How many calories in mcdonald’s sweet tea large

Americans have a tough time estimating just how harmful a beverage can be.

In his book Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, Dr. Brian Wansink reveals people typically underestimate the number of calories they drink by about 30 percent.

For some reason, we have a tough time believing what we sip can be just as innutritious as what we chew.

But as the beverages on this list prove, junk food can absolutely come in liquid form.

Many of these choices are stuffed with massive amounts of added sugar. Frequently choosing high-sugar beverages is a serious hazard to your health. Not only can it lead to poor body composition, but it significantly increases your risk of several unfavorable health outcomes.

Regular consumption of beverages high in added sugar has been associated with an increased risk of cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The American Heart Association recommends a limit of 24 grams per day for women and 36 grams per day for men.

Saturated fat is also a major concern with some of these drinks. Eating too much saturated fat drastically increases your risk of high cholesterol, which in turn can have a negative impact on blood flow and oxygen transportation throughout the body.

The American Heart Association recommends that no more than 6% of your daily calories come from saturated fat. For a 2,000-calories-a-day diet, that translates to a limit of 13 grams of saturated fat each day.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the worst beverages out there and detail how they can sabotage an athlete’s body.

McDonald’s Sweet Tea

Unsweetened iced tea and many herbal, black and green teas have numerous health benefits (most are rich in antioxidants). Those are great.

But the canned or bottled versions and the sweetened teas you find at most restaurants are ones you have to watch out for.

McDonald’s offers a large Sweet Tea for a little over a dollar.

It contains 160 calories and 38 grams of sugar. Since unsweetened black tea contains no sugar, it’s safe to assume all 38 grams of sugar are of the “added” variety.

So a large McDonald’s Sweet Tea, alone, exceeds the AHA’s recommended limit of 36 grams of added sugar per day for men.

Drinking that much sugar so quickly wreaks havoc on your blood sugar, leading to crashes in the near term and increasing your risk of negative health consequences such as obesity and high blood pressure.

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte

A small cup of coffee is low in calories and healthy. Add in a dash of cream and a spoonful of sugar and it’s still not nutritionally terrible. But some of those flavored coffee creations you find at coffee shop chains are downright dreadful.

Flavored lattes—especially the seasonal offerings—are some of the biggest offenders.

Starbucks’ ultra-popular Pumpkin Spice Latte is little more than junk food in a cup.

A 12-ounce Pumpkin Spice Latte packs in 300 calories, 11 grams of fat, 40 grams of carbohydrates and 39 grams of sugar.

That’s more calories than a six-piece Chicken McNuggets, more fat than five Rice Krispies Treats, and roughly the same amount of sugar you’d find in a can of soda.

Many frappuccinos and mochas are equally atrocious. A good rule: if the name sounds like something you’d eat for dessert (white chocolate, double chocolatey chip, salted caramel, cinnamon dolce, eggnog, etc.), you shouldn’t drink it.

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