How Much Sugar is in a Can of Soda?

Question: How Much Sugar is in a Can of Soda?

Is there a lot of sugar in a can of soda? I mean a normal-sized can you get from the vending machine. An how many calories in a bottle of soda?

Bellamy - About.com User

Answer: Sodas usually have a lot of calories due to their high sugar content (except for diet sodas - they're sugar-free). According to the United States Department of Agriculture's National Nutrient Database, a 12-ounce can of cola has 33 grams of sugar and about 136 calories (doesn't matter if it's Coca-Cola, Pepsi or any other brand). That's roughly equivalent to eight teaspoons of granulated white sugar (by the way, here's how to cut the excess sugar from your diet).

Eight teaspoons of sugar sounds like a lot, right? Can you imagine dumping that much sugar on a bowl of oatmeal? What about a typical 16-ounce bottle of cola? That bottle has 44 grams sugar, or about 11 teaspoons of sugar. Interestingly, the USDA notes that retail cola (the stuff you buy in the can at the store) has more sugar than the fountain soda you get from fast food restaurants (they're served with ice which takes up some space in the cup).

Here's the sugar and calorie content for a cup of cola from a typical fountain:

• 12-ounce cup (child size): 23 grams sugar and 95 calories
• 16-ounce cup (small): 31 grams sugar and 128 calories
• 21-ounce cup (medium): 44 grams sugar and 180 calories
• 32-ounce cup (large): 65 grams sugar and 267 calories

The sugar and calorie count for cola is going to be about the same for any other type of sweetened soda. Plus, there isn't any other nutritional value, other than water, a little phosphorus and fluoride, in a serving of soda.

Comparisons

One 12-ounce can of cola has as much sugar as:

• three servings of Frosted Flakes breakfast cereal
• one slice of pecan pie
• one cup of chocolate ice cream

Drinking an occasional can of soda probably won't hurt, as long as you keep your daily calorie-count in line, but if you want to cut back on your soda consumption, try these drinks. They're not calorie-free, but since they're made with fresh fruits, they've got vitamins and minerals that sodas don't have:

• Melon Agua Fresca
• Orange and Passionfruit Soda
• Green Grape Glacier

_Sources:

_{http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/1876.}

_{United States Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 24. "Nutrient data for 14400, Carbonated beverage, cola, contains caffeine." Accessed June 25, 2012. http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/4337.}

_{United States Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 24. "Nutrient data for 18324, Pie, pecan, commercially prepared." Accessed June 25, 2012. http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/5667.}

_{United States Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 24. "Nutrient data for 19270, Ice creams, chocolate." Accessed June 25, 2012. http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/6118.}