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These are the worst drinks for your health, according to nutritionists
Before you hit the liquor store or place an order at a coffee shop or restaurant, think twice.
You may want to beware of additives and sugar that may be lurking in your favorite drinks.
A number of nutritionists have weighed in about which beverages to avoid if you're looking to put your health first.
Keep reading for important nutritional and health-focused insights regarding many popular drinks today.
Energy drinks and pre-workout drinks
Kylie Ivanir, a New York-based registered dietitian who runs her own private practice called Within Nutrition, said pre-workout drinks and energy drinks can lead to "increased blood pressure, stress and compromised sleep," since they contain excess caffeine and stimulants.
"Other side effects of excess stimulants found in pre-workout and energy drinks are headaches and nausea," she told Fox News Digital.
"Pre-workout and energy drinks also contain artificial sweeteners and flavors, which disrupt gut health and brain health," she said.
"The supplement industry is also notoriously unregulated, which leads to contamination with toxins or banned substances that are detrimental to our health."
Instead of pre-workout or energy drinks, Ivanir recommended opting for coffee or matcha tea.
Sweet alcoholic cocktails
Ivanir said the combination of alcohol and fructose syrup, which are sometimes found in cocktails, are not good for your liver — the organ in which those liquids are processed.
"This compromises the liver’s ability to filter out toxins and hampers its conversion of fructose to glucose," Ivanir said.
"As a consequence, we can’t detox as well, and we also end up storing that excess fructose as fat. This can then cause a rise in triglycerides, a harmful blood lipid — and is one of the causes of a fatty liver."
Traditional soda
Soda is bad for your health due to its added sugar, experts say.
"I recommend instead opting for seltzer or sparkling water and adding a squeeze of lime, lemon or orange juice for flavor," said Amy Gorin, an inclusive plant-based registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Master the Media in Stamford, Connecticut.
Gorin said that — according to the United States Department of Agriculture's Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 — people ages two and older should limit their intake of added sugars to less than 10% of total daily calories consumed.
"For someone following a 2,000-calorie daily diet, for example, this means no more than 200 calories from added sugar — or about 12 teaspoons," she said.
"A 12-ounce can of cola contains about 10 teaspoons worth of added sugar."
Iced tea
Jinan Banna, a registered dietitian and professor of nutrition at the University of Hawaii, said not only does iced tea contain added sugar but bottled or commercially prepared teas may have the same amount of sugar as soda.
"A high consumption of sweetened drinks such as iced tea has been shown to be associated with development of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes," she said, referencing a 2010 meta-analysis on sugar-sweetened beverages and type 2 diabetes.
Drinks sweetened with agave nectar
Agave syrup is made from agave plant sap, which has increased in popularity as a substitute for traditional sweeteners (like table sugar and honey), according to a chemical analysis and nutritional profile on agave syrup published in the National Library of Medicine.
But beware of agave-sweetened drinks, as "agave is pretty much high fructose corn syrup with a glorified label," Ivanir said.
"Agave nectar can contain between 55% to 90% fructose — that’s higher than the amount of fructose in high fructose corn syrup," she also said.
As Ivanir pointed out, most agave nectar sold in supermarkets contains about 80% to 90% of fructose.
"The problem with taking in a lot of fructose is that your body must convert it to glucose in the liver, but if you have too much, it gets stored as fat. Specifically, belly fat," she said.
"Excess fructose is also pretty bad for your gut. Your gut bacteria don’t like large doses of fructose. For those with a sensitive gut, this can cause bloating, diarrhea and discomfort. It leads to increased LDL (your bad cholesterol) and decreases insulin sensitivity."
If you’re thinking, "Isn’t fruit high in fructose?" then consider this: "Some fruits are, but when fructose is in its natural and fiber-wrapped form, then it’s not harmful. So there is no need to avoid fruit," Ivanir said.
Juice 'cocktail'
Sometimes, juices blended with additives get slapped with the word "cocktail" on their label, according to experts.
"This is a keyword to watch out for in the grocery store. The word ‘cocktail’ indicates that a juice is mixed with added sugar," Gorin said.
"Added sugar is unnecessary and adds extra calories to your day. But not surprisingly, per the CDC, sugar-sweetened drinks are a top source of added sugar in the American diet."
She said, "Shop for 100% fruit juice instead."
