Many of your favorite fall seasonal drinks, like the much-loved Pumpkin Spice Latte, are back on the Starbucks fall drink menu for 2024.
But a lot of these Starbucks beverages are loaded with sugar, fat, and calories, which may discourage some folks from indulging in these yearly indulgences.
Making better decisions does not, however, preclude you from indulging in the occasional cup of pumpkin spiced beverages.
experts offered their best advice on how to lessen the unhealthy components in nine Starbucks autumn beverages—including the brand-new Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai—without sacrificing flavor. This is the method.
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Spiced Pumpkin Latte
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte has become an autumn menu mainstay, but a large cup has 390 calories, 14g of fat, and 50g of sugar, so you shouldn’t be drinking it often.
The amount of sugar in this beverage is what draws attention right away, according to trained nutritional therapist Natalie Louise Burrows. “This will contain some natural sugar from the milk (lactose), and the remaining amount will come from added sugar, probably from the pumpkin flavor sauce and maybe from the whipped cream as well.”
Burrows suggests omitting the whipped cream, which increases the amount of sugar and saturated fat in the beverage, to make it healthier.
Fresh Nondairy Cream Chai with Iced Apple Crisp:
The amount of added sugar in the New Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai is likewise quite high. The beverage’s grande size (16 oz) really has 46 grams in it.
According to Lena Bakovic, MS, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with Top Nutrition Coaching, it is much greater than the daily added sugar intake guidelines set