You have to admit, most of us treat Christmas as carte blanche to pretty much eat and drink anything that we want.
At least until after New Year rolls around. By then, we’ll be busy writing our resolutions not to repeat our Christmas dietary choices.
However, you still might want to hold off on those popular festive holiday drinks because Dietitians at Action on Sugar have found “shockingly” high levels of sugar in most of the 200 drinks that they tested.
Starbucks Signature Caramel Hot Chocolate made with oat milk (Venti) was the biggest offender with 93.7 grams of sugar or about 23 teaspoons worth. According to Action on Sugar, that’s like chugging three cans of the original Coca-Cola.
In second place, if that can even be considered an honor, was Caffe Nero’s Grande Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. It’s a delicious drink and the 15 teaspoons of sugar might have something to do with that. At 503 calories, it’s like eating a Big Mac except it’s not as filling.
Next on the list is another Starbucks product, the Venti Gingerbread Latte (made with oat milk) with 14 teaspoons of sugar. This one has 523 calories attached to it.
Holly Gabriel, a Registered Nutritionist at Action on Sugar, said: “It is shocking that so many high street coffee chains are willfully putting their customers’ health at risk despite sugar reduction targets for sugary milk drinks being set in 2018.
“Responsible coffee shops have shown reformulation is possible within this category. For example, Costa has made some significant reductions in sugar since 2016 and some now offer smaller sizes as standard for seasonal drinks.
“Coffee shops and cafes need to take much greater steps to reduce the levels of sugar and portion sizes, promote lower sugar alternatives and stop pushing indulgent extras at the till.”
The main culprit is the flavored syrup that is added to the drinks. You may want to request a sugar-free version if it’s available.
A Starbucks spokesperson said: “All our drinks can be customized, such as asking for our smallest size Short; requesting skimmed milk; and less or no whipped cream. To help make it easier for customers to make informed choices, nutritional information is also available in-store, on our mobile app and online.
“We are committed to reducing sugar in all our beverages and since 2015, we’ve delivered a 9% reduction in the sugar content of our Gingerbread and core syrup range of vanilla, caramel, and hazelnut.”
Still, if you’re meeting with your friends at Starbucks this Christmas, you might want to just order the coffee.
Replaced!