Artificially sweetened drinks
As Ivanir pointed out, research has shown that artificial sugars like aspartame and sucralose "disturb the microbiome and damage our gut health," she said.
"This is harmful to our overall health since the gut plays a key role in many of our body’s systems such as our immune health, hormone recycling, serotonin production and nutrient absorption," Ivanir added.
"Stevia- or monk fruit sweetened drinks are great sugar alternatives that are also gut-friendly."
She suggested jazzing up your beverage by adding herbs such as mint and basil or fresh fruit into water.
Frappuccinos
Apparently consuming frappuccinos simply aren’t worth it for your health.
"Frappuccinos and other sweet coffee drinks contain what I call ‘sweet fats’ — a combination of sugar [from the syrups and flavors] and saturated fats [from the cream]. While this combination of sugar and fat makes the drink taste deliciously creamy, it leads to excess fat storage due to a rise in the hormone insulin (our fat storage hormone)," Ivanir said.
"These ‘sweet fats’ hijack our brain circuits, making us want more and more."
They also drive up insulin, leading to insulin resistance and higher lipid levels and ultimately metabolic syndrome, Ivanir added.
Frozen lattes
"In some establishments, this drink may contain more sugar than a can of coke, such as the caramel latte that is found in some businesses," Banna said.
"Sweetened coffee drinks have been identified as an item in the diet that makes a notable contribution to intake of added sugar," she added.
She pointed to a report published in the National Library of Medicine titled, "Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among adults."
注释：
stimulant: n
表示" 兴奋剂;刺激物"，means "a drug that temporarily quickens some vital process"，如：Coffee and tea are mild stimulants. 咖啡和茶都是温和的兴奋剂。
detrimental: adj
表示"有害的"，means " harmful"，如：Lack of sleep is detrimental to one's health. 缺乏睡眠有害健康。
fructose: n
表示" 果糖"，如：ut a diet loaded with fat and fructose hampers the regulation of these hormones.不过含有过量脂肪和果糖的食物影响了这些荷尔蒙的调节功能。
hamper: v
表示" 妨碍；阻止"，means " cause difficulty in movement or activity"，如：Our progress was hampered by the bad weather. 我们前进时受到了恶劣天气的阻碍。
glucose: n
表示" 葡萄糖"，如：We injected the glucose into the patient's vein. 我们给病人的静脉里注射了葡萄糖。
triglyceride: n
表示" 甘油三酯"，means ""，如：Lipids are the cholesterol and triglycerides in your blood.脂类是指人体血液中的胆固醇和甘油三酸酯。
lipid: n
表示" 脂质；油脂"，如：The blood plasma lipid examination was abnormal. 血浆脂质出现不同程度的异常变化。
seltzer: n
表示" 塞尔查水(一种德国矿泉水)"，means "naturally effervescent mineral water"，如：A glass of seltzer would be nice. 来一杯苏打水就行。
syndrome: n
表示"综合症"，如：This patient provides a typical example of the syndrome. 这位患者是这种症候群的典型病例。
Agave: n
表示" 龙舌兰属植物"，如：Mexican liquor made from fermented juices of an Agave plant. 墨西哥的一种用已发酵的龙舌兰植物的汁液制成的酒。
glorified: adj
表示" 增光的；变荣耀的"，means "accorded sacrosanct or authoritative standing"，如：Nationalism is merely another form of glorified tribalism. 民族主义只是另一种美化了的部落主义.
