SubscribeBeverage Calories Contribute to Obesity
This was an article in yesterday’s EurekAlert feed: Doubled calorie intake from beverages likely contributes to adult obesity.
First of all, duh! Doubled calorie intake from any source is probably going to contribute to obesity.
It’s not just sugary sodas that are adding to the obesity crisis – it’s fruit drinks, alcohol and a combination of other high-calorie beverages, say University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health researchers. And during the holidays, when eggnog, cocktails and spiced cider are abundant, the problem can be even more apparent.
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Researchers found that, over these 37 years, total daily intake of calories from beverages increased by 94 percent, providing an average 21 percent of daily energy intake among U.S. adults.
I argued before that fruit juice isn’t healthful due to it’s high sugar content. And as I pointed out in the Wired Berries discussion, many 100% juices have more sugar than a Coke. But some argue that that’s ok because it’s natural. In reality, sugar is sugar to the body.
The reason that liquid calories are worse than whole food calories is because the body doesn’t recognize them as anything other than liquid. The stomach really works on a volume principle, not a calorie principle. This is why switching from high-calorie fare like Twinkies to low-calorie fare like lettuce is an easy way to cut the amount you eat. You can only eat so much lettuce; anyone that has adopted a Paleo-style diet can attest. Sure, there are biochemical effects from the macronutrients in the food you eat (i.e., protein and fat are satiating, sugar is appetite stimulating, etc), but when you get down to it, volume is a big deal. So taking in the extra calories in that Coke or apple juice isn’t offset by a reduction in the amount of food eaten. This is why many people drop weight just from getting rid of soft drinks in their diets. They don’t suddenly start eating more to compensate for the drop in caloric intake.
Twenty-one percent! Holy moly! That blows my mind since my typical daily beverage intake is water and tea. I do have some wine or a beer or two now and then, but total caloric contribution would be a max of 5-10% on the days that I actually do drink. So drop the calorific beverages and stick to water, tea, black coffee, and an occasional fine wine or beer (or liquor if that’s your cup of tea).
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Filed in Sugar and Fake Foods 4 Comments so far
Anna on 20 Nov 2007 at 10:27 pm #
Plus, Scott, much of the sugar in those holiday beverages may come from concentrated fructose. You probably know, but many people don’t, fructose is not the healthy sugar that many people think. For years it was promoted to people with diabetes because it didn’t raise blood glucose levels much because the fructose must be processed by the liver and doesn’t generate an insulin response.
In the small quantities found in whole fruits, fructose is probably easily handled by the body. But in modern diets, the concentrated processed fructose (HFCS and others) found in commercial beverages such as juices, eggnog, sodas, shakes, smoothies, yogurt drinks, etc., is a huge contributor to fatty liver disease, high triglycerides, and AGEs (advanced glycosated endproducts). Nature generally doesn’t provide fructose in such concentrated quantities (honey may be an exception) so contemporary loads of fructose on the liver are taxing, to say the least.
One of the darlings of the low-glycemic, junrefined sugar world, agave syrup, may be as much as 90% fructose, depending on brand. So while it may not raise blood glucose much, but that doesn’t mean that much fructose is benign.
Scott Kustes on 21 Nov 2007 at 9:11 am #
Good point Anna. Fructose is known to derange liver function and between soft drinks and fruit juices, our national fructose intake is quite high. Obviously if someone forced me to choose a Coke or some fruit juice, I’d take the juice as at least it’s somewhat bordering on natural. But you’re right that nature never served up fructose in the quantities that we are able to take it in today (similar to how it never served up polyunsaturated fats like we do today). I think one would have an awful lot of trouble (and need lots of determination) to OD on fructose from whole fruit. The bulk is just too much.
When I do add sweetener to something, I choose honey or agave nectar since they, at least, aren’t heavily refined. But it’s such a rare occurrence that I don’t find it to be a problem.
Cheers
Scott
PS - I just read your post about the sauteed apples in butter on your blog. Sounds delicious!
Low Carb Food » Blog Archive » Beverage Calories on 21 Nov 2007 at 12:49 pm #
[...] Read the rest of this great post here [...]
Low Carb Diet » Beverage Calories on 21 Nov 2007 at 8:52 pm #
[...] Scott Kustes wrote an interesting post today on Beverage CaloriesHere’s a quick excerptThis is why switching from high-calorie fare like Twinkies to low-calorie fare like lettuce is an easy way to cut the amount you eat. You can only eat so much lettuce; anyone that has adopted a Paleo-style diet can attest. … [...]