The short answer is YES. Coffee has more health benefits than soda. While some physicians say soda in moderation is OK, it packs no health benefits. At best, zero-calorie sodas have neutral health effects. Worst case scenario, the calories in sugary sodas wreak havoc on your cardiovascular system and they pack on the pounds around the waist. Generally speaking, coffee is better for you than soda.
There are some coffee drinks out there that are far worse than a soda. Canned coffee drinks are amongst the contenders. We are talking about a mix of coffee and sugar in a can. You know the ones, in the enerby drink section. For many consumers, it is also a chance to indulge in their favorite iced coffee treat without waiting in line at a coffee shop. They get the power of a double shot of espresso and the burst of energy that goes with it, all from something they can get at the gas station.
The ingredients in these drinks might surprise you. They are often laced with additives like chocolate flavoring that increases the calorie count and sodium content. Starbucks’s Doubleshot Energy Coffee Drink, for example, is 210 calories with 2.5 grams of fat and a high sodium level.
Lots of drinks at Starbucks have so much caffeine and sugar in them they drown out the possibility of the coffee providing any health benefit.
A British outfit ran a test that produced some interesting results. This is from a Nutrition advocacy group called Action On Sugar. They used a 12 oz can of coke and a 20 oz Venti Mocha from Starbucks for this test. The Coca-Cola had 33 grams of sugar and a Venti White Chocolate Mocha with whip has 73.8 grams. That is a bit shocking considering can of Coke is a little more than half the mocha in fluid volume.
There are 18 teaspoons of granulated sugar in a medium 20-ounce mocha. The point is you never put 18 sugar cubes or 10 packets of sugar into a 12-ounce coffee or tea drink? Of course you wouldn’t. Now consider that the mocha also has chocolate syrup in it, which contains another big dose of sugar. Whatever the amount of sugar in the chocolate sauce used to make a mocha seems to go unnoticed and unpublished.
To avoid consistently overdosing yourself on sugar, know how to spot a sugary drink and know how much sugar is too much for you. There are some recommended daily allowances available from the American Heart Association.
For Women, limit your added sugar to around 100 calories or 6 teaspoons a day. Thats 30 grams
Men should limit added sugar to around 150 calories or 9 teaspoons a day.
This means you can have 1 soda and then you’re over the limit for the day.