Manor House School are currently drafting a healthy drinks policy. We are promoting milk and water as the only healthy drinks to be consumed by students in school. This decision is based on recommendations from the HSE and feedback from parents in the Health Promoting School Questionnaire.
What’s wrong with other drinks?
Excess sugar causes tooth decay and can lead to obesity. Drinking sugary drinks in school can cause a massive spike in blood sugars and then a sudden drop in blood sugars, making it difficult to concentrate and learn. Diet or low calorie drinks often have sweetener added to replace sugar, however this is not a healthy option either as carbonated drinks and sweetener also damage the teeth.
How much sugar should we have?
Many drinks have more than the total Recommended Daily Amount (RDA) of sugar in one bottle. For teenagers the RDA is no more than 20 mg of sugar or 4 teaspoons. Look at the following examples:
| Drink | Amount of Sugar |
| 200ml carton of Capri Sun | 4 teaspoons |
| 500 ml bottle Lucozade Original | 4 ½ teaspoons |
| 500 ml bottle Coca Cola | 13 teaspoons |
| 500ml bottle Club Orange | 16 teaspoons |
| 500ml 7Up | 13 teaspoons |
| 250 ml bottle pure orange juice | 4 ½ teaspoons |
| 250 ml bottle Innocent Strawberry & Banana Smoothie | 7 teaspoons |
| 500ml Ribena Blackcurrant | 6 teaspoons |
| 400ml Yazoo Chocolate Milk | 9 teaspoons |
This article on sugary drinks is also quite informative.
Leave a Reply