THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF CHAIN COFFEE

I LOVE iced coffee. Ask anyone close to me and they’ll tell you that there’s never a day that I will refuse a trip to Starbucks or Scooter’s. In fact, I had to delete all of my coffee shop apps because they tempted me from my home screen and took all of my money. I know that many people at this school relate to this. As I walk through the hallways, I see countless people sipping their drinks that they picked up before school. As we all know, these drinks are not the healthiest for you. But exactly how unhealthy are they, and how do they affect our health?

FRESHLY ORDERED STARBUCKS; PHOTO BY CALLISTA WEST

We’ve all seen those negative people in the comment sections of videos about Starbucks and Dunkin’. Those people who say things like “diabetes in a cup” or “diabetes speedrun” can be really annoying to people just looking to post their sweet treats. We scroll past these comments and put the commenters off as negative, bored people who just comment to comment, but is there some truth to their statements? Though these people are definitely not dietitians, their ironic comments aren’t totally wrong. Drinks from coffee chains like Starbucks, Dunkin, and Scooters are often very high in sugar and calories. For example, Starbucks’ most popular drink (the iced brown sugar oatmilk shaken espresso) has 15 grams of sugar in a grande size. Their other drinks, like the iced caramel latte, pumpkin cream cold brew (my personal favorite), and the caramel ribbon crunch have 12, 31, and 63 grams of sugar respectively. For reference, the recommended added sugar limit is 25 grams (6 teaspoons) for females and 36 grams (9 teaspoons) for males. This is not a small amount of sugar at all. To put this into perspective, imagine sitting down and eating 3, 8, or 15 entire teaspoons of sugar. Though this is obviously horrible for your health, it’s actually safer than drinking that amount of sugar in an iced coffee. 

Sugary drinks are a lot more harmful than sugary foods. According to Texas Diabetes, liquid sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream quicker than solid sugar is. Rapid sugar absorption leads to blood sugar spikes and belly fat storage. It also causes higher insulin releases, which then lead to a higher insulin resistance over time. Sugary drinks like iced coffee also often don’t have the fiber and protein needed to slow down the absorption of sugar. All of this has been proven to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes by up to 25% if sugary drinks are consumed regularly. These drinks are also harmful because of how easy it is to just consume and consume without noticing. Liquids pass through the body quicker, which makes you feel less full from drinks than from food. This can be harmful because many people drink a high calorie or high sugar drink, and consume more calories and sugar throughout the rest of their day than they would if they ate something with the same amount of calories or sugar. I know that personally, depending on my order, Starbucks has made me feel no different after drinking my entire iced coffee. And many other people feel this as well. In an interview with a freshman from CCA, she told me that her usual Starbucks orders are either an iced vanilla latte, an iced pumpkin spice latte, or a pumpkin chai. When I asked how she usually feels after finishing these drinks, she told me that she usually feels the same. Her coffee doesn’t make her feel any more full, and doesn’t affect the amount she eats or drinks for the rest of the day. This is why it’s important to limit your sugary drinks intake.

For people who get these drinks often, it might be shocking to learn how bad iced coffee can be for you. Everyone knows that their sweet treat is not the best for them, but most people don’t know that they’re way worse than they thought. Personally, I was devastated to learn that I can’t get my favorite drinks (iced coffees) anymore. Though it’s hard to part with your weekly treat, you don’t have to completely cut out coffee. For alternatives, you can modify your drink to have less sugar (fewer pumps of syrup or sugar free alternatives), or you can try some new, less sugary drinks and switch to them. If you’re not interested in any alternatives, simply getting coffee less often works. Switching from getting something very often to getting it occasionally is difficult, but there are ways to help you do it. For example, if you get Starbucks twice a week, track how much money you save by not buying it. By the end of the month, you will have saved around $50. To encourage yourself to keep saving, use some of this money to buy yourself something nice at the end of the month. This way, you’ll have a reward for being healthy and resisting the temptation of Starbucks. Changing a routine like this is hard, and you might be a little sad to part with your sweet treat, but remember that it’s important to take care of your health. A sugary drink is okay on occasion, but remember the serious health effects of having them too often.