Whether you are on a hardcore diet trying to lose major pounds or just someone trying to stay in good shape, you should be aware that there are a lot of so-called “healthy” drinks out there that will do you more harm than good. To help you steer clear of these devilish drinks, Men’s Health has compiled a small list of 5 of some of the most unhealthy drinks. The drinks, inside…
5. Worst “Healthy” Drink
Glaceau VitaminWater (any flavor 20oz bottle)
130 calories, 33 grams of sugar.
Vitamins and water might seem like a good idea but what they don’t advertise is that this water contains nearly as much calories and sugar as a can of soda. It should be no surprise that this stuff is made by The Coca-Cola Company.
4. Worst Juice Imposter
Arizona Kiwi Strawberry (23.5 oz can)
360 calories, 84 grams of sugar.
These bottles which are just 5 percent juice cost 99 cents which makes them one of the cheapest source of empty calories in the country.
3. Worst Smoothie
Jamba Juice Peanut Butter Moo’d Power Smoothie (30 oz)
169 grams of sugar, 30 grams of fat
Whether you call it a smoothie or a milk shake, it has more sugar than a bag of chocolate chips.
2. Worst Summer Cocktail
Pina Colada
625 calories, 75 grams of sugar
Because of the super sweet pineapple juice and fatty coconut milk, the only wise thing to consume here may be the garnish. Try a lime daiquiri or mojito instead and save 400 calories.
1. The Unhealthiest Drink In America
Baskin Robbin’s Large Heath Bar Shake (32. oz)
2,310 calories, 266 grams of sugar, 108 grams of fat
73 ingredients go into this milk shake.
66 teaspoons of sugar.
11 Heath bars equal the calories in this shake
8-12 minutes to consume this drink.
240 minutes on a treadmill running at a moderate pace to burn it off.
America’s Unhealthiest Drinks Exposed [Men's Health] (Thanks to Robert!)
(Photo: Getty)
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Remember that your body does not factor in liquids when it calculates how many calories it has intaked. Water is great for you.
I used to drink a Twinlab product called “Ultrafuel”. It was a great split of sugars and complex carbs. 12 oz was 400 CALORIES and only 99 cents (a lot more expensive now). You don’t drink it for its flavor, either.
Think of Gatorade, but 10x denser.
what, no caffeinated beverages? Surely a Frappucino would be up there…
I LOVE strawberry kiwi! Dammit….
Holy crap! It’s nice to know that if I wanted to have a Heath Bar shake, that I couldn’t eat absolutely anything else for the rest of the day if i want to stay within my calorie allotment…All I need it a Wendy’s Baconator and I’m all set for the rest of the week!
Peanut Butter Moo’d is the shizzle, and the only way my girl lets me get away with drinking one is my lame excuse that “it’s healthy”. Now I’ll have to send her a wide selection of Sex & The City & gossip site links today in the hopes she won’t click on the Consumerist while she’s at work. Thanks guys!
10 minutes on the lips, 10 years on the hips
66 teaspoons of sugar?!? Thats 1-3/8 cups. Insanse.
Vodka and ice? 100 calories. Winner.
@halftank: Actually, Frappuchinos aren’t that bad. They’re not good unless you get them made with light mix, but they’re not claiming to be healthy. As far as ‘desert’ drinks go, even a venti mint mocha chip with not-light mix and full whipped cream and drizzle and everything only has 600 calories.
Feels so weird after looking at the ‘only’, but after that 2300cal one…
If you get the light mix, you’re looking at cutting it to about 300 calories – still for a venti, even.
Its an old wives tale that sugar is bad for you, after all, your brain runs on it.
@Git Em SteveDave: So I can drink all of the soda I want?
Seriously though, I noticed something similar to the comment for the first item the other day — our work fridge is being surreptitiously stocked with bottled green tea ostensibly as a “healthy alternative” but the stuff has almost the same amount of calories and sugar that a bottle of Coke does.
@44 in a Row: 8 ounces of Vodka and Cranberry (4 of each) is like 200. Just so you know.
Do people not look at the handy caloric info on the sides of things?? And sure the BR shake might not have that info on it, but come on. You don’t taste the thousands of calories of sugar??
@badgeman46: Yeah and diabetics die from it when there’s too much of it in their system. They go blind and lose liver and kidney function thanks to it, too.
@synergy: Moderation.
Get off my sugar, man!
@Tracy Ham and Eggs: @44 in a Row: You fancy kids with your mixed drinks and ice. Oh ladida. Give me some warm whiskey neat.
@HIV 2 Elway: cheers to that!
Vitamin Water wasn’t originally owned by Coca-Cola. They just bought it because it was doing so well.
@Tracy Ham and Eggs: How about straight Vodka?
I’d be more concerned about the 73 ingredients that go into it. Geez..
Jamba Juice has the ingredient list right on the menu. If you can’t figure out that something where the primary ingredient is “ice cream” is full of fat and sugar, heaven help you.
“11 health bars equal the calories in this shake”
11 health bars? Wow, that must be one healthy shake!
Back in my younger days I used to drink large milkshakes regularly (like once every two weeks) and now I can’t tell you the last time I had one.
Diet Pepsi all the way for me. Water for some strange reason gives me a stomach-ache when I drink a lot of it.
@MayorBee: I just looked at the original article and it’s 11 Heath bars. Doesn’t seem so healthy now. But 73 ingredients? At $4 or $5 dollars, it’s a steal at less than 7 cents an ingredient!
I looked at [baskinrobbins.com] and found the Heath milkshake. It says, for a 24 oz serving that the shake contains 1,420 calories. Upsized to the 32 oz that the article shows should only be 1,893 calories, not 2,310. Still, it’s not good for you, but where’s the difference coming from? Am I missing something?
It’s also interesting that the darker the beer, the fewer calories it has. Corona is one of the highest calorie beers, whereas Guiness is among the lowest.
@homerjay: Snapple is your friend, friend.
@battra92: must be allergic to water
Kind of disappointed in this list. Thought it was gonna be the top 5 unhealthy all-around.
I’m going to have to pass this article on to my ex-roommate. He always scoffs at me when I have my can of coke and he is swigging from his vitamin water, even though I’ve pointed out what this article plainly states– That stuff has just as many calories as my coke!!!
I’ve found that when I’m trying to cut back and I am really craving a sweet drink, those crystal light packets you mix in water bottles really go a long way to curbing the craving. They are 10 calories per bottle, but you just have to watch out for what flavors you try, because some of them are nasty. Raspberry Lemonade is good though!
vitamin water uses “crystalline fructose” as its sweetner…. which is a fancy way of saying HFCS. don’t drink it. sobe life water uses real sugar, which is much better – but the healthiest option in this category has to be langers “H2O”, which uses organic cane sugar and is often cheaper than the other two (but much more difficult to find).
@MalcoveMagnesia: That’s a risky trade off. You gotta ask yourself, which would be a bigger loss: skipping this smoothie or having to acknowledge S&tC exists.
Either way, good luck, we’re all counting on you.
…Peanut butter in smoothies? What? Uh? That sounds horrible.
MmmmmMMMmmmmm. Green tea…. I think I feel like brewing myself some iced tea!!!
Drink your own urin, but do it before it cools off.
It’s also interesting that the darker the beer, the fewer calories it has. Corona is one of the highest calorie beers, whereas Guiness is among the lowest.
Plus Guinness has all sorts of health benefits:
“In the study, Guinness proved twice as effective as Heineken at preventing blood clots. Guinness is loaded with flavonoids, anti-oxidants that give the dark color to many fruits and vegetables.
These anti-oxidants are better than vitamins C and E, the study found, at keeping bad LDL cholesterol from clogging arteries. Blocked arteries also contribute to erectile dysfunction, as does overindulgence in alcohol.
Guinness has a higher concentration than lighter beers of vitamin B, which lowers levels of homocysteine, linked to clogged arteries. And researchers have found that anti-oxidants from the moderate use of stout might reduce the incidence of cataracts by as much as 50%.”
@Wormfather: Yeah otherwise it’s disgusting.
@synergy:
It’s not the intake of sugar that kills us diabetics….it’s the lack of insulin…….that’s the way I look at it at least…..lol!
Type I for over 20 years….and I am 5’9″ and weigh 140lbs on a good day…..
I just don’t get the vitamin water trend. When you break it down it’s like saying “I’m too good for water” and “I don’t eat right” all in one single action.
“Check it out, my urine is fluorescent yellow! The vitamin water is vitalizing me!”
I love Vitamin Water. I know it’s got calories and sugar, but hell, it’s getting me a few vitamins and is tastier than most sodas.
Sweet Jebus!
What’s healthy about that shake from Baskin Robbins, seriously?
Who are their health experts? Those two fat twins on the mini mo-peds?
@darkryd: HEATH not HEALTH
Probably the only Men’s Health article I care about.
@jammadave:
Might wanna search up Vitamin Water in this site then. I already didn’t bother with the stuff since the emphasis is flavor (plus having 50 cent market them). The posts here convinced to never give it a chance again.
@cmcd14: must be allergic to water
LOL, I doubt it. I can drink water when I’m eating something salty like pretzels so maybe it’s just the way my body absorbs it.
@strangeffect: I try not to even let it touch the air.
Seriously that shake has got to be the best thing in the world, ever.
@MayorBee: They must melt a stick of butter into the 32oz version or something.
Damn! I didn’t even know Baskin Robbin’s had a heath bar shake. Just the phrase alone gets me giddy. *Sigh* and it is forbidden fruit on top of it. But nothing, NOTHING is worth 4 (^&^%&^$!!! hours on a treadmill.
@44 in a Row: I like the way you think! Don’t forget to add a percocet
Try VitaRain from Costco……tastes good and no calories or fat.
Flavored using some Splenda, so its not uber-healthy, but its a heckuva lot better than Vitamin Water.
Ahh! No mention of any energy drinks! Those MUST be healthy then! Time to go to 7-11 and stock up.
Note: If you see an explosion in Irvine don’t worry it’s just me…
BUT CAN’T EVERYONE RUN FOR FOUR HOURS?@Ash78: vitamin b ftw! it’s like apparently those azo uti cranberry tablets can turn your pee magenta. i feel the need to experiment.
i’ve never had any of these and only had vitamin water a couple times and decided it’s kinda gross. iced tea is really so much more awesomer. it comes in so many flavors and is all tops 5 calories per gallon.
@Squot: and frap mix is actually made with nonfat milk.
Just for comparison’s sake:
16 oz 1% milk =
220 calories
5g fat
240mg sodium
24g sugar
18g protein
20% dv vitamin a
4% dv vitamin c
60% dv calcium
50% vitamin d
8% folic acid
Hang on. I’m pretty sure that crystalline fructose (the vitamin water sweetener) is produced from fruit, while HFCS is produced by hydrolyzing the shit out of corn byproducts. That’s different.