cholesterol: n
表示"胆固醇"，如：This cooking oil is low in cholesterol. 这种烹调油胆固醇含量低。
aspartame: n
表示" 阿斯巴甜(一种人造甜味剂)"，如：Similarly, aspartame is not the only Coca-Cola to bring criticism as an additive. 同样，阿斯巴甜也不是唯一一样给可口可乐带来非议的添加剂。
sucralose: n
表示" 三氯蔗糖"，如：The prospect of development of high intensity sweet edulcorator sucralose is introduced emphatically. 着重介绍三氯蔗糖的开发前景。
serotonin: n
表示"血清素"，如：Once in the brain, the tryptophan is converted to serotonin. 一旦进入大脑，色氨酸会被转化成血清素。
basil: n
表示" 罗勒(芳香的草本植物)；留兰香"，如：The smells of black pepper and basil tempt you to take another sip.黑胡椒、罗勒的香味让人还想再尝一口。
frappuccino: n
表示"法布奇诺（星冰乐）"，如：Today, a mocha malt Frappuccino is my favorite splurge . 如今，法布奇诺是我的最喜欢的奢侈。
caramel: n
表示" 焦糖"，如：The beverage is often colored with caramel.这种饮料常用焦糖染色。
中文简要说明：
现代人有许多疾患是「病从口入」。美国媒体找来营养师分析哪些饮品最不健康，除了酒类，不少饮料藏有额外添加的糖分，对于整体健康的损害很大。把健康放在第一位的民众，选择饮品时务必三思。
美国福斯新闻网（Fox News）周一（10月30日）报导，综合纽约注册营养师伊凡（Kylie Ivanir）、康涅狄格州注册营养师葛林（Amy Gorin）、夏威夷大学营养学教授兼注册营养师班纳（Jinan Banna）的意见，就健康损害角度列出10种「最糟糕」的饮料：能量饮料、运动前能量补充饮、甜味鸡尾酒、传统苏打饮料、含糖冰茶、添加龙舌兰糖浆的饮料、调味果汁、人工甘味饮品、法布奇诺、拿铁咖啡冰沙。
➤能量饮料、运动前能量饮品：这两类饮品含有过量咖啡因与兴奋剂，副作用是恶心与头痛，恐致血压升高、压力增大、睡眠质量下降，饮料里的甜味剂与香料也会破坏肠道与脑部健康。再者，这类饮料的监督力量不够，可能含有毒物与违禁物质。替代品可选咖啡或抹茶。
➤甜味鸡尾酒：鸡尾酒常以酒精与果糖糖浆混合而成，这两类物质由肝脏负责分解，而且有害肝脏健康，损伤肝脏过滤毒素的能力，妨碍果糖转化为葡萄糖，最终导致肝脏无法排毒；多余的果糖变成脂肪存储器内，令三酸甘油脂指数升高，这是脂肪肝成因之一。
➤ 传统苏打饮料：这种饮品会添加糖分，有碍健康。偏好气泡口感的人可选气泡矿泉水或气泡水，加一点莱姆、柠檬、柳橙的果汁调味。美国农业部提出的饮食指南显示，2岁以上的添加糖（added sugar）每日摄取量在热量摄取总值占比应低于10%，例如每天摄取2000卡的人，添加糖摄取量不能超过200卡，相当12茶匙。
➤含糖冰茶：许多冰茶都加了糖，市售瓶装产品的添加糖含量可能不输苏打饮料。2010年研究显示，含糖冰茶与新陈代谢症候群、第2型糖尿病影关。
➤龙舌兰糖浆调味饮品：这种糖浆很受欢迎，常被用来当作食用糖、蜂蜜的替代品，以龙舌兰植物汁液制成，然而这几乎是带着美丽面具的玉米糖浆，果糖含量55%至90%，比许多玉米糖浆的果糖含量还高。果糖摄取过多，会以脂肪形式储存，而且往往累积于腹部；过量果糖对肠道害处很大，肠道敏感者容易腹泻、腹胀，坏胆固醇增加，胰岛素敏感度降低。
➤调味果汁：市售果汁类饮品若标注「鸡尾酒」（juice "cocktail"），通有添加剂，最常见的就是糖分，然而额外添加糖其实没有必要，真想喝果汁，应选100%没有其他添加剂的纯果汁。
➤人工甘味饮品：阿斯巴甜、三氯蔗糖（sucralose）这类「人造糖」会扰乱体内的微生物体（microbiome），损害肠道健康，免疫运作，荷尔蒙、血清素分泌，营养吸收，均会受到负面影响。较好的代糖选项包括甜菊糖、罗汉果糖，在饮用水添加薄荷、罗勒等香草或新鲜水果则是更好的选择。
➤法布奇诺（Frappuccino）：这种饮料等于在喝「甜奶油」，添加糖浆、香料与奶油，含有大量糖分与饱和脂肪，会导致体内增加分泌胰岛素，储存过多脂肪，还会「劫持」脑回路，让人想喝更多。胰岛素增加，会导致胰岛素阻抗与血脂浓度增加，引发新陈代谢症候群。
➤拿铁咖啡冰沙（frozen latte）：这类饮品含糖量可能高于一罐可乐，例如焦糖拿铁。加糖的咖啡饮品是成年人摄取过多添加糖的重要来源之一。
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