20 worst drink in America with healthier alternative

[alfredo]

http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/20-worst-drinks-america-2010

An example

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. those donuts look yummy

[alfredo]

2. And no caffeine

[alfredo]

21. My neighbor owns a bakery. He makes dieting difficult.

[Regret My New Name]

65. Krispy Kreme Donuts are better for us than I thought...

I think I took the wrong lesson from that, aye?

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Holey moley!!!!!!!!!

[givemebackmycountry]

4. Hey! I got an idea!

We need to figure out how to get them there donuts into that there can.
Now, THAT would be a cool drink.

[ima_sinnic]

71. that's the point: the sugar in the drink is equivalent to 6 KK glazed donuts

:hi:

[nxylas]

86. And, it puts money into Michael Weiner Savage's pocket

That's an even better reason not to drink Rockstar.

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. Holy crap!

[devilgrrl]

6. Oy Vey!!!

:puke:

[petronius]

7. Those are some pretty ineteresting comparisons

I would definitely be deceived by a couple of those, and even the ones that are obviously hi-cal (like the McDonald's shake) are a lot worse that I'd have guessed...

[awoke_in_2003]

29. The shake looks yummy...

McD hasn't had good ice cream in years.

[XemaSab]

8. My god

That was an eye-opening display there. :o

[azmouse]

9. Interesting info...

As usual, I like going against the tide.
I drink one can of soda a month on average and I don't drink any of the featured drinks on that site. They sound really disgusting.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tammywammy]

48. I've noticed people at work that drink sodas all day long

To me a soda is a treat, maybe I have one a week at most, and some weeks go by without any. They aren't thirst quenching, they make me thirstier. I do love a cherry Coke every now and then. :)

[azmouse]

51. I kicked the soda habit 20 years ago when I moved to AZ.

It may be a dry heat but dang! it's still hot!! ;) That's when I noticed soda wasn't thirst quenching and I switched to water and iced tea w/o sugar. I still find a soda can taste good but like I said it's maybe once a month.

[tammywammy]

52. My mom never put sugar in our tea when I was growing up

I can't stand sweet tea, it's tooooo sweet. I prefer just a squeeze of lemon in my tea.

[Kalyke]

84. You and me both.

I do drink more than one soda a month, but I buy sodas that have no HFCS in them (including real sugared Coke in the Mexican section of the grocery store - it's in the glass bottle, too!).

But I do limit them. I drink ... maybe three a week in the summer, less in the winter.

However, of the drinks featured - I can say that I haven't had most of them ever and only one or two of them once or twice. Too much sugar. Ick.

[jmowreader]

10. No one here has to worry about drinking that anyway...

seeing as how Michael Savage's son and wife run the company that makes it, and the company headquarters is in the same building as Savage's operation.

[alfredo]

16. Rockstar is owned by Savage?

[Gidney N Cloyd]

26. Technically, I think it's his wife and son who 'own' it.

[alfredo]

27. The money probably goes into the same bank account.

[Supply Side Jesus]

11. Interesting article

That Cold Stone shake blew my mind...

[CTyankee]

13. Mercifully, I drink only tap water, OJ, coffee, tea and wine.

I won't pay the money for those fancy drinks. It's stupid.

This is one of those times when I am thankful that I am so far out of the mainstream of American food culture...

[azmouse]

17. Careful. You'll be accused of "prattling"....

See post #12.

[CTyankee]

20. Don't care...it's how I roll....I'm too damn old to care...

[Warpy]

34. I am, too

I ate my share of rubbish when I was a kid, but even then I'd have drawn the line--did draw the line, in fact--at some of those shakes.

I'd never have bothered with the energy drink, for example. I'd have gone for the 6 Krispy Kremes with a can of Tab.

[The River]

14. Plain H2o

doesn't get a mention???
Too simple? Too obvious?
All the alternatives were sponsored products. Surprised?

[gmoney]

19. #20 gives it a mention, and I think it goes without saying.

I saw it here: http://worldmysteries9.blogspot.com/2010/05/harmful-drinks-in-america.html

Which gives the whole thing on one page, rather than having to flip through 20 pages.

