Is My Latte Habit Bad for Me?
Monica Reingel, M.S./L.D./N
Ask the Diva: How Bad for Me is My Latte Habit?
Q. I heard you on Martha Stewart’s morning show on Sirius radio talking about sugar intake. So, how “bad” is a grande non-fat peppermint mocha w/no whip from Starbucks? I have 5 per week.
Answer. According to the nutrition information I found on Starbucks.com, this drink has 59 grams of carbohydrates. The skim milk contributes about 30 grams of carbs. That means that the other 29 grams are added sugars.
In my episode How to Reduce Added Sugar, I suggest that you should limit your added sugar intake to no more than 50 grams a day, so your daily mocha would wipe out about 60% of your allowance for the entire day.
(And, if you’re trying to lose weight or are at risk of diabetes, I suggest keeping added sugar to 25 grams a day–in which case, that one mocha blows your whole budget!)