White rice is refined and processed, which means it’s generally more destructive to your health than alternatives like ancient grains or wild rice. The main reason? It can have a negative impact on your blood sugar levels, says Soans. In fact, because of that impact on blood sugar levels, eating white rice in excess has even been linked to increasing your risk of type 2 diabetes.
Tea by itself has plenty of health benefits, but when you start adding sugar to that tea, it starts to void out those upsides. “Sugar-sweetened beverages are high in, yes, sugar, and don’t provide much—if any—nutrition,” says Andrews. Plus, many research studies have shown that regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages like sweet tea can contribute to causing obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, says Andrews.