The BBC is reporting that the UK Government will start levying an extra "sugar" tax on sugary soft drinks from April 2018.
Apparently the tax will cause an 8p (10.5 cents US, 9.6 cents Euro) rise in the price of a can of Coke, Pepsi or Irn-Bru, and a 6p (7.8c US, 7.2c EU) rise in the cost of Fanta and Sprite.
Naturally, I like my carbs.
But I don't routinely drink carbonated soft drinks ("soda"), sugar sweetened or otherwise.
The issue is as much to do with the "sugar you don't see" as it is to do with sugar.
After a tiring ride, particularly in the colder part of year, I go for the sort of recovery drink my grandmother would have suggested - hot milk with some sugar added.
Often I add a couple of spoons to a mugfull of milk. Sometimes as much as 4 spoons. But usually two spoons of sugar. The "4 spoon" variant is only after rides of 200km plus, or after maximum speed 100km rides. So not that often.
Lets see how my hot milk compares to a can of Coke.
Sugar in a 330ml can of coke ("regular" size can/tin in the UK) = 7 spoons =35 grammes of sugar.
Mug of milk and sugar (200-250 ml) = 2 to 4 spoons = 10 to 20 grammes of sugar.
But, But, But, the can of Coke has extra "hydration" because it is bigger, you might say.
Well, after my milk and sugar, I have a regular cup of tea. no sugar, So that's an extra 200-250 of "hydration".
But, But, But, what about the sugar in the milk - lactose is sugar, right!
OK, so lets look at the amount of sugar in the milk I drink.
It is 4.7g per 100 ml.
So my cup of hot milk has an extra 9.4 to 12.1g of sugar in it, and my cup of tea (can't be more than 20ml of milk!) has an extra .94g of sugar in it.
So, to sumarise,
a 330ml can of Coke = 35g sugar
a 200-250ml cup of hot milk with 2-4 spoons sugar, followed by a cup of tea with 20 ml milk in it gives 20.4g to 32.1g of sugar,
So even with 4 spoons of added sugar, my "extreme" milk and sugar, followed by a cuppa, still has less sugar in it than a can of Coke.
And how often do I have the 32.1g "extreme" (4 spoon) mix?
Not more than once a month.
How often do I have the "normal" (2 spoon) mix/
Not more than once a week.
And that really is the point.
How many folks just casually drink "regular" soda once or more a day?
By the way, I am not singling out Coke as a bad product, just a typical example of a range of products that are used too much. The same sort of logic applies to pretty much any of the others.
There is a guy in my office that says that "flat" coke is just the thing to perk him up on the later stages of a marathon run (He can run a marathon in 3 hrs exactly, by the way!). The caffeine and the sugar give him a boost.
But remember, he is running a marathon, not sitting down watching the football ...
The underlying problem is really that folks have become less active with ebery passing generation.
Back when the popular brands of soda were invented folks used to walk more, and kids used to play outside more.
But now, with much of the population in Western Countries being "sedentary" (i.e. sitting about for much of the day), most folks just aren't burning off all that sugar like they used to.
Many folks will no doubt switch to the "diet" variants of sodas.
They are not particularly good for you either (Coke has phosphoric acid in it - read the can!), but at least they don't contain all the extra calories of the "regular" versions.
Apparently the tax will cause an 8p (10.5 cents US, 9.6 cents Euro) rise in the price of a can of Coke, Pepsi or Irn-Bru, and a 6p (7.8c US, 7.2c EU) rise in the cost of Fanta and Sprite.
Naturally, I like my carbs.
But I don't routinely drink carbonated soft drinks ("soda"), sugar sweetened or otherwise.
The issue is as much to do with the "sugar you don't see" as it is to do with sugar.
After a tiring ride, particularly in the colder part of year, I go for the sort of recovery drink my grandmother would have suggested - hot milk with some sugar added.
Often I add a couple of spoons to a mugfull of milk. Sometimes as much as 4 spoons. But usually two spoons of sugar. The "4 spoon" variant is only after rides of 200km plus, or after maximum speed 100km rides. So not that often.
Lets see how my hot milk compares to a can of Coke.
Sugar in a 330ml can of coke ("regular" size can/tin in the UK) = 7 spoons =35 grammes of sugar.
Mug of milk and sugar (200-250 ml) = 2 to 4 spoons = 10 to 20 grammes of sugar.
But, But, But, the can of Coke has extra "hydration" because it is bigger, you might say.
Well, after my milk and sugar, I have a regular cup of tea. no sugar, So that's an extra 200-250 of "hydration".
But, But, But, what about the sugar in the milk - lactose is sugar, right!
OK, so lets look at the amount of sugar in the milk I drink.
It is 4.7g per 100 ml.
So my cup of hot milk has an extra 9.4 to 12.1g of sugar in it, and my cup of tea (can't be more than 20ml of milk!) has an extra .94g of sugar in it.
So, to sumarise,
a 330ml can of Coke = 35g sugar
a 200-250ml cup of hot milk with 2-4 spoons sugar, followed by a cup of tea with 20 ml milk in it gives 20.4g to 32.1g of sugar,
So even with 4 spoons of added sugar, my "extreme" milk and sugar, followed by a cuppa, still has less sugar in it than a can of Coke.
And how often do I have the 32.1g "extreme" (4 spoon) mix?
Not more than once a month.
How often do I have the "normal" (2 spoon) mix/
Not more than once a week.
And that really is the point.
How many folks just casually drink "regular" soda once or more a day?
By the way, I am not singling out Coke as a bad product, just a typical example of a range of products that are used too much. The same sort of logic applies to pretty much any of the others.
There is a guy in my office that says that "flat" coke is just the thing to perk him up on the later stages of a marathon run (He can run a marathon in 3 hrs exactly, by the way!). The caffeine and the sugar give him a boost.
But remember, he is running a marathon, not sitting down watching the football ...
The underlying problem is really that folks have become less active with ebery passing generation.
Back when the popular brands of soda were invented folks used to walk more, and kids used to play outside more.
But now, with much of the population in Western Countries being "sedentary" (i.e. sitting about for much of the day), most folks just aren't burning off all that sugar like they used to.
Many folks will no doubt switch to the "diet" variants of sodas.
They are not particularly good for you either (Coke has phosphoric acid in it - read the can!), but at least they don't contain all the extra calories of the "regular" versions.
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