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Sugary drinks are beverages with added sugars. They include soda and sweetened tea, as well as sports, energy and juice drinks.
It is easy to consume too much sugar when you drink sugary drinks. One 20-ounce soda can have more than 70 grams of added sugar — that’s more than 250 calories and more than the recommended limit for most people. Other beverages, such as blended coffee drinks, hot chocolate, smoothies and even 100% juice, are also high in calories and sugar.
The companies that sell these drinks spend hundreds of millions of dollars on ads and may try to convince you that sugary drinks can be part of a healthy diet. Despite their claims, it is hard to balance out the health problems caused by these drinks.
Sugary drinks are high in calories and have little to no nutritional value. They can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cavities and weight gain. Water and seltzer are always healthy options — drink those instead.
Follow these tips to help you and your family avoid sugary drinks: