This article is about information and habit change nutritional changes. It’s all about how you can change your life by taking small steps and having the knowledge to make better decisions. If this style of learning and nutritional education interests you, please reach out to us, info@enlightenedathlete.com We would love to set up a free consult to see if you’re a good fit for our nutrition coaching program.
Let’s talk about coffee. It’s one of the best things about modern civilization in my opinion. You can stroll to almost any street corner and get a wonderful cup of warm, hand crafted, cup of caffeinated gold. If you couldn’t tell, I’m an eternal fan of coffee.
There was once a time in my life where I viewed coffee as a drink for the weak. If you needed it you needed to sleep more and eat better. Holy cow, the ignorance of youth on display at its finest am I right? Little did I know the powers that coffee contained. It is a productivity power house. My brain feels like it runs at higher RPM’s after a solid cup. The aroma, the taste of a GOOD cup of coffee is amazing.
So we’re all in agreeance that coffee is great. Unfortunately though, our beloved liquid life saver has been hijacked by an all too common fiend. Coffee’s innocence and benefits have been transformed into an insulin raising monster. SUGAR.
Sugar has infiltrated our supply of coffee at every possible vendor. Some may say it’s due to our addiction to sugar that companies have started dumping sugar into all of the pre-made coffee, and specialty coffee drinks at all major chains. Our desire for it justifies doing this and keeps the products on the market. I don’t agree with this statement as some of you may know. I believe it is an education issue.
You know the drinks I'm talking about. In bottles and perfectly colored to look like caramel, or huge cups of sweetened liquid with a hug dollop of whip cream and sprinkles on top. That's not coffee. That's blasphemy.
Diabetes in a cup. :)
Most of the people I have talked to don’t even realize that the coffee they’re drinking is a fucking liquid candy bar. It’s not an innate desire, the cause is sneaky tactics by corporations and sugar lobbyists to get you hooked to their drinks and stay hooked to the SUGAR.
If you think this sounds like conspiracy, read the book, “The Case Against Sugar” by Gary Taubes. This sneaky adding and justification of sugar has been going on since the industrialization of sugar cane.
Just take a look for yourself at the sugar content of some well-known candy bars, and then at the content of specialty coffee drinks which many of you probably currently consume.
Ranking of Candy Bars by Sugar Content
Okay, even if you didn’t read that great article the smallest amount of sugar out of the 17 bars listed was 19 grams. THE LOWEST. In one bar! Whew, my pancreas is sweating reading that. Here comes the alarming part, some of these common “coffee” drinks make those candy bars look like a health food.
20 Coffee Drinks With More Sugar Than A Can of Coke
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Seriously, my mind is blown. Almost all of those drinks have at least 40 grams of sugar, with one reaching over 90 grams of sugar. That is just completely insane. You are literally drinking multiple candy bars in a single drink.
For reference, a moderate amount of sugar for DAILY consumption according to the American Heart Association, is 20-36 grams of sugar. Which is still to high honestly for most sedentary people. That’s for an entire day. One of your morning drinks may contain up to 2 days’ worth of sugar. So no wonder you’re having trouble losing weight. You’re filling your body with hidden sugar.
So let’s go over human physiology just a little bit. What happens to your body when you consume this sugar with absolutely no fiber attached to it?
The sugar enters your body, it raises your blood sugar very rapidly and overwhelms the body. The sugar has to then be turned into fat by the liver for storage (this is how you accumulate body fat directly from sugar intake). Chronic over-consumption of liquid sugar leads to accumulation of visceral fat, fat around your internal organs.
It will make you fatigued, sleepy, sick, and lower your immune response drastically. This also leads to things like Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disease. Pretty shitty huh?
That’s why I want to bring up the fact that you are consuming sugar without even knowing it, it’s hidden from you and you are unconsciously consuming it.
I want to show everybody that nutrition doesn’t have to be so complicated. Small changes like avoiding sugar laden drinks as a first step will undoubtedly move you towards the direction of health. You do not have to overhaul your entire life in order to get healthier.
Being cognizant of foods that are stealing your health and having the knowledge to make better choices (even something as simple as switching your coffee choice) can lead to drastic changes in your health.
If this information and habit based style of nutrition education piqued your interest, please reach out to us at info@enlightendathlete.com We would love to set up a free consult for you to see if you’re a good fit for our nutrition coaching program. We help a lot of clients make better decisions that lead them to a life of health and vitality. We would love to have the chance to work with you.