US beverage guidelines

According to the US Beverage Guidance Panel, Americans consume 21% of their daily calories from beverages. Experts recommend this should be reduced to 10%.

The Panel has developed guidelines for six categories of beverages according to their relative virtue in terms of calories and nutrients, advising caution for all except water.

Earlier research published in the January 2007 issue of the American Journal of Public Health calculated that switching 3 sugar sweetened drinks a week to water for 12 months would reduce a person’s energy intake by 24,336 calories.

The International Bottled Water Association recently compared calories and sugar in a number of beverages:

Water at the bottom comes out on top.