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Australians who drink juices and smoothies as quick, on-the-go beverages can consume up to half their daily recommended intake of proteins and minerals in one serve, a study by the University of NSW has found.
The study, commissioned by Boost Juice, compared 21 on-the-go smoothies, juices, chocolate, caffeinated and breakfast beverages, revealing that those with solid, blended fruits and vegetables and pulp ranked the highest in nutritional value.
The 21 beverages included everything from McDonald's smoothies, to Boost Juices, Nudie juices, Big M chocolate milk and Coca-Cola, in an effort to reflect the range of beverages consumers select when looking for convenience.
"Not all on-the-go drinks are equal and some provide much more than just kilojoules," said study co-author and nutritionist Dr Rebecca Reynolds, of the UNSW School of Public Health and Community Medicine.
"Even though excess weight is a prominent public health issue in this country and the kilojoule content of a drink portion is important, what's also important is whether a drink contains fruit and vegetables; especially blended vegetables."
Dr Reynolds added that water remained "the best way to hydrate but, in practice, people are going to choose non-water on-the-go drinks, and it's important to help them make better choices."
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, diets low in fruit and vegetables and high in saturated fat, sodium and sweetened beverages are among the biggest factors contributing to the nation's total burden of obesity.
Currently almost 50 per cent of Australian adults meet the daily guidelines of two or more serves of fruit a day, but only 7 per cent consume the recommended five to six serves of vegetables each day.
For the study, beverages were categorised into eight groups, before each drink was assigned a score out of 40, based on levels of energy, macronutrients, micronutrients (including calcium, sodium and vitamins C and E), as well as estimated fruit and vegetable serves.
Drink selection, differences in portion sizes, ingredient estimations where recipes were not available and difficulty in determining fat and carbohydrate types were among the limitations of the study.
Through laboratory testing and publicly available ingredient lists, the study found the Boost Juice Two and Five and the Super Nudie Green juice were the "most nutritionally sound" beverages surveyed. The study authors do not endorse any of the products listed in the report.
Coca-Cola, Red Bull and Lipton Lemon Ice Tea were among those ranked with the least nutritional value in the list.
It also found drinks containing dairy ingredients had higher levels of beneficial nutrients such as calcium and protein, as in the McDonald's Chocolate Thickshake, which could deliver up to half the recommended calcium required each day.
A spokesperson for Unilever said Lipton Ice tea products should be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet, and contained "on average less than half the sugar of a regular soft drink with no artificial colours or preservatives."
Accredited dietitian Lisa Middleton said the study reminded consumers to be aware of what was in their drinks.
"It's really important for consumers to be looking at the total nutritional value rather than just one ingredient," she said.
"The drinks that rated lower were those that had higher sugar content combined with low nutrient value. Over-consumption of low-nutrient drinks such as soft drinks have been linked to obesity."
The key to a balanced lifestyle is to consume a variety of food and drinks in moderation. Like all food and drinks, soft drinks with sugar can be part of a balanced lifestyle as long as people don't consume them to excess.
A spokesperson for Coca-Cola said it offered a variety of drinks with "reduced, low or no sugar and kilojoule" in a range of small packs, with nutritional values listed.
In January this year health experts joined Victorian government-funded health program LiveLighter in warning consumers that store-bought smoothies, frappes and shakes could be extremely high in sugar.
The survey of 40 cold beverages included products from Boost Juice, Gloria Jeans, Jamaica Blue and McDonald's.
