So, during my journey through cyberspace, I was checking out my Twitter when I found out John Tesh had posted something new about iced coffee. From what I read, a study in BBC News showed that some iced coffees have enough calories to be the equivalent of a full meal. The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) states that maintaining a healthy weight is number 2 on the list of helping to prevent cancer. They took it upon themselves to do some looking into of something we all drink on an average daily basis. What the WCRF can make any health-concious person cry.

200-600 calories are consumed simply through these iced coffee drinks we love, and the worst part is that our brain doesn't register these calories as real food so we eat the same amount we would have eaten even without this coffee drink. I, myself, and my family love Starbucks and their iced coffee drinks so I did a bit of digging into the nutritional value of some of my family's favorite drinks. A caramel frappucino with whipped cream, only the grande size, is 380 calories alone. A caffe latte with whole milk, also grande sized, is 150 calories, and if you switch the whole milk for soy, it's only 30 calories less. It might be time to cut down on the intake of these yummy Starbucks drinks.

I found even more on the harm of liquid calories by going to the Women's Health Magazine website, looking up an article on liquid calories. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 37% of our liquid calories are from sugar-sweetened drinks. This includes sodas, coffees, presweetened iced teas, fruit juices, etc. Barry Popkin, a professor with a Ph.D., said, "People don't reduce food intake when they drink their calfories from soda and other beverages." Anyone could admit to this in themselves. However, Women's Health Magazine included at the end of the article some ways to help reduce the calories as well as what sugary drinks to avoid.

For those of you wanting to watch your caloric intake, be wary of whole milk, alcohol (a single glass of wine can have an average of 100-120 calories), juice (one glass of orange juice has 110 calories), and diet soda (zero calorie sodas are fine, but be sure not to drink too many). Try to keep your liquid calories in the range of water, unsweetened tea, and unsweetened coffee. Even if you sweeten the tea or coffee, it's not going to have as many calories as the premade drinks.

SOURCES:

John Tesh: Intelligence for Your Life. The Tesh Media Group, 2006-2009. Web. 11 Aug 2009. .

Starbucks Beverages and Food Details. Starbucks Corp., 2009. Web. 11 Aug 2009.

Hansen, Tom. "Think Before You Drink." Womenshealthmag.com. Women's Health Magazine, 20 July 2009. Web. 11 Aug 2009.