Juices and smoothies are always a good idea, right? What is not to like about them? They are convenient to get during a busy day, a good middle of the day pick-me-up drink and they are a healthy option packed with vitamins and all the good parts of fruit and vegetables. Likewise, who doesn’t enjoy going to Starbucks to get a coffee and grab a snack? But do you know how much sugar is in these “healthy” alternatives and your daily coffee order?
If you are a Cal Lutheran student then I imagine you spend quite a lot of time going to Starbucks and Jamba Juice on campus in between classes. During my freshman and sophomore years, I spent everyday in Starbucks eating and drinking off their menu, it got to the point where I knew every single item and how much my order would cost without looking at the price. However, whatever you like to drink throughout the day and whatever your eating habits are, we all should be aware of the effects of our habits, including the amount of sugar we are consuming every day.
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Do you know how much your daily allowance of sugar is? Probably not. I had a rough idea before this article, but when I found out, I was shocked. Everybody is different on how much sugar they can consume daily but according to webdmd.com, it recommends anywhere between 30 to 50 grams per day for a 2,000 calorie diet. Surely that’s an easy amount to keep under the limit you’re asking yourself? To put the daily allowance into perspective know that a 12oz can of Coke is 39 grams of sugar.
(If you want to know more precisely the amount of sugar you should be having every day, download an app like myfitnesspal, it will use your individual measurements to provide an accurate recommendation on the amount of sugar you should be consuming.)
After learning these statistics I decided to look up some items on the Starbucks drink menu and the Jamba Juice menu as these are places Cal Lutheran students use every day. I also want to make a disclaimer; I chose these ítems to look at because I know they are popular choices that my friends and I make every day. For each one I looked at, I picked it before looking at the amount of sugar, therefore I didn’t know beforehand.
Here is what I found in Starbucks drinks:
- Grande Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino with 2% milk and whipped cream from Starbucks – 63 grams of sugar (1.6x a can of Coke)
- Grande Caramel Macchiato with 2% milk – 34 grams of sugar (Just under a can of Coke)
- Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte with 2% milk – 50 grams of sugar (1.3x a can of Coke)
- Grande Mango Dragonfruit Refresher – 19 grams of sugar (Half a can of Coke)
- Grande Chai Tea Latte with 2% milk – 42 grams of sugar (Just over a can of Coke)
Here is what I found on the Jamba Juice menu:
- Acai Bowl – 65 grams (1.6x a can of Coke)
- Chunky Strawberry Bowl – 50 grams (1.3x a can of Coke)
- Medium Carribean Passion – 72 grams (1.8x a can of Coke)
- Medium Matcha Green Tea Blast – 79 grams (2 cans of Coke!)
- Medium La Vida Mocha – 79 grams (2 can of Coke!)
After reading this I hope it has started to get you thinking about the amount of sugar you’re having in your diet day-to-day. I highly advise you to try to roughly work out how much sugar you consume on an average day to see if you are above, below or at the right amount of your daily allowance. If you are above, start making changes now! Not only will you feel better but your future self will thank you for it when it reduces your chance of high-sugar related illnesses that could deeply impact your life. I know that as college students worrying about the amount of sugar we are consuming is not at the top of our priorities, but I can’t help but think that it is a topic that is easily over-looked and not worried about enough when it is a serious addiction to some and so much is put into what we consume without even realising. Even if you like a little sweetness in your life (like me), it’s probably time to reduce it and start being more aware.
Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com