25 Unhealthiest Drinks on the Planet—Ranked by Sugar

When you’re parched, reaching for a soda, iced tea, or juice may be second nature. But oftentimes, quenching your thirst with these drinks comes with consequences. The hard truth: Many of these beverages contain more sugar than you should consume in an entire day. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends getting a maximum of 25 grams of added sugar per day for women and a maximum of 36 grams per day for men—but the less added sugar you consume, the better. Taking in too much added sugar is linked to a higher risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and other serious chronic health conditions.

The easiest way to take in more than a day’s worth of sugar is by drinking it. That’s why we put together the unhealthiest sugary drinks at the supermarket that you should limit, or better yet, try cutting out of your diet entirely. Cross these off your shopping list and replace them with The 10 Healthiest Drinks To Sip, According to Dietitians.

V8 Splash Tropical Blend

 

Don’t be fooled by all the veggies in this drink. While the first ingredient after water is carrot juice concentrate, the third most abundant ingredient in this veggie juice is high-fructose corn syrup, aka a source of sugar. That explains the 17 grams of added sugar—more than 4 teaspoons’ worth—in this drink.

RELATED: The 9 Unhealthiest Juices On Grocery Store Shelves

Oceanspray Cranberry Juice

Although fruit juice provides some of your daily servings of fruit, it doesn’t come with any of the fiber that natural whole fruit offers. That spells bad news for your blood sugar because taking in 23 grams of sugar with zero fiber is likely to spike your blood glucose levels.

Vitaminwater Power-C Dragonfruit

One bottle of Vitaminwater contains your full daily value of vitamin C plus 27 grams of sugar, which is equivalent to nearly 7 teaspoons’ worth of sugar. If you wouldn’t take your multivitamin with spoonfuls of sugar, you’re better off skipping this glorified drink.

Red Bull

Red Bull promises to give you wings but fails to mention the sugar high. One can provides 27 grams of sugar—that’s more than what the AHA recommends women consume in an entire day.

Mott’s Apple Juice

Mott’s boasts that it contains two servings of fruit per every 8-ounce glass of juice. However, that doesn’t justify the fact that a cup contains 28 grams of sugar and zero fiber. For reference, a medium apple offers about 95 calories and 19 grams of sugar along with nearly 5 grams of filling fiber that will help steady your blood sugar levels.

Canada Dry Tonic Water

Believe it or not, tonic water is just soda in a slightly bitter disguise. One 8-ounce serving of the popular cocktail mixer contains 35 grams of sugar, which means a 12-ounce serving would pack about 53 grams of sugar—that’s more sugar than Ginger Ale or regular soda per ounce!

Canada Dry Ginger Ale

Ginger ale is many people’s go-to solution for nausea; however, the amount of sugar in this fizzy drink may do more harm than good. One 12-ounce can contains 140 calories and 35 grams of sugar. Since each gram of sugar contains 4 calories, that means all of the calories in this drink come from sugar. If you’re dealing with an upset stomach, try making ginger tea by grating fresh ginger into a mug, pouring boiling water, and letting it steep before sipping.

Yoo-Hoo Chocolate Drink

Inspiring memories of after-school play dates and simpler times, Yoo-Hoo is one of those iconic childhood drinks that are better off left in the past. First, Yoo-Hoo isn’t even made with real milk—the first (and most abundant) ingredient is water. The second ingredient is high-fructose corn syrup, a source of sugar that contributes to the 36 grams of sugar in this bottle.

International Delight Mocha Iced Coffee Cans

One can of International Delight’s ready-to-drink mocha iced coffee has 36 grams of total sugar, 28 grams of which are added sugars. While some of the sugar in this drink comes from lactose, a natural sugar found in milk, you’re still getting more than a full day’s worth of added sugar for women, per the AHA’s recommendations.

RELATED: 11 Unhealthiest Bottled Coffee Drinks—Ranked by Sugar

Sprite

 

Skip the Sprite. This classic lemon-lime soda is sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, which contributes to the 38 grams of added sugar in each can—that’s about 9.5 teaspoons’ worth of the sweet stuff.

Dunkin Original Iced Coffee

The Original flavor, which seems innocent enough, manages to sneak in 39 grams of total sugar (28 grams of added sugar). If you go for Dunkin’s French Vanilla or Mocha iced coffee, you’ll take in 30 grams of added sugar per serving.

Coca-Cola

A favorite at movie theaters, sports games, vending machines, and burger joints, there isn’t much a classic Coke doesn’t go well with. That is until you realize there’s a staggering 39 grams of sugar in each can.

Community Coffee Vanilla Waffle Cone Iced Latte

One bottle of this ice-cream-inspired latte has 31 grams of added sugar, which is the amount of sugar in 1 ¾ cones of vanilla ice cream. You’re better off enjoying an actual ice cream cone over this liquid sugar latte.

Snapple Peach Iced Tea

We’re not sure what’s more disappointing: Snapple’s logo rebrand or the fact that one bottle of peach iced tea packs 40 grams of added sugar. Indeed, all of the calories in this flavored iced tea come from the sweet stuff.

Pepsi

Pepsi might be Coke’s slightly less popular cousin but it still manages to pack more sugar. Specifically, it has 2 more grams of sugar than Coke. To put things into perspective, one can of Pepsi has more sugar than your typical ice cream sundae.

AriZona Green Tea

Unsweetened green tea is one of the healthiest beverages you can consume—it’s a rich source of antioxidants and provides calorie-free energy. AriZona ruins nature’s energy drink by spiking it with high-fructose corn syrup and honey, which lend 42 grams of added sugar to this drink.

Barq’s Root Beer

With root beer’s signature spicy, almost medicinal, flavor notes, you’d never guess one can has so much sugar—44 grams, to be exact. That’s more than a can of Coke.

RELATED: 25 Healthy, Low-Sugar Soda Alternatives

Welch’s Grape Juice

Sure, it’s made without artificial flavors, GMOs, or high-fructose corn syrup. But that doesn’t hide the fact that Welch’s grape juice contains 44 grams of sugar per 10-ounce bottle. Instead, fill up a cup with fresh grapes for just 62 calories, 16 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of fiber.

Mountain Dew

With 46 grams of sugar and 170 calories, sipping this lemon-lime beverage will supply you with more than a day’s worth of added sugar. If you have a hankering for a refreshing fizzy drink, opt for flavored lemon seltzer instead and your blood glucose will thank you.

Starbucks Frappuccino Coffee Drink

Starbucks’ notorious frappuccino drink comes bottled, and it’s not any better than the frothy, syrupy-sweet drink you’d get from the shop. One bottle packs 47 grams of sugar, which is equivalent to nearly 12 teaspoons’ worth.

Naked Green Machine Juice

Green juice has a super-bright health halo—the problem is, it’s jam-packed with sugar. One bottle of Naked’s version has 53 grams of sugar, mostly coming from apple juice concentrate. If you’re craving a fruity drink, blend up a smoothie with fresh fruit, and remember to keep the produce’s peels on as that’s where all the blood sugar-stabilizing fiber is!

RELATED: 7 Healthiest Store-Bought Smoothies—and 4 To Avoid

AriZona Sweet Tea

AriZona’s take on the popular southern tea sneaks in a whopping 53 grams of sugar. That’s like brewing black tea and dumping 13 teaspoons of sugar into your mug. No, thanks.

Monster Energy Drink

Monster’s name makes sense when you consider it boasts a monstrous amount of sugar. You’ll get 54 grams of the sweet stuff in each can—that’s more than double the AHA recommends for women in a day and a full day’s worth of added sugar for men.

Naked Blue Machine Juice

Much like other Naked juices, the first ingredient in this blue bottle is apple juice concentrate. Because none of the fruits’ skins make it into this bottle, you’re missing out on the fiber, a nutrient that helps stabilize blood sugar levels and prevent spikes.

RELATED: The 30 Unhealthiest Snacks on the Planet

Naked Mighty Mango Juice

The bottle boasts that this juice is blended with 1¼ mangoes, 1¾ apples, ½ an orange, and ⅓ of a banana. However, along with the 57 grams of sugar, you’re not getting a smidge of fiber from these fruits. Skip Naked’s mango smoothie and eat real fruit instead. Better yet, pair your fruit with a source of protein (like low-fat cheese) for a blood sugar-friendly snack.