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It’s that time of year again, when a hot drink means so much more than some caffeine to wake you up in the morning. The snow has started to fall and we are starting to crave hot beverages for their warmth much more than any energy they can bring us. And while there is nothing better than holding a warm drink between your mittened hands and sipping some kind of tea or coffee, this is also the time of year when hot drinks can be worse for our health than usual.
The reason for this is that when we’re craving a hot beverage for their warmth, any need for caffeine comes secondary and we typically select drinks based on how they’ll taste. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it can get dangerous – especially when stores like Dunkin Donuts carry drinks on their menu that are loaded with all the ingredients that make coffees taste so good. We’re talking about extra sugars, creams and sodium.
The worst coffee drink you can order from Dunkin Donuts this time of year is a Gingerbread S'mores Swirl Hot Cappuccino. Even if you order this drink with skim milk, you’re looking at taking in 63 grams of sugar, 310 calories and 65 grams of carbs.
By comparison, you’re only meant to eat between 6 and 8 teaspoons of sugar, which is equal to 30 to 40 grams. This means that the Gingerbread S’mores Swirl Hot Cappuccino contains about twice the amount of sugar you should have in a day. The amount of sugar in this drink is the same as an entire 20-ounce bottle of coke, or 14 oreo cookies.
Instead of ordinger a Gingerbread S'mores Swirl Hot Cappuccino, at your next Dunkin trip, opt for a plain cappuccino with skim milk. This drink only has 120 calories, 9 grams of sugar and 10 grams of carbs. Plus, the coffee tastes just the same as in the flavored cappuccinos.
