Today BBC News UK broadcast that high street coffee shops such as Starbucks, Costa and Caffe Nero hot drinks contain dangerously high sugar content in them.
The daily maximum recommend dose of sugar for people aged 11 and over is 30g or 7 teaspoons of sugar. Consuming too much sugar will cause obesity, tooth decay and type 2 diabetes. This is why this report is so shocking!
Starbucks hot drink called “Hot mulled fruit – Grape with chai, orange, and cinnamon – Venti” contains 99g of sugar or 25 teaspoons which is considered over 3.3 times the daily maximum recommended dose!
Costa hot drink called “Chai latte – Massimo – Eat In” contains 79.7g of sugar or 20 teaspoons which is over 2.65 times the daily maximum recommended dose!
Caffe Nero hot drink called “Caramelatte – Drink in” contains 50.6g or sugar or 13 teaspoons which is over 1.68 times the daily maximum recommended dose!
These numbers are shockingly high! All of them said that they are working hard to reduce sugar content in their drinks by 25% by the end of 2020 that is within 4 years!
In the Victoria Derbyshire show where this report was also showed, suggest that these high street coffee shops need time to gradually reduce sugar content because people are addicted to their drinks. (This was my understanding of the report).
If you are a regular coffee drinker in these high street coffee shops you are at a risk of obesity and even type 2 diabetes. I suggest that you think twice before purchasing a hot beverage in these shops.
Obesity is a global issue and UK government is doing a good job in tackling this problem. And we should do something too! When reports like these are being published you expect that these big brands get affected in terms of popularity or consumers. But the truth of the matter is that people will eventually drink and will not stop drinking because they are addicted.
My advice to you is to drink homemade coffee this way you know how much sugar you will have in your drink. These are my thoughts…