Sugary Drinks Facts

Drink healthier

Five friends in their 20s laugh as they sit together at a table in a cafe. A water bottle, water glasses and cups of coffee are on the table.

Aussies are bombarded with a huge amount of sugary drink marketing every day.

What these companies don’t advertise is the serious damage that having sugary drinks regularly can do to our health. Too many sugary drinks can cause cavities and contribute to weight gain, increasing the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and 13 types of cancer.

Woman drinks water

How to break a sugary drinks habit

Ditch the all-or-nothing mindset.

    Read more

    If you want to drink healthier, but aren't sure where to start, we're here to help. Find out more about the alarming amount of sugar in different drinks, calculate how much sugar you're drinking each week, or learn how to take your first steps towards breaking up with sugary drinks.

    Sugary drinks calculator

    How much sugar are you drinking?

    You might be surprised at how it all adds up.

      Calculate now

      Healthier drink ideas

      We all know that water is the healthiest drink. But sometimes that just doesn’t cut it when you’re struggling to resist the temptation of a soft drink. Try our tasty low- and no-sugar drink ideas to help you confidently break up with sugary drinks.

      Blueberry, pineapple and sage water

      Blueberry, pineapple and sage water

      A delicious drink for a hot day!

      5 min
      0 min
      6
      Breakfast smoothie

      Breakfast smoothie

      A creamy banana smoothie, perfect as a quick snack or a breakfast on-the-go!

      3 min
      0 min
      2
      Cherry creaming soda

      Cherry creaming soda

      When the sparkling water hits the frozen cherry mixture this drink fizzes up like a volcano!

      5 min
      0 min
      2
      Choc cherry bomb

      Choc cherry bomb

      This decadent drink is so thick and creamy you'll need a spoon to get through it!

      5 min
      0 min
      2
      Coffee blizzard

      Coffee blizzard

      Dump the added sugar laden options available from the servo and switch to this easy peasy blended iced coffee

      5 min
      0 min
      2
      Cucumber skewers

      Cucumber skewers

      A delicious drink for a hot day!

      10 min
      0 min
      6
      Frozen fruit ice cubes

      Frozen fruit ice cubes

      A delicious drink for a hot summer day!

      5 min
      5 min
      6
      Iced latte

      Iced latte

      Make the sugary drinks switch with this quick and easy iced coffee.

      5 min
      0 min
      2
      Iced London fog

      Iced London fog

      We've adapted the classic British beverage to help you stay cool in a sweltering Aussie summer.

      7 min
      0 min
      2
      Peach and rosemary iced tea

      Peach and rosemary iced tea

      Enjoy this beautiful tea with Sunday roast, at a dinner party, or during a celebratory picnic in the park.

      12 min
      0 min
      4
      Pine-berry frappe

      Pine-berry frappe

      The essence of summer, served over ice.

      5 min
      0 min
      2
      Pineapple sparkler

      Pineapple sparkler

      This drink combines the fiery heat of ginger with the bright sweetness of pineapple.

      5 min
      0 min
      2
      Poolside Percy

      Poolside Percy

      A refreshing summer sensation.

      5 min
      0 min
      2
      Popeye's punch

      Popeye's punch

      This vibrant green drink delivers fruity sweetness to your tastebuds before revealing a powerful punch of earthy green goodness.

      5 min
      0 min
      2
      Ruby zinger

      Ruby zinger

      Zingy, earthy and sweet; we love the uniqueness of this drink.

      5 min
      0 min
      2
      Ski slopes

      Ski slopes

      This fruity and spicy hug-in-a-mug will warm up your hands and put a rosy glow in your cheeks.

      5 min
      10 min
      4
      Sliced citrus water

      Sliced citrus water

      A delicious drink for a hot summer day!

      10 min
      0 min
      6
      Strawberry and mint sparkling water

      Strawberry and mint sparkling water

      A refreshing drink for the hot summer days!

      5 min
      0 min
      6
      Sweetpea

      Sweetpea

      Chickpeas are the secret hero ingredient that makes this peanut butter and banana sensation extra creamy.

      5 min
      0 min
      2
      Tropical fruit smoothie

      Tropical fruit smoothie

      A banana smoothie, with a tropical twist!

      5 min
      0 min
      2
      Watermelon fizz

      Watermelon fizz

      If summer could be condensed into a drink, this would be it.

      5 min
      0 min
      2

      How much sugar in...?

      Click the buttons below to reveal the amount of sugar in each drink.

