The worst sodas for your health are often refreshing and readily available but can have a negative impact on your well-being. From excessive sugars and artificial flavors to unhealthy additives, regular consumption of these sodas can contribute to a variety of health issues and have potentially long-term consequences. With so many fizzy drink choices available, being informed of which sodas pose the biggest threat to your health will help you make the right decision.
15 Unhealthiest Sodas to Avoid
1. Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew has extremely high sugar content and caffeine levels that make it one of the unhealthiest sodas of all time, by far. In just one 20-ounce portion, there is a whopping 77g of sugar and 55mg of caffeine.
The soda also contains brominated vegetable oil, a binding agent that has been tied to memory loss, headaches, and even loss of coordination. Brominated vegetable oil (BOV) is a dangerous additive that is banned in almost every country except for the United States. Even there, it has been banned in California, which has curbed the sales of the famous neon soda.
2. Crush Pineapple
The high sugar and calorie content of Crush Pineapple makes it one of the worst sodas for your health. Soda drinkers often turn to fruit soda as a healthier alternative, but this is a far cry from the truth.
Fruit sodas often contain more sugar than their counterparts and are loaded with artificial dyes and preservatives. One 20-ounce portion of Crush Pineapple contains 85g of sugar and 320 calories. It also contains two types of yellow dye and the predominantly illegal Brominated Vegetable Oil.
3. Sunkist Fruit Punch
Although the label says fruit punch, Sunkist Fruit Punch doesn’t contain any fruit and is loaded with sugar that can lead to weight gain and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. This sweet soda contains 80 grams of sugar per 20-ounce portion, as well as red dye 40, which is also banned in several countries due to its carcinogenic effects.
4. Cream Soda
Cream soda is famous for its artificial vanilla taste, which, coincidentally, also landed it on this list of the worst sodas for your health. In one 20-ounce portion, there are 79 grams of sugar, mostly in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, which is linked to an increased risk of heart disease. The only positive of this soda is that it doesn’t have any artificial food dyes and no BOV, so it isn’t banned like other sodas on this list.
5. Mello Yello
Mello Yello is a Mountain Dew alternative that has risen in popularity in the past few years, but it is awful for your health with its high caffeine and sugar content, along with artificial colors and flavors. Similar in color to Mountain Dew, this soda contains 77g of sugar per 20-ounce serving, as well as that pesky yellow dye 5. It does contain real concentrated orange juice to give it a citrus flavor, however, which is better than some of the popular fruit-flavored sodas.
6. Mountain Dew Live Wire
A unique take on orange soda, Mountain Dew Live Wire is bad for your health. With 77g of sugar in a 20-ounce portion and both yellow and red dyes, the soda has been linked to hyperactivity. It doesn’t contain BOV though, so the original Mountain Dew variety is still worse.
7. Fanta
Fanta might sound like the makings of a healthy soda, but with the high sugar content and little to no nutritional value, it is just as bad as the rest of the drinks on this list. Most of these sodas contain more than the daily recommended intake of sugar with a massive 76g of sugar per 20 ounces, but at least some of them aren’t loaded with artificial dyes, like the Fanta Mango which is naturally colored using carotene.
8. Diet Coke
Diet Coke contains no sugar or calories and still makes the list of the worst sodas for your health because of its artificial sweeteners. The soda replaces the sugar with aspartame, an artificial sweetener linked to negative health effects.The sugar replacement has been known to falsely spike blood sugar in humans and cause migraines in women, along with disrupting the metabolism and increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes.
If that weren’t enough, aspartame has also been linked to cancer, kidney and liver toxicity, and can cause preterm labor. For this reason, Diet Coke is restricted in many countries around the world, except for the US.
9. A&W Root Beer
A&W Root Beer is an American favorite, but it is loaded with sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Containing 72g of sugar per 20-ounce serving, this soda has well above the recommended daily intake for men and women.
Although A&W Root Beer doesn’t contain any dyes, it does contain sodium benzoate, a preservative used in beverages and processed foods to prevent bacteria growth and extend the product’s shelf life. The preservative has been linked to several health concerns, including hyperactivity in children. But when combined with ascorbic acid, sodium benzoate can form benzene, a known carcinogen.
10. Coca-Cola Vanilla
Like many other sodas on this list, Coca-Cola Vanilla is high in sugar content and artificial ingredients. With 70g of sugar per 20-ounce serving, one of these sodas has twice the amount of sugar that you should be consuming in a day.
Along with being loaded with sugar, Coca-Cola Vanilla also contains high fructose corn syrup and can contribute to weight gain and obesity, along with other related health issues like diabetes and heart disease. The good news is that it contains only natural colorings and preservatives, at least, and is, therefore, the first soda on this list that isn’t banned in Europe.
11. Pepsi
With its sugar, caffeine, and high fructose corn syrup content, Pepsi is the worst unflavored soda for your health. The Pepsi recipe uses more sugar than the Coca-Cola one, and 20 ounces of the original flavor contain a notable 69g of sugar.
If you decide to try the Pepsi Cherry flavor instead, you’ll be drinking 70g of sugar for the same serving. At least there aren’t any banned ingredients in them though.
12. Dr. Pepper
If you’re starting to think that no soda is healthy, that would be correct, as even the famed Dr. Pepper makes the list for the worst sodas for your health. With 65g of sugar per 20-ounce serving, this soda has slightly less sugar than Pepsi. But it does contain artificial flavors, colorings, and that pesky, banned sodium benzoate preservative, so you won’t find this soda in all countries.
13. Pibb Xtra
A Dr. Pepper competitor, Pibb Xtra isn’t much better. With 64g of sugar per 20-ounce serving, that’s still a bit too much sugar to enjoy at once. Additionally, Pibb Xtra contains polyethylene glycol, a compound that is derived from petroleum (yes, like oil) and has a diuretic effect.
14. Sprite
Sprite is another soda considered to be the worst for your health. When compared to its darker counterparts, Sprite only has 63g of sugar per serving. But don’t get too excited, because this clear liquid is secretly packing yellow dye 5 and that illegal preservative sodium benzoate, meaning Sprite is banned in several countries.
15. Starry Lemon Lime
The best of the worst is Starry Lemon Lime, which used to be called Sierra Mist. These sodas look similar to Sprite but contain only 39g of sugar per serving, making this soda the least sweet on the list. There are also artificial flavors and preservatives that make this a drink you should consume sparingly.
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