Bottled Iced Tea Drinks

A glass of iced tea is so simple, yet so refreshing on a hot afternoon. Enjoying the cool beverage can be as easy as twisting open a bottle or flipping a pop-top on a can. Iced tea quenches your thirst, but also offers a number of health benefits. While the kind of tea you brew yourself from loose or bagged tea is generally better for you than the premade stuff, these bottled drinks can fit into a balanced diet if you choose wisely.

Black and green tea contain phytochemicals shown to offer an array of health benefits. Drinking tea has been linked to reducing the risk of several types of cancer. It also appears to be beneficial for heart health by lowering cholesterol levels, as well as reducing risk of stroke. These non-herbal teas contain caffeine, but not nearly the amount found in coffee. It may increase mental alertness, but it shouldn’t cause jitters or other problems associated with too much caffeine.

The main concern for bottled teas is sugar content. While sweetened teas can have as much sugar as sweetened sodas, you can find some that are more lightly sweetened or include no sugar at all.

Helpful Hints. When you’re in need of some liquid tea refreshment, keep the following in mind.

Ingredient Scan. Most bottled tea drinks list brewed tea first (or tea leaves second, after water) on their ingredients list. That’s just how it should be. However, there are a few for which tea is the fourth, fifth, or even sixth ingredient listed, after sweeteners and artificial flavors and colors.

Serving Size Matters. If you like your tea on the sweet side, you may want to limit your intake. Some popular teas come in 23-ounce cans, providing more than 200 calories and 12 teaspoons of sugar.

Keep it Simple. Try to stick to basic iced tea. Those with fruit and other flavors added tend to contain less actual tea.

Skip the Salt. While not normally an issue, a couple of products have as much sodium as a medium-sized fast food French fries. Be sure to check the nutrition facts.

—Heidi McIndoo, MS, RD

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