      The sneaky sugar in "healthy" drinks

      While most of us might know that soft drinks are packed with sugar, what about some of the other drinks out there that market themselves as a better option?

      Sports drink

      Sports drinks

      Sports drinks are full of sugar. If you’re doing more than 90 minutes of vigorous exercise, or losing a lot of fluid through vomiting, diarrhoea or heavy sweating, a sports drink or electrolyte drink might be helpful. But for most people, water is the best choice of drink, even if we’ve been active.

      Iced tea

      Iced tea

      Store-bought iced teas may pretend to be as healthy as a nice warm cup of tea, but we should really think of them as a “tea-flavoured” sugary drink. At around 30 grams of sugar per bottle, it's like adding 8 teaspoons of sugar to your morning cuppa. Bleugh!

      Diet soft drink

      Diet drinks

      Although diet soft drinks are low in sugar and kilojoules, research hasn't found them to be effective in managing weight, and regular consumption of these drinks has been linked to a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Diet drinks are also highly acidic which makes them bad for our teeth.

      Fruit drink

      Fruit drinks

      Many “fruit” drinks contain very little actual fruit juice but usually have loads of added sugar. These go in the same category as soft drinks.

      Fruit juice

      Fruit juice

      Whole fruit is a great snack option. Yes, there’s sugar in fruit, but it’s bundled up with fibre, vitamins and antioxidants. But when you juice a fruit, you squeeze all the sugar into a glass and throw away the fibre - that’s the best bit! Small amounts of 100% fruit juice are okay to have occasionally.

      Smoothies

      Smoothies

      Smoothies use the whole fruit or veg (fibre, pulp and all) and plain milk so are usually a better choice than juice. Steer clear of added sweetening (e.g. honey, syrups) and ingredients like ice cream or sorbet, and watch out for take-away smoothies as they often come in huge portion sizes!

      Energy drinks

      Energy drinks

      Energy drinks pack around 7 teaspoons of sugar into one of those little cans. And enough caffeine to make drinking lots of these a concern. Mixing energy drinks with alcohol is potentially dangerous as the stimulant effect of the caffeine can mask the effect of the alcohol and increase risk-taking behaviour. Be careful out there.

      Flavoured milk

      Flavoured milk

      Flavoured milks might seem like good option - it’s milk, and milk’s good for us, right? Well... yes and no. Dairy milk naturally contains the sugar lactose, which is not a concern for our health. However, flavoured milks can also contain added sugars – up to 7 tsp in a large carton! While milk does have a lot of healthy nutrients like protein and calcium, it’s better to choose plain milk to reap these benefits.

      Coconut water

      Coconut water

      Coconut water has a great PR team! But be careful – there are a lot of health claims made about coconut water that are not supported by scientific evidence. Straight coconut water has about half the sugar of a soft drink, but many packaged coconut waters also contain added sugar, so be sure to check the ingredients list.

      Sugary drinks, with their high payload of sugar and acidity, can wreak havoc on our smile.

      Australians over the age of 15 years have an average of 13 decayed, missing and filled teeth and only 1 in 10 adults has no dental decay in their permanent teeth.

      Sugary drinks are the single biggest source of added sugar in Australians’ diets. We encourage Aussies to think twice before having a sugary drink – they're not worth losing your teeth over.

       

      What happens to your teeth when you have a sugary drink?

      • Bacteria that are naturally present in your mouth break down the sugar in sugary drinks into acids.
      • The acid attacks the teeth, dissolving the outer surface of tooth enamel.
      • Each acid attack lasts for about 20 min. Each time you take a sip, the acid damage begins all over again.
      • Regular loss of enamel can lead to cavities which exposes the inner layers of the tooth. This can ruin your smile and make teeth sensitive and painful.

      Learn more

      Fight back

      It's easy to get sucked in when sugary drinks are all around us. Sugary drinks are heavily marketed and available everywhere, which can undermine people’s effort to be healthy.

      We need to set higher standards for how the sugary drink industry markets and sells these products that are making Australians sick.

      Actions you can take to push back against industry

      • Write to your State Member of Parliament asking that sugary drinks and junk food advertising no longer be allowed on state government assets – this includes buses, trains, train stations and many billboards.
      • Talk to your school, sports clubs and community centres about their food and drink options.
      • Write to your favourite sports team and ask them stop accepting sponsorship and advertising from junk food and sugary drink companies.
      • Complain about a sugary drink or junk food ad to the Advertising Standards Bureau.  

      Learn more