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Linda Hamilton, MDFrom the desk of Linda Hamilton:Want to help your family cut down on added sugars, then read on:AMERICANS consume more added sugars than any other society today, about 270 calories or 17 teaspoons of sugar daily, and do not do enough exercise to burn off those calories, resulting in weight gain, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and cancers.Added sugars are not naturally occurring but are added in food products and beverages such as soda, energy drinks, Sport drinks, cookies, candies, cakes, pastries and ice cream.A 20 ounce soda contains 14 tsp of sugar, and a 20 ounce Sport drink contains 13 tsp of sugar.  Red Bull contains 7 tsp in an 8 ounce bottle and Monster contains 14 tsp of sugar in 16 ounces; vitamin water has 8 tsp of sugar in 20 ounces, and Capri Sun juice boxes contain 8 tsp of sugar in an 11 ounce container.It would take 52 minutes of brisk walking to use all the calories in a soda, and 43 minutes to consume the calories in a Sport drink.While soda consumption has decreased in adolescents, Sport drink consumption has increased, primarily in males, Hispanics, African American youth and among those who watch more than 2 hours of television daily. Most of these youngsters do not get enough exercise to consume those extra calories, and they would be better off drinking water.In making healthier choices for your family:   promote water drinking, encourage fruit for dessert rather than cookies, cakes, ...
Source: Pediatric Health Associates - Category: Pediatrics Tags: Healthy Habits Source Type: news