National Nutrition Week – Re-Think Your Drink

This week is National Nutrition Week where the theme for the week is “Rethink your drink!” A particularly applicable theme after the latest Demographics and Health Survey indicated that two-thirds of women and a third of men in the country are overweight or obese. There are increasing worldwide consumption of ‘free’ sugars in the diet. These free sugars are found in foods or beverages that contain no vitamins or minerals or other nutrients, only sugar. Consumption of these, particularly in the form of sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs), is associated with weight gain in both children and adults.

There are a number of beverages available to the public as an alternative to drinking water and as part of this week’s national nutrition week, we encourage South African’s to re-think the drinks theya re choosing to ensure that they are consuming less free sugars. Adequate daily water intake is so important to remain well hydrated and to assist the kidneys with waste excretion. However, Dietitians are often asked the question “what else can I drink, apart from water, to keep hydrated?” Variety is the spice of life after all, so it is important to find different ways to hydrate that are still healthy.

We often associate the words “organic” “natural”, “aloe”, “coconut” etc. with health. We assume that these drinks should be healthier compared to the average soft drink on the market that contain sugars..  Analysis of some of the beverage alternatives on offer in the average supermarket can help us to decide whether these options can be included as part of a healthy diet.

Iced Teas

Iced teas are very popular – especially amongst teenagers as a refreshing cool drink on a hot summer’s day. A well-known brand’s Organic Ro

oibos Lime and Ginger Ice Tea is a 275ml serving and it provides 358 kJ of energy and 18 g of sugar. Woolworths Slimmer’s Choice Berry Ceylon Ice tea is a 350 ml serving with 249 kJ of energy and 19 g of sugar per serving. A teaspoon of sugar

equates to 5g of sugar, therefore these options have almost 4 teaspoons of sugar per serving each! A typical Peach flavoured Ceylon Ice Tea per 250 ml serving has approximately 348 kJ of energy and 19 g of sugar – so also 4 teaspoons of sugar per beverage.

Flavoured waters

Flavoured water is another firm favourite! A quick read of the label on

the average Coconut Water bottle shows that it provides 238 kJ of energy and 15 g of sugar per 330ml

serving – the equivalent in energy of almost 1 slice of bread! Vitamin Water is very misleading as it has 495 kJ of energy and 27 g of sugar per standard 500ml serving. That’s 5 teaspoons of sugar in 1 bottle! Contrary to what the name suggests, the vitamin water provides negligible amounts of nutrients and certainly not enough to meet one’s daily vitamin and mineral requirements. The aloe beverage options are not much better with the Aloe Vera option with honey providing 504 kJ of energy and 30 g (6 teaspoons!!) of sugar per 500ml serving.

The nutritional analyses of the above drink options shows that in general, the flavoured “juice” options are particularly high in sugar. It is only the light options that have lower kilojoule values and much lower sugar contents. In addition to the added sugars in these drink options, there is little to no nutrients at all that contribute to good health. As a result, these drinks provide “empty sugars” to the diet. This displaces room in the diet for nutrient rich foods that may have natural sugars, such as fruit, but that are also rich in phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and fibre. A better way t

o quench your thirst would be to enjoy water – sparkling or still – with fresh fruit chopped and added to the water for flavour. Try berries, oranges, mint, rosemary, cucumber and apple as a refreshing summer drink! The best part is you will find them to be tasty and refreshing, without the added sugar!

References

Nakhimovsky, S. S., Feigl, A. B., Avila, C., O’Sullivan, G., Macgregor-Skinner, E., & Spranca, M. (2016). Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages to reduce overweight and obesity in middle-income countries: a systematic review. PloS one, 11(9), e0163358.

He, B., Long, W., Li, X., Yang, W., Chen, Y., & Zhu, Y. (2017). Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Consumption Positively Associated with the Risks of Obesity and Hypertriglyceridemia Among Children Aged 7–18 Years in South China. Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis, 38570.

Colagiuri, S. (2017). The obesity epidemic and sugar-sweetened beverages: a taxing time. The Medical Journal of Australia, 206(3), 109-110.