How much Sugar, Calories & Alcohol in your drinks?

We’ve heard it before; you are what you eat. Everything should be done in moderation - but how often do you check the sugar, calorie or alcohol content of your favourite food and beverages? 

Most importantly, do you know how much of these ingredients you should be consuming and the effects they can have on your health if you have too much? 

Just because it says sugar-free, low-fat or alcohol-free - doesn’t mean it’s good for you, which is why it’s so important to read the label.

So, we compare our East Forged cold-brew teas with other popular drinks to uncover which are the healthiest of all.

1. Sugar

Too much sugar is bad for your health, and can lead to serious conditions like high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that ‘free’ or added sugars make up no more than 10% of our daily intake. 

For an adult of healthy body mass index (BMI), this works out to be able 12 teaspoons or 50 grams of sugar per day.

• What is Sugar?

Sugars are carbohydrates that occur naturally in some foods like Yuzu fruit, but they can also be added to foods and beverages as a way to enhance flavour. Sugar is used by the body for energy, like carbs. Which means, eating too many sugars and not using the energy is a quick way to increase your body weight - and not in a good way. 

This table shows the sugar content in some of our favourite drinks. They’re listed in order from least to most and you may be surprised to find G & T’s in the middle and alcohol-free beer towards the end of this list!

Even if the label says sugar-free or health drink it doesn’t mean that it’s good for you. These products normally contain fake sugars like Aspartame or Xylitol which are known to be very bad for you.

2. Alcohol

Alcohol (ethanol or ethyl alcohol) is a depressant drug, which slows the messages between the brain and the body. It’s made by fermenting a natural source of sugar with yeast, which turns into carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol. 

According to the Department of Health guidelines, healthy men and women should drink no more than 10 standard drinks per week and no more than 4 standard drinks a day. 

Well, we think that sounds like a lot, and probably not something you want to do every day! Roughly 20% of alcohol is absorbed through the stomach and the remaining 80% is absorbed through the small intestine. Alcohol is metabolised by the liver, where enzymes break down the alcohol.  

• How does alcohol affect you?

It depends on your age, health and how much you drink, but excessive consumption can have a negative impact on your physical and mental health and even increases the risk of illnesses like diabetes and cancer. 

At the very least, drinking too much booze can lead to poor decision making, accidents, and injuries. Not to mention hangovers. In extreme cases it can even lead to alcohol poisoning and liver failure!

In the table below we look a little closer at the alcohol content in some of our favourite drinks, in order from least to most. 

* Some of these drinks contain small quantities of alcohol, up to 0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV), but are able to be labelled as non-alcoholic according to Food Standards Australia New Zealand 

3. Calories

A calorie is a unit of energy and it's a way of describing how much energy your body  gets from eating or drinking. When you eat more calories than you need, your body stores the extra calories as body fat. In fact, even fat-free foods have a lot of calories.

It’s estimated that adult women should eat 2,000 calories per day and adult men should eat 2,500 calories per day. , but it all depends how active the person is. If you’re trying to lose weight, eating less calories will be helpful, but it also depends on what you eat and how much exercise or physical activity you will do. In case you're wondering, 1 calorie is equal to 4.2 kilojoules. 

• Trackers

There are lots of free apps available that allow you track  your calories or kilojoule intake, as well as online calculators can provide recommendations based on your height, sex, weight and fitness. 

We recommend talking to a medical professional - such as a GP or nutritionist -  before making any lifestyle or big health changes.  

See the number of calories in some of your favourite drinks -

And the healthiest drinks are…

Information is power! Knowing exactly what’s in your food and beverages is so important to be able to make the best choices for you and your health goals! So what’s the final verdict – what are the healthiest beverages around? 

Our top 5 drinks to enjoy if you’re keeping an eye on your sugar, calorie and alcohol intake: 

1. Still or sparkling/ soda water - add fresh mint, and a slice of lemon or lime to zhuzh it up a bit 
2. Black, green or herbal tea - choose a quality loose-leaf and there’ll be no need for milk or sweetener
3. East Forged – shake, psssch, pour… it’s fun, alcohol free, low in sugar and calories too. Get your East Forged today.
4. Kombucha – check the ingredients list first  for sugar and calories content
5. Light beer – may be lower in sugar and alcohol content, but still high in calories

Check out the full comparison table below.

Contributing Guest Author:

Mia Ferreira is a Professional Writer, PR and Social Media Consultant and a dedicated Iyengar Yoga teacher based in Melbourne. She is currently enrolled in the prestigious Professional Writing & Editing course at RMIT - with the dream of becoming a published author on day. Mia is also a self-confessed tea addict!