[dkf]

15. I had no idea. Wow.

[TK421]

18. No!!! not the Frappuccino! I love those things

and those energy drinks are absolutely vile...they taste like cough medicine

[tabatha]

22. Why don't they have photos of the good stuff.

Easier to remember?

[d_b]

23. ill stick with water

[xxqqqzme]

24. I have never had any of those drinks.

Some of the equivalents are interesting though..41 oreo cookies? 4 slices of Cherry pie? Just the thought of eating the equivalent makes me gag.

[femmocrat]

36. Same here. I never even heard of most of them.

Disgusting!

[Lochloosa]

25. Water w/ fresh lemon juice for me. No sugar. Nothing better on a hot Florida day.

[awoke_in_2003]

28. The Sierra Nevada Bigfoot...

looks interesting.

[HuckleB]

80. It's fairly good.

And since the alcohol equivalent makes it equal about 3 regular lagers, it's not as unhealthy as they claim.

Or so I say!

:)

[customerserviceguy]

30. Ok, I was with this until #15

It picks on Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot Barleywine.

Leave...my damned beer...alone, you food Nazis!

[Initech]

39. Agreed!!! I'll take the criticism over calorie content but dont touch my beer god damn it!

[alfredo]

81. I just tried a double chocolate stout. Very interesting. Would have liked a

bit more malt flavor, but is was very drinkable.

A coffee stout or oatmeal stout is more to my liking.

It was a good drink after a plate of rapini and garlic over pasta.

[bullwinkle428]

49. They clearly are pretty clueless about beer varieties - barleywine is

NOT the kind of beer that you slam a half-dozen down on a hot summer day after mowing the lawn!! :rofl:

For the uninitiated, barleywine is very intense and bold variation, which is often cellared for years to get the most out of it, and typically enjoyed as a dessert beverage at room temperature!

[Sebastian Doyle]

31. OK, all their credibility went out the door with this one

15. Worst Beer
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (1 bottle, 12 fl oz)

330 calories
0 g fat
32.1 g carbohydrates
9.6% alcohol

Carbohydrate Equivalent: 12-pack of Michelob Ultra

Most beers carry fewer than 175 calories, but even your average extra-heady brew rarely eclipses 250. That makes Sierra’s Bigfoot the undisputed beast of the beer jungle. Granted, the alcohol itself provides most of the calories, but it’s the extra heft of carbohydrates that helps stuff nearly 2,000 calories into each six-pack. For comparison, Budweiser has 10.6 grams of carbs, Blue Moon has 13, and Guinness Draught has 10. Let’s hope the appearance of this gut-inducing guzzler in your fridge is as rare as encounters with the fabled beast himself.

Ummmm.... Michelob Ultra tastes like SHIT. So does Budweiser. Blue Moon is slightly better, but it's owned by Coors, so I wouldn't drink it either.

And yes "the appearance of this gut inducing guzzler" in my fridge IS rare. Not because of this stupid ass review, but because it's a seasonal brew that's only available in the early spring. And a damn good one. :beer:

But a 9.6% beer ain't for everyday drinking anyway, and it's probably too much for the amateur beer drinker in the first place. That would be the people who ever thought Budweiser or Michelob Ultra were viable alternatives to Bigfoot Ale.

[Toucano]

45. Not all their credibility.

They shouldn't have included Bigfoot Ale and compared it to Michelob Ultra (why not just compare it to water?).

It's a fail because one bottle of water-beer is not a serving size. The serving size of Budweiser is at least 6 bottles per person.

My McEwan's Scotch Ale is also 9.5% and 295 calories, but the serving size is three bottles. Three and I'm good to go.

Nobody drinks just ONE beer. It's bad luck.


That Arizona Strawberry Kiwi tea might have fooled me. I mean it say "Vitamin Water". I don't see "Vitamin Water" and think, "Oh, that's gonna be like eating seven bowls of Froot Loops!"

It's a useful guide, but they should have left the beer off.

[Obamanaut]

66. Almost 3 A.M., and this made me LOL.

"Nobody drinks just ONE beer. It's bad luck."

Thanks!

[CBGLuthier]

76. Trois Pistoles. around 9% alcohol 239 calories of fine Belgium style flavor.

Certainly not for everyday but a couple of those will sure brighten any day.

[Sebastian Doyle]

79. Yeah, I like to drink that once in a while, though it's not always easy to find.

Trader Joes rebranded it as their "Xmas Holiday special" this last December, so I picked up a few bottles then. Haven't seen any of it since.

[HughBeaumont]

32. I beg to differ about the "no such thing as a healthy lemonade" comment -

2 sour apples and half a lemon in a juicer. Lots of first-hand Vitamin C and minerals, less sugar than store-bought crap.

[REP]

41. That does sound good.

Thanks for tip. I do love home made lemonade.

[pipi_k]

33. Hmmm....not known for having the most healthy lifestyle ever, yet

for some reason I've never even tried any of those drinks.

Well except for the Sunkist soda, but it's got caffeine so I won't touch it.

But the rest... I'm obviously doing something right.

Or wrong.

depending on how you look at it.

;)

[Gidney N Cloyd]

35. The McDonald's shake seems a little misleading.

On the whole this is a pretty eye-opening list but a massive 32oz shake at 1160 calories seems pretty reasonable and the suggested comparison doesn't seem any better.

McDonald’s Triple Thick Chocolate Shake (large, 32 fl oz)
1,160 calories
27 g fat (16 g saturated, 2 g trans)
168 g sugars

vs:

Hot Fudge Sundae (small, 6.3 oz)
330 calories
10 g fat (7 g saturated)
48 g sugars

[Habibi]

37. I was afraid to open this thread

for fear one of the 20-most-awful would be plain old coffee.

Whew!

[Codeine]

38. I am always astounded when sugar amounts

are actually broken down into figures that are easily grokked, like sugar cubes instead of grams. That SoBe Green Tea has the equivalent of of over FIFTEEN sugar cubes in one bottle! The Sunkist orange soda? Twenty-two! The root beer float? A staggering THIRTY-FOUR SUGAR CUBES! :eek:

[REP]

40. I'm no food puritan, but all of those looked revolting!!

I'm drinking a no-whip mocha now (mo-whip = stays hotter longer + more coffee). That's the froufiest coffee I drink. I drink gallons of fussy tea - pounds of exotic oolong have died for me.

[HughBeaumont]

42. I think the ETNT people make the food look revolting on purpose.

Usually on commercials, you see "Stunt Food" (often times, assembled models) designed to enhance vegetable and sauce color and steroid the meat and buns up a bit. They present the real, flat, gooey, messy, bland-colored, not-all-that-appetizing versions of the food in their books and sites to reflect what you'll actually be receiving and consuming.

Not just the beverages, but the sugar comparison food surrounding them looked messy and untempting also.

[pipi_k]

43. For me, it was the...

Peanut butter and grape juice whatever swill thingy.

It actually almost made me vomit.


Off to have a Pomegranate herb tea.... :7

[Buns_of_Fire]

44. 20 Worst Drinks in America...

20. Snapple Agave Melon Antioxidant Water (1 bottle, 20 fl oz) -- Drink Insread: Beer
19. SoBe Green Tea (1 bottle, 20 fl oz) -- Drink Instead: Beer
18: Rockstar Energy Drink (1 can, 16 fl oz) -- Drink Instead: Beer
17: Starbucks Vanilla Frappuccino (1 bottle, 13.7 fl oz) -- Drink Instead: Beer
16: Sunkist (1 bottle, 20 fl oz) -- Drink Instead: Beer
.
.
.

(Any idea where I'm heading in all this?:beer:)

[azmouse]

46. Let me guess...

Drink more beer? :woohoo:

[Buns_of_Fire]

53. Beer / Yes, beer / Is good for you...

It makes you pee / And keeps you healthy / Too...

Ben Franklin would approve.:)

(Actually, #15 would have been a Starbucks Caramel Macchiado Gigantor, but a Guinness Extra Stout is always an acceptable substitute. Beer -- It's Not Just For Breakfast Anymore!)

