VIDEO: Each sugar-sweetened beverage you drink takes you one step closer to an early death
“Lifestyle diseases that arise from poor dietary choices don’t always present symptoms immediately, so people don’t take them seriously. You may feel fine now, but 10 years from now, you won’t be feeling fine anymore."
MOST people wouldn’t scoop 14 teaspoons of sugar onto their morning cereal or spoon it into a single cup of tea or coffee.
We understand that this amount of sugar in one sitting is excessive and unhealthy, yet this is the amount of sugar contained in a 500ml bottle of most sugar-sweetened cool drinks that we will drink in blissful ignorance to the effects on our well-being.
Using the visual impact of an informative display, the Vyheid District Hospital and clinics in AbaQulusi hoped to use National Nutrition Week (October 9 – 15) to drive home just how much sugar is contained in a single sugar-sweetened beverage and, in doing so, save as many people as possible from the pain and regret of not taking their health seriously. The display used plastic bags filled with sand to visually represent how much sugar is contained in a number of popular cool-drinks, milkshakes, and juices.
“Lifestyle diseases that arise from poor dietary choices don’t always present symptoms immediately, so people don’t take them seriously. You may feel fine now, but 10 years from now, you won’t be feeling fine anymore. We have seen horrible complications in patients who have developed diabetes, like blindness and amputations. This is preventable if you reduce your sugar intake, and the most effective way to cut down on one’s sugar intake is to replace sugar-sweetened beverages with water. That is why, it is our objective to use National Nutrition Week to visually show people how much sugar is contained in sugar-sweetened beverages,” said Vryheid Hospital’s chief dietician, Elsabe Immelman.
Dieticians and nutritionists from the Department of Health also be visited creché’s to encourage young children to choose water instead of sugar-sweetened beverage.
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Here are some healthy alternatives to sugar-sweetened beverages for those readers who don’t like drinking water:
– Try a Juice Spritzer: Dilute 100% fruit juice with soda water. Remember that each 125ml of fruit juice is the equivalent of 1 fruit and deduct this from your daily serve to avoid extra calories from adding up.
– Drink Green Tea to stay hydrated and get a health boost: Green tea has been linked with reducing blood pressure and cholesterol and improving blood flow.
– Flavoured Coffee: The calories in most coffees come from the milk and sugar, not the coffee. Brew a flavoured coffee such as hazelnut or mocha where you get the flavour and aroma and no calories. Make sure to opt for decaffeinated if you don’t usually consume caffeine or if you’ve already had a caffeinated beverage or two that day.
– Make your own Fruity Iced Tea: Bottled fruit teas are popular, but many are full of added sugar. Make your own fruity blend iced tea to sip on by brewing and then chilling one of the many varieties of tea available. For extra flavour and a touch of sweetness, add slices of lemon or orange.
