We've grown up hearing ‘you are what you eat’ but what about what we drink?
Many of us will think twice about having a fatty meal but give no thought to having a coffee or smoothie throughout the day.
Well, you might think twice now, some of those drinks count as a meal in themselves and not healthy meals at that.
We all know exercise and healthy food are essential to manage fitness and weight but we're overlooking a hefty problem - the drinks we have in between.
People in Auckland’s Queen Street were shocked when told the calories in their cups were equal to a fatty meal.
Nutritionist Claire Turnbull has analysed some of the common things we're drinking every day.
On average a large smoothie with syrup is 1880 kilojoules – that’s 449 calories. It has 28 teaspoons of sugar and it's the equivalent in energy of eight chocolate chip cookies.
The recommended amount of energy each day for an adult is 8700 kilojoules.
Turnbull explained the number of kilojoules in certain drinks can equal a third of the amount of energy an adult should consume in one day.
“What we're comparing is how much energy is in this drink compared to that total daily amount and some of the drinks we're looking at are about a third of the total amount of energy you need in a day,” she says.
So how can people choose healthier options when buying a smoothie? Turnbull explains that people can still enjoy the drinks whilst being sensible.
“When you're buying a smoothie I would just make sure that you buy one with real fruit in it. Try and get one with low fat milk or low fat yoghurt and just get a smaller one.”
Next to be put under the spotlight was Gloria Jeans iced chocolate with whipped cream. That cup contained 3260 kilojoules, a whopping 780 calories.
There's 22 teaspoons of sugar and the drink is equivalent to eating three slices of pizza.
Turnbull says you’d be looking at a brisk two hour walk to burn off the calories.
The next drink Turnbull looked was a green tea frapuccino. She said it might sound healthy but don’t be deceived.
“People might perceive that a green tea is healthy. It is, when you have it on its own but this one has actually been blended with some cream and it's got a little bit of cream on top,” she explains.
The green tea frapuccino has 3151 kilojoules - that's 753 calories.
It has 27 teaspoons of sugar and is the same as eating one and a half pies.
Turnbull says it’s important for people to think before they drink.
“I think being aware of the frequency that you consume these kind of drinks is important, particularly if you're not that active because it's having a really really high energy snack on top of your meals and if you do struggle with your weight at all, it might not be very helpful,” she says.
And Turnbull adds that using such drinks as a meal replacement is a big no-no.
“Definitely not using these as a meal replacement, no. Purely because they just don't have the nutritional content that a well balanced meal could have.”
In a statement, Starbucks said that frappuccino's are intended as indulgent treats that customers can enjoy occasionally with, or without, whipped cream.
The next drink looked at was an e2 energy drink.
This energy drink contains1370 kilojules to be exact, meaning 328 calories. There's 22 teaspoons of sugar in an e2 and it’s meal equivalent is one and a half moro bars.
Turnbull said the drink was worse than consuming coke or lemonade.
“I guess that you might buy this kind of drink thinking it's a healthy drink to have after sport or after school but really 22 teaspoons of sugar, that is way more than a soda, way more than coke or lemonade in a bottle,” she says
Coca Cola says people should check the daily energy intake percentage on the label.
But Turnbull doesn’t think there’s any need for so-called energy drinks.
“Really it's not the kind of energy you need. You need energy kilojoules from good quality food. It says it's got vitamins and minerals in it, really again, fruits and vegetables are the best place to get vitamins and minerals from, she says.
The drinks experiment is a timely reminder that it's not always about how we're drinking, sometimes it's what we're drinking too.