‘Tis the season for pumpkin-flavored treats, ranging from donuts and pastries to flavored coffees and cakes. Although pumpkin itself is very healthy, that doesn’t necessarily mean that everything that bears its name can say the same.
Speaking of which, there are just a few more weeks remaining until the oh-so-anticipated pumpkin spice latte is reintroduced as Starbucks’ annual Autumn specialty. The PSL remains Starbucks’ most popular seasonal drink, with more than 200 million pumpkin spice lattes sold to date. But before you give into temptation and grab your own pumpkin spice latte on your way to work, you might want to know what you’re getting yourself into.
- It contains more sugar than a can of Coke.
While you probably expect this sweet drink to contain sugar, did you expect it to contain almost 50 grams? That’s almost double the daily amount of added sugar recommended by the American Heart Association, which is between 25 and 37 grams, depending on gender. An average can of Coke only contains 39 grams of sugar, if that helps to put it into perspective.
- It is loaded with salt.
Sodium is an ingredient that is found in most foods and beverages at least in some small amount. However, it is important to watch your sodium intake, as consuming too much can contribute to certain illnesses and diseases, such as stroke, cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and kidney disease.
A grande-sized pumpkin spice latte contains 240 milligrams of sodium, which is a lot for a single beverage—cans of soda only contain between 15 and 75 milligrams per drink. Since the American Heart Association only recommends that Americans consume a maximum of 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day, drinking too many PSLs can really start to add up.
- It is high in calories.
A moderately active woman needs about 2,200 calories per day up to the age of 25, then calorie needs will taper down as she gets older. While this may seem like a fairly manageable number, this is something that can be hard to achieve when you’re regularly indulging on items such as Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte, which contains over 400 calories in a grande-sized drink. While a non-fat latte with no whip is only 130 calories, that pumpkin flavoring can start to seem a little excessive. Especially when you consider that a PSL has more calories than a can of Coke (140), a McDonald’s cheeseburger (290), and a KFC fried chicken breast (320).
Over the past few years, there have been more health complaints about the Pumpkin Spiced Latte, such as the fact that it contains Caramel Color IV, which has been shown to cause cancer in mice, as well as the fact that the PSL does not actually contain any real pumpkin. However, Starbucks has recently released news that the 2015 Pumpkin Spice Latte will have a new recipe that does in fact contain real pumpkin and the potentially carcinogen-containing caramel coloring will be replaced.
