I never drank coffee until I got to college and now I drink it almost everyday in some type of form. Whether it be frappuccinos, iced coffees, lattes, milkshakes, etc. I always make sure to add in a dash of coffee because I know I will be needing it in the future. So, I decided that it would be beneficial to research what type of coffee is the worst for people to consume.
I stumbled upon this website that did not generally specify which type of coffee is the worst, for example, iced coffee, lattes, or frappuccinos but rather specified which coffee drinks from specific places are the worst. The first two to pop up were both from Au Bon Pain, a bakery/cafe right on campus. So then I wondered what was it about these drinks that make them significantly worse than others.
The two specific drinks that were mentioned on this website include the 20 oz vanilla latte and the 20 oz caramel macchiato. The vanilla latte contains 500 calories, 9 gs of saturated fat, 81 gs of carbs, and 81 gs of sugar. The caramel macchiato contains 540 calories, 9 gs of saturated fats, 86 gs of carbs, and 82 gs of sugar. Consuming these drinks is equivalent to having one cup of coffee with milk and thirteen pieces of caramel candy. The recommended range of calories for an adult woman is around 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day. So really one cup of either of these drinks is not going to be completely harmful to someone’s health.
After researching a little more to try to find out what really makes coffee bad for people I found this website. Coffee is the most highly traded crop in the world, therefore, industries are willing to do whatever it takes in order to mass produce the product. This then causes industries to add toxic chemicals to the crop to keep pests and diseases away. When drinking coffee the most important factors to consider are the toxins that could have been added to the drink and the amount of caffeine intake per day.
Sources:
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/12-worst-coffee-drinks.html?page=1
http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2010/08/03/pick-your-poison-toxic-chemicals-in-your-coffee/
While the two drinks listed certainly sound terrible for you, there have been studies that black coffee may actually be good for you. In moderate amounts of course, coffee can have tons of health benefits, there are studies that say it is good for your liver, reduces chances of type 2 diabetes, and can actually make you smarter. Of course a lot of this is just speculation, similar to the chocolate making you smarter study, but either way, I wouldn’t give up your coffee drinking habits just yet. Everything is good in moderation.
I’m not a big coffee drinker but I do enjoy a vanilla latte every once and awhile. This article made me consider for the first time (sadly) how bad coffee actually is for you. I’ve heard that supposedly it increases one’s risk of heart disease and cancer. However, this website claims that that is no longer the case and that the health benefits may actually outweigh the risks. Check it out: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/coffee-and-health/faq-20058339
Another point I would like to make; I feel as though testing the negative effects of coffee are something that develop over years. Coffee may have it’s immediate effects, like becoming jittery or experiencing a caffeine “crash.” But knowing whether or not it severely affects or increases a person’s risk of serious disease calls for observation and experimentation over a long period of time. One would have to follow thousands of coffee drinkers habits over a span of time to find out if it really is causing heart disease or cancer.
An interesting alternative for those who find themselves often ordering these drinks is the “skinny” option at Starbucks. It is made with skim milk and has almost half the calories, also a healthy option is asking without foam/whipped cream.
source: frequent Starbucks goer
This post made me happy that I am a tea drinker and not a coffee drinker. I never knew that different kinds of coffee were worse for you, I only knew they contained different amounts of caffeine. I found it funny your comparison of milk and candy to one coffee drink. I find it helpful that Starbucks posts their dietary facts online and in stores so you can find how many calories you are consuming, but they don’t always tell you exactly the chemicals that go into your drink. I wonder if these other chemicals can cause some of the negative side effects of coffee that I found.
http://www.healthambition.com/negative-effects-of-coffee/