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This Is the Worst Soda You Should Never Drink, According to Science

We never recommend drinking any type of soda, but there is one you really want to steer clear of, no matter what.

There really is never a good time to drink soda. It's obvious to any and all that soda is not an ideal drink by any means, especially if you're trying to stay healthy. Heavy soda consumption has been linked to weight gain, can lead to type 2 diabetes, and one study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine found that those who drank artificially sweetened drinks such as soda are more likely to die prematurely compared to those who rarely ever drank these types of drinks.

Big yikes.

But there is one very specific type of soda that is the worst of the worst. No, it's not Coke, although we would advise you not to touch a can of that stuff either. This soda, though, is one that simply has nothing redeeming about it. (Instead, focus on making sure you're eating enough of The 7 Healthiest Foods to Eat Right Now!)

So without further ado, the worst soda you should never drink is…

Crush Pineapple

pineapple-crush-soda
Courtesy of brand
Per 12 fl oz can: 190 calories, 65 mg sodium, 52 g carbs (51 g sugar)
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Acacia Gum, Yellow 5, Brominated, Soybean Oil, Yellow 6

Crush soda made its debut in the early 1900s with the classic orange flavor and now, there are plenty of other varieties. The pineapple version of the fruit-flavored soda, though, is by far the one to avoid of the bunch.

Just take a look at the nutrition breakdown of a 12-ounce can. It's packing 190 calories—nearly 200 calories just for one small drink. What's even more startling is the sugar content here. This beverage serves up 51 grams of the sweet stuff. That is more sugar than if you ate five Original Glazed Krispy Kreme Donuts!

The American Heart Association recommends men should consume no more than 9 teaspoons or 36 grams of added sugar per day, and women shouldn't have more than 6 teaspoons or 25 grams per day. All of the sugar in this drink is added—so you're having more than two days' worth with just one can. (If you're looking for a way to stay up-to-date with everything health and food-related, be sure to sign up for our newsletter to get daily recipes and food news in your inbox!)

It shouldn't really come as that much of a surprise how sugary this drink is once you take a look at the ingredients list and see the big offender that is high fructose corn syrup listed second. HFCS  is always a danger. A study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition actually found that drinks that are made with high-fructose corn syrup are indeed linked to obesity. Additionally, this soda contains soybean oil, which another study found is linked to weight gain. So if you sip on a can of Crush Pineapple every day, there is a very good chance you will gain weight as opposed to if you drank water that you added an actual pineapple slice to for some flavor.

If you were under the impression that choosing a fruit-based soda is an overall better option, Crush Pineapple proves that theory to be untrue. Besides the fact that it's high in calories and sugar, the soda also contains the artificial food colors Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. So why are they on the ingredients list? Well, it's how the soda gets its color. It's been said these two additives promote Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) in children. More bad news.

The takeaway here?

When in doubt, it's best to not drink soda, especially not Crush Pineapple. Instead, stick with water. Your body will thank you.

Jennifer Maldonado
Jennifer Maldonado is a senior editor at Eat This, Not That!, specializing in food and health content. Read more about Jennifer
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