Do you know what you had to drink today? Was the drink a nutritious one or one with lots of sugar? Drinks have various nutritional values. Food labels provide the nutrition facts for whatever you are drinking.

Check out the label on your next drink. What is the serving size? How many calories are there per container? How many servings in the container? Often there are more than one serving in a container.

Drinks with added sugar tend to be higher in calories. That means they could cause you to gain weight. Did you know that a 20 ounce drink often has 13-18 teaspoons of sugar in it? Divide the grams of sugar by 4 to find out how many teaspoons of sugar there are in the drink.

Soda, sports drinks and fruit drinks contain mostly sugar. The sugar will fill up your stomach but you get no vitamins or other nutrients that your body needs. Because your stomach is full with sugar you may not eat other foods with nutrients in them.

If you drink a lot of sodas, that may mean you are decreasing the amount of milk you are drinking. The calcium in milk makes your bones and teeth strong. Not getting enough calcium may mean you end up with a bone weakness and maybe even the disease osteoporosis.

Sugary drinks mix bacteria in the mouth to produce acid. The acid breaks down your teeth enamel and causes cavities. A sip of a sugary drink or acidic drink exposes your teeth to 20 minutes of danger. Brushing, flossing or rinsing with water after drinking a sugary drink can help to prevent cavities. Even diet soft drinks contain acid and can cause damage to your teeth.

A lot of soft drinks contain caffeine. Too much caffeine can cause you to be nervous, cranky or have problems sleeping.