Today's beverages interfere with vitamin and mineral intake

Nutrition Health Review, Spring, 2003

Sugar-sweetened beverages might appear to be a cheap source of energy, but their costs may be higher than once thought.

Michael Finke and Laura Reynolds, researchers in the College of Human Environmental Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia, have found that consumption of sugared beverage reduces a person's ability to meet the daily recommended level of vitamins and minerals (A, E, C, [B.sub.6], [B.sub.12], thiamin, riboflavin, folate, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, niacin, phosphorus) by replacing the more healthful alternatives that typically contain these nutrients.

According to Mr. Finke, the proportion of sugar that individuals consume in their beverages is a strong predictor of whether they will be able to meet vitamin and mineral recommendations for their daily diets.

"One of the greatest changes we've seen in the American diet in the past 20 years is the type of beverages we choose to consume," he said. "For example, as recently as the 1970's, milk was consumed twice as much as soft drinks, but now our consumption of sugared beverages exceeds milk consumption."

The study is the first to show a significant relationship between sugared beverages and recommended daily allowances. These drinks serve as a cheap source of food energy, but they are devoid of vitamins and often replace foods and other drinks that are rich in nutrients. Although an increased consumption of sweetened beverages reduces the intake of all vitamins and minerals, the impact was found to be greatest on calcium and folate intake.

"Previous studies have shown that consumption of corn sweeteners, the primary source of sugars for most of these sweetened beverages, has increased from 19.1 pounds to 82.2 pounds a year between 1970 and 1997," Mr. Finke said." As consumers, we need to learn to pick the food products and beverages that pack the most nutrient-rich punch. Sweetened beverages do not appear to be the best choice."

Although sweetened beverages are the second cheapest source of food energy among major food categories, he recommended that consumers spend a little more on foods that contain the nutrients necessary to stay healthy.