Exact amount of 'liquid death' you can drink before going over the recommended limit

We all like things that aren't good for us, but there's one drink, which a doctor has branded 'liquid death' that he says people should avoid altogether.

These, are in fact, sodas, also known as fizzy pop, or soft drinks. Luckily, you don't have to completely cut them out of your diet, but the FDA has issued recommendations for added sugars.

Added sugars, are those that are added to the processing of food, and do not include natural sugars found in in milk, fruits, and vegetables, the FDA says.

For Americans, 'the main sources of added sugars are sugar-sweetened beverages, baked goods, desserts, and sweets'.

As per the FDA, the daily value for these added sugars is 50g a day, based on a 2000 calorie diet. But how much really is that?

The Daily Value for added sugars is 50 grams per day based on a 2,000 calorie daily diet (Getty Stock)

What does 50g of added sugar equate to?

In terms of tea spoons, 50g equates to roughly 12.5 teaspoons.

A typical can of 330ml soda, or 11 ounces, is said to contain an average of 35 grams of sugar, which is equivalent to nine teaspoons. Of course, this varies on the brand.

Going by this logic, and the FDAs recommendations, less than two of these would be over the daily value.

For those who aren't fans of soft drinks, and would prefer a sweet treat instead, it equates to:

• 3 glazed donuts - roughly 30–45g, once again, depending on the brand
• Around 2 standard milk chocolate bars - would equal 45-50g
• 8 - 10 chocolate chip cookies
• One large frosted cupcake - these can contain around 30–50g of added sugar.

As always, these things vary from person to person, and from brand to brand. The FDA's guideline is based on a 2000 calorie diet, and should not be taken as a one-size-fits-all limit.

Anyone with any questions or concerns should speak to their doctors or nutritionist.

Added sugars are those which are added during the processing of foods (Getty Stock)

Why has soda been branded 'liquid death'?

Fortunately, it's not as scary as it seems. Although doctors and dentists wouldn't recommend you drink these drinks all the time - it isn't the medical term used.

In fact, the term was used by Heart surgeon Dr Jeremy London, who made a social media post speaking about things he ‘absolutely avoids’ as a cardiac surgeon.

The surgeon went on to tell his followers that alcohol is ‘toxic’ to every cell in your body, but it wasn't the drink he branded 'liquid death'.

“Just don’t drink them, period, done,” he said, without adding any more context.

However, in a later interview, he admitted that he may have slightly over exaggerated his wording.

"I think that soft drinks are just a scourge in our society, and so I was really trying to get some attention," he admitted in an interview with TODAY, although he still stood by his stance.

"Obviously, high-calorie soft drinks and ingesting a lot of calories that people don't realise they're getting with the sugar-based soft drinks is a big no-no,” he added.