Consumers seem to see the link between soft drinks and obesity

Tea Beverage Consumers seem to see the link between soft drinks and obesity, and people often believe that ready-to-drink fruit juices, iced teas,herbal drinks, cordials, sports drinks and some yoghurt drinks are better options than the bubbly, sugary colas. What people do notrealise, unfortunately, is that these alternative beverages can bejust as unhealthy as their fizzy counterparts. Many expertsconsider fruit juice, bottled iced tea or even a flavoured yoghurtdrinks as just another junk drink containing refined sugar - amajor cause of diabetes. The sugar content may be equal to, orhigher than, that in a similar quantity of a soft drink, and may bejust as harmful to health. Akin to soft drinks, many sugar-laden beverages can increase therisk of tooth decay, osteoporosis and metabolic syndromes - aconstellation of health problems from high blood pressure, largewaist circumference and many other health ailments that can belinked to the development of heart diseases and strokes. Becausesugar is addictive, consuming it causes sugar cravings and bingeeating. And frequent consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages mayincrease the risk of diabetes through their excessive calories andlarge amounts of rapidly absorbable sugars. Additionally, anexcessive intake of sugar can cause a rapid rise in adrenalinelevels and hyperactivity in children. According to statistics complied by the ministry's Dental HealthDivision, many children start to acquire a sweet tooth at the ageof four months because they are fed on sweetened milk, yoghurtdrinks and fruit juices, and that may result in toddlers havingtype 2 diabetes. Although type 2 diabetes is typically found inoverweight people over the age of 40, in recent years youngerpeople have been showing signs of the disease. According to theministry's Nutrition Division, a case of type 2 diabetes in an11-year-old Thai child has been confirmed. Though refined sugar is generally unnecessary in any diet, one canconsume a certain amount and still be relatively healthy. Accordingto Dek Thai Mai Kin Wahn (the Sweet Enough Campaign Network), theacceptable amount of sugar varies according to daily calorieconsumption - on a 1,600 kilocalorie diet, limit sugar to sixteaspoons or 22g per day, and on a 2,200 kilocalorie diet, limit itto 12 teaspoons or 44g per day. However, the problem lies in the fact that sugar is everywhere -from ketchup and salad dressing to low-fat ice-cream, peanutbutter, as well as the obvious sugary fruit, yoghurt and tea drinks- and many people have become sugar-addicted without knowing it,said dentist Piyada Prasertsom of the Dental Health Division. For a clearer picture, research by Dek Thai Mai Kin Wahn in 2007indicates that while a 325ml can of soft drink contains between 8.5to 11 teaspoons of sugar, a 500ml bottle of honey lemon green teacontains approximately 15 teaspoons of sugar and a 450ml bottle ofa yoghurt drink contains around 13 teaspoons of sugar.Surprisingly, a tiny 80ml bottle of a yoghurt drink contains up to3.6 teaspoons of sugar. "Tea has been lauded for its antioxidant power, and yoghurt drinksare considered good for stomach health. But apparently,ready-to-drink tea is likely to contain far fewer antioxidants thanfreshly brewed tea. Most people also regard yoghurt drinks as akind of milk. And for many, milk equals good health, and thattotally is a mistake. Some sweet yoghurt drinks can be regarded asquintessential junk food as they are high in calories and sugar butnot high in the other nutrients that you need," said Piyada. "Many drinks contain added honey syrup or have labels that useterms like sucrose, glucose, fructose and high fructose corn syrupto make the products appear to be 'different' or 'healthy'alternatives to other sugary drinks. Actually, they all are sugars,and they can significantly raise your blood sugar level if consumedin large amounts," she said. Even with no sugar added, a fruit juice contains about the sameamount of sugar in the same quantity of a soft drink, said Piyada.A 480ml glass of "100 per cent prune juice, no sugar added", forinstance, contains 36g of sugar or around nine teaspoons of sugarfrom the fructose that's naturally present in the fruit. In thecase of juices made from "concentrates" or "essences", most of thesugar is in the form of high-fructose corn syrup and likely lacksthe advertised benefits. "Many bottled varieties contain little vitamin and fibre, butplenty of added sugars that overwhelm any of the fruit benefits.Although a 100 per cent fruit juice does offer some nutrients, it'snot the same as eating a piece of fruit, as the juice lacks fibre,a key nutrient that a whole fruit provides," said Piyada. What is even worse is that many people nowadays buy bottled juicesfrom street vendors even though their wares have not been approvedby the Food and Drug Administration, said Sa-nga. "You will not getanything in return but loads of sugar, calories and perhaps toxinsthat could harm your health," he said. One specific product or ingredient, however, should not be blamedas the root cause of harmful health. Instead, there are manycontributing factors - from wrong dietary choices and inactivelifestyles to hormonal imbalances. To make the right food and drinkchoices, consumer should insist on getting all the informationabout the product before making a decision, said Yuthasak Supasorn,president of the National Food Institute of Thailand.