In Wednesday’s column, “Fight the ‘freshmen 15,’” Ian Floyd recommends Sprite or Gatorade as a way to replenish electrolytes while staying health conscious. Gatorade is OK, but Sprite is just another soda, meaning it contains enough sugar to raise an eyebrow. If you compare a 12 ounce can of Sprite with a similar can of Coke, you’ll find that they have the same calorie count (140), and their sugar content differs by a single gram (38 grams versus 39 grams).
Floyd later tells us to shy away from energy drinks, and informs us that the Monster brand has a whopping 3.4g of sugar per ounce. Unfortunately, this sugar count is in the same ballpark as the Sprite that he is labeling as OK, which contains 3.2 grams of sugar per ounce. The solution? Avoid the soda and eat some fruit.
— Peter Djeu
Computer science graduate student
