along with Starbucks’ miniature Espresso and Cream Doubleshot–your worst option for a morning pickup.

And before you get your caffeine kick elsewhere, like say, a Rockstar Energy Drink, you may want to know that drinking one 16 fl oz can of that stuff is equivalent to the sugar intake of 6 Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnuts.

Here’s a list of 10 of the worst drinks in America 2010, compiled by Men’s Health:

  1. Worst water: Snapple Agave Melon Antioxidant Water (1 bottle, 20 fl oz)
  2. Worst bottled tea: SoBe Green Tea (1 bottle, 20 fl oz)
  3. Worst energy drink: Rockstar Energy Drink (1 can, 16 fl oz)
  4. Worst bottled coffee: Starbucks Vanilla Frappuccino (1 bottle, 13.7 fl oz)
  5. Worst soda: Sunkist (1 bottle, 20 fl oz)
  6. Worst beer: Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (1 bottle, 12 fl oz)
  7. Worst kids drink: Tropicana Tropical Fruit Fury Twister (1 bottle, 20 fl oz)
  8. Worst functional beverage: Arizona Rx Energy (1 can, 23 fl oz)
  9. Worst juice impostor: Arizona Kiwi Strawberry (1 can, 23 fl oz)
  10. Worst espresso drink: Starbucks Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha with Whipped Cream (venti, 20 fl oz)

For the full list of America’s 20 worst drinks — including how many calories each of these beverages has and better drinking alternatives — visit Men’s Health here.

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