I'm not sure if maintainers is the best place to post this, but I couldn't figure out where would be better and I thought you guys would be interested.

The 20 Most Harmful Drinks in America

I normally don't drink any of these things (although I did when I was fat, and occasionally have one of those things as a treat), but my eyes have been opened. I'm not really surprised, for example, that a Starbucks Venti Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha with whipped cream has as much sugar as 8 1/2 scoops of ice cream and as much saturated fat as two slices of deep dish pepperoni and sausage pizza. However, it was surprising to see that Snapple sells an "antioxidant water" (it's water, how bad could it be, right?) that has as much sugar as two Good Humor chocolate eclair bars, and there are quite a few bottled green teas and such that really pack in the sugar.

For those who don't want to bother scrolling the whole page to see the worst drink, here it is: Coldstone Creamery 24-oz PB&C. According to the site, it has 2,010 calories (that's a WHOLE DAY'S WORTH of calories in ONE drink), 131g fat (68 sat), and 153g sugar. The post says it has as much sugar as 30 chewy chips ahoy cookies, and as much saturated fat as 68 strips of bacon. Moreover, NONE of Coldstone's shakes, in any size, has less than 1000 calories.

Anyone know of any other beverages to look out for? It's like the Eat This, Not That of the beverage world...

Wow - I love the comparison pictures. And, I love the Starbucks Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha...

I was reading something yesterday about the Chocolate Elvis at Planet Smoothie - 22 oz. = 440 cals, 24g of sugar, 17 grams of fat (3.5 saturated), 14g protein, 72g carbs, 5g fiber. Interestingly, it doesn't sound quite as bad after reading some of these!

ew, the drinks get pretty gnarly looking as the list progresses. but hmm i love the peppermint white mocha's, super comforting in the cold months. i think i'll get the light option from now on though, i can't even burn that many calories through exercise right now.

That was eye-popping. My reaction to the list was there were very few drinks I'd want and all the food looked tasty. My beverages (including my skinny, SF mochas) have to be very low cal because I just love food too much.

Why? Why in the world does any company feel the need to serve/make *drinks* like this?? How much worse would they taste if there were even say 1/3 less sugar and fat??? How do they justify it?

I know no one is putting a gun to anyones head and MAKING them drink it, but think of all those unsuspecting people.

Not only is it mind-boggling, I think it's quite sad.

I keep thinking - few people go to these places, with the exception of cold stone and smoothie king, and just order the drink. So they get some food item of equal ridiculousness to go WITH their drink. Wow.

This hits home for me. In a previous life, a milk shake and french fries was a favorite "meal." Both large, please.

I knew those Starbucks drinks are very high in calories! I go for the skinny versions lol I try very hard not to drink my calories. For the most part I do a great job!

Now, I really just want some bacon. 68 slices...mmmmm.

Those drinks wouldn't be so bad if they came in a small size only, but you can get a venti frapuccino at Starbucks. Who needs a drink that big??

The only calories I drink are milk (in latte form )

Wow... I just sent a text to my mom about the SOBE Green Tea... she loves that stuff. She was completely shocked!

Why would she be shocked by the Sobe green tea? The calories are written right on the label of every bottle.

I can understand being shocked by a shake or a latte, where the calories are generally buried on some company website, if they are available at all.

Glory, it's one of those tricky labels. A quick glance at the nutritional information says the calories per serving are 100. What you may not notice is that there are 2.5 servings per bottle!

WOW! Ive had that red lobster margarita before. Sometimes 2! no wonder I gained so much weight after I turned 21!

Yikes!

Last summer, I was addicted to McDonald's Iced Mocha made with whole milk. I had one M-F on my way to work.

It has 310 calories, 13 grams fat, 42 grams carbs with 35 grams sugar. At least it has a little Vitamin A (290 IU) and calcium (210 mg), but that was my breakfast I am sure I was wired and productive in the morning but crashed in the afternoon, heh!

I could not agree with you more!

Before I was counting calories (by which I mean, up until three weeks ago) I allowed myself the occasional yummy Starbucks concoction -- dark cherry mocha, peppermint mocha, gingerbread latte, pumpkin latte... but always ordered them with two pumps of syrup instead of the usual four and without the whip -- the drinks are so rich you don't even miss it. I have an incredible sweet tooth, but the full four pumps was always too much for me. With two, I could taste the coffee more, and I felt a little virtuous.

Now that I'm counting calories, my occasional indulgence is a nonfat latte. I can't stand the sugar-free flavorings. The aftertaste is horrible to me.

The huge sizes are disturbing. I think 7-Eleven started that trend with big gulps way back when. It's so out of control -- talk about ridiculous portions!

One thing I don't like about this list -- the "drink this instead." Lots of chemical-laden substitutions. Like for the worst water? How about "Drink this instead: water."