[alfredo]

55. Try Founders Breakfast Stout.

It'll cure what ails you.

[Sebastian Doyle]

58. Breakfast Stout? Let me guess.. it's got coffee in it?

Used to drink Red Hook's Double Black Stout which was brewed with Starbucks coffee. Great stuff, but they stopped making it. :evilfrown:

They bring it back every few years as a "seasonal" but it's not easy to find and disappears pretty fast when they do. You would think they could take the hint from that and make more :beer:

[alfredo]

61. I'm generally not a stout drinker, but I make an exception for that.

I'm enjoying a nice porter. I'm usually a hop head.

[alfredo]

82. It has Chocolate and Kona Coffee. It will knock your socks off.

A review: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/11757

They seem to have problems with labels. My label was upside down, but there is nothing wrong with the beer. Their Centennial IPA is a real winner.

[Buns_of_Fire]

90. If I can find either one of them, I'll definitely give 'em a shot! Thanks!

The ghost of Ben Franklin surely smiles upon us. :beer:

[alfredo]

92. And we're supporting an American industry.

[tammywammy]

47. I've never had any of those

And a few I've never even heard of. The one energy drink I do have occasionally is the lo-carb Monster, which they listed as the alternative to Rockstar. Even then I don't drink it that often, maybe really only one soda a week, the rest of the time it's water or unsweet iced tea.

edited to add: My one indulgence every couple of months is a small banana shake from Sonic. Yum.

[MODem75]

50. I'm not switching to light beer.

Never!

[alfredo]

56. Hell, if you are going to drink, at least drink something with flavor. You

pay more, but you get more. Buy American. There's many fine American owned breweries that are making real beer. Do some research at beer advocate or rate beer.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

54. Wow, there's your obesity epidemic right there

The only one I've ever indulged in is the MooLatte, but no more!

[DainBramaged]

57. I have a Monster or Rockstar coffee energy drink every morning with my medicine

gets my heart pumping and gives me lots of B vitamins. ONLY 180 calories a can............

[harry_pothead]

59. All this talk about beer

I'm opening me up a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale.

:beer:

[alfredo]

72. Beer contains: magnesium, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, biotin, and B vitamins.

It tastes good too(depending on the beer and personal tastes). My wife loves the bready wheat beers. I like porters and IPA/APA./ESB Chocolate and oatmeal stouts find their way into my fridge from time to time. One beer a night is enough for me.

Domestic beers like those made by Great Lakes, Stone, Bells, Alesmith, and Brooklyn are pure beers. Avoid adulterated beers like you see from Coors, AB, and Miller. Beer doesn't need chemicals. It is good as is. Look for beers that use real hops, not hops extracts.

Like Michael Pollan says about food, holds true for beers: pay more (for real food) eat (drink) less.

[Statistical]

83. My wife made a roast in slow cooker with Newcastle

Yummy. And I drank one (or more) with it.

Good choice in beer.

[Hempathy]

60. Thankfully, the Steak-n-Shake double chocolate fudge sippable sundae didn't make the list...

They have "Happy Hour" everday from 2-4pm, when all of their drinks are half-price.

a LARGE double-chocolate fudge sippable sundae for $2..? I usually have 4-5 of them every week.



BUT- I DO make my own lemonade- juice 5 lemons and 1 lime, strain out the pulp, add 7/8 cup of sugar, add 1/2 gallon of cold water, stir. serve over ice.

[alfredo]

62. It's been so long since I've had a shake. They make good shakes.

[kevinbgoode]

69. God...I miss Steak n Shake. . .:)

The closest one to me is about 50 miles away. . .and if I was living there I'd be in on that happy hour special too!

I do love their steakburgers, and their chili . . .makes me want to drive to one this week!

And i have not had one of those sippable sundaes....but I love their shakes. . .

[Lorien]

63. A 2,000+ calorie drink??

Talk about wasting more than a day's caloric intake!

[hyphenate]

64. One of my prescriptions

makes cola drinks taste horrible to me, so I can't have my Pepsi anymore. Without the Pepsi, I rarely drink carbonated beverages anymore at all, except for the occasional ginger ale when I'm out and it's too late for me to drink iced tea (because of the caffeine).

Otherwise, it's iced tea or Gatorade for me for the most part, with some hot tea or a really rare Coffee Coolata from Dunkin Donuts.

I'm sure some of these purveyors of beverages try to keep the public hooked on their concoctions, and would hide the whole horrible details on their labels with such small print you'd need a magnifying glass to read them if they had to.

[Tindalos]

67. Ascorbic acid = vitamin C

Big words are scary. So are those drinks and I've no desire to try any of them.

[moriah]

68. You beat me to it...

.... that's what I was about to say.

Lately I've been drinking three varieties of Crystal Light -- one with 80mg of caffeine and 10 calories when mixed in a 16 oz water bottle, one with 120mg of caffeine and 10 calories, and one with 30 calories and electrolytes when I work out. Can't really beat that, especially in comparison to Gatorade. They only come in a box with the little individual packets, but a box of 10 of the caffeinated ones or 7 of the electrolyte ones is $2.00.

Much cheaper than Powerade Zero or a diet cola from a machine.

[Tindalos]

73. Coffee and tea drinker here

I prefer hot drinks, even in summer, with a touch of soymilk and maybe a spoonful of sugar if I need an energy spike. Crystal Light is ok too but I prefer herbal teas for flavouring water.

Those fancy drinks aren't just expensive, they're also huge. I can't drink/eat that much in one sitting.

[Bonobo]

70. Great OP. Thanks.

I watched it with my wife and kids and it was a good educational tool for them to see it laid out like that. Recommended.

[Desertrose]

74. I just gained 20 lbs reading the article!

OMG. I think I'll stick with my water & red tea.

No wonder Americans are so unhealthy.

[alfredo]

75. It's going on 3 years since I've had a soft drink. I don't miss them.

[RedCappedBandit]

77. Easiet thing people trying to lose weight can do is stop drinking calories, imo.

That said.. some of those shakes would sure make a good bulk meal :P


Edit: After reading this thread I am inclined to mention that people should stop drinking calories except for BEER! :)

[Statistical]

87. Yup 20oz soda = up to 250 calories.

2 sodas a day = 500 calories. 7 days a week = 3500 calories. 1lb of fat energy content = 3500 calories.

If nothing else changes that is roughly a pound a week in weightloss just by dropping soda.
Cut another 250 calories a week and do some walking/jogging/cardio 3 time a week and you can get some real change.
It really is the simple things. Most people try to do to much. Kill themselves in the gym for 3 hours or try to starve going from 2500 calories a day to 1400 calories a day. Simple small changes can add up to real change.

I use to drink Starbucks/DD 3-4 times a week. Switched for home brew with 2 packets of Truvia and a shot of half and half.
40 calories vs 600. Plus saves $700+ a year. :)

[HuckleB]

78. Did anyone ever claim that a Bigfoot Ale was health food?

Hmmmmm.

[muriel_volestrangler]

85. Some of these are dumb comparisons

Like the one for the illustration in the OP:

Rockstar Energy Drink (1 can, 16 fl oz)

280 calories
0 g fat
62 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 6 Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnuts

What's 'bad' about an energy drink having sugar in it? That's the whole damn point of energy drinks. They give you lots of energy, quickly. Of course, the 6 doughnuts give you far more calories, overall, but they come mostly as starch, rather than the sugar which people drink energy drinks for.

Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnuts: 217 calories per doughnut

[alfredo]

88. Is it real sugar, or HFCS

[muriel_volestrangler]

89. HFCS is real sugar

However, if you meant to ask "what sugar(s) does it contain", the answer is sucrose and glucose: http://www.rockstar69.com/productIngredients.php?pdt=1

Looking at the ingredients, it's got a lot of other crap that makes me suspicious. I suspect the bad thing about the drink is its price.

[alfredo]

91. And who is profiting from it.

[flvegan]

93. Ahh...the crap that some folks put in their bodies.

Not the beer though. All beer is good, and if you drink it cold enough, I hear that the calories don't count.

[guardian]

94. my favorite 'drink'

Dairy Queen Heath Bar Blizzard