In 2013 Bank Credit Suisse conducted a study which showed that the average amount of sugar consumed worldwide is currently 17 teaspoons per day – almost three times the recommended amount! But surprisingly, most of this sugar isn’t explained by the increased consumption of cakes chocolates and snacks, rather, it enters our bodies via soft drinks:
- The average can of soft drink = 8-10 teaspoons of sugar.
- A single-portion bottle of juice = 9 teaspoons of sugar.
- A half-liter bottle of carbonated beverage = 12 teaspoons of sugar or even more!
- A single-portion bottle of flavored water = 4 teaspoons of sugar.
In other words, 43% of the sugar we consume daily comes from sweetened beverages! This is an incredible statistic.
Soft drinks – Hard sugars
Thus, although unlike in the past, many people are aware that the consumption of sweetened beverages isn’t healthy and they may even avoid keeping them at home, it seems they’re still a determining factor in our consumption of sugar. This may be because we’re always encountering them away from home in various situations – among refreshments at conferences and meetings, kids’ birthday parties, lobbies and waiting rooms, restaurants, and more, or maybe simply because we feel a need to “treat” ourselves: “Just one cup, what harm could it do?” By the way, if we don’t always resist the temptation, just think of our children who are surrounded by snack bars and shops on the way to and from school, in malls, etc. And there’s no arguing with the statistic that half of the children in Israel drink at least one soft drink each day (according to the Knesset Center for Research and Information).
Sweet trap
The fact is, sweetened drinks provide our bodies with enormous amounts of sugar and energy without giving us a sense of satiety, thus making us want to eat more. Furthermore, some believe that they’re addictive which is why we always want to drink more of them. Also, we aren’t always aware of the fact that they’re high in sugar because there’s a long list of ingredients with different names which are all actually sugars, including: fructose, dextrose, glucose, inverted sugar, maltose, malt syrup, molasses, raw cane sugar, natural fruit concentrate, and the list goes on.
Time to put a stop to it
When faced with the choice between sweetened beverages which don’t hydrate the body and actually harm it and water, water is the healthy choice. Water also apparently helps us maintain our proper weight – it boosts the metabolism and cleanses the body of fatty acids.
If you have a Strauss Water Bar at home, chances are that most members of your family drink plenty of water at home, thus consuming 0 calories and 0 sugars! However, as we’ve seen, away from home there are plenty of temptations. So we’ve put together four tips that can help you keep tabs on things:
- Change your attitude toward soft drinks – Teach yourself and your kids to think of a can or bottle of soft drink as a thick slice of chocolate cake. Maybe if you treat them as actual desserts you’ll take them more seriously and drink less when away from home.
- Keep individual water bottles around – Get everyone used to leaving the house only after they’ve filled a multi-use bottle with water from the water bar. When you encounter a temptation you’ll already have the right answer in hand.
- Look for healthy refreshers – We totally understand the need for variety, but it should still be addressed in a levelheaded, responsible way. For example: at cafes you can ask to have mint, lemon, cucumber or orange added to your water jug, and you can do the same at home.
- Get those around you involved too – Ever notice that there are always sweetened beverages at every meeting at work? Bring the topic up for discussion and come to the conclusion along with the management that it’s a good idea to cut down on them.
Swap soft drinks with a healthy alternative. Bubble X delivers fresh sparkling water in 3 carbonation levels for similar experience (light/normal/strong). Contact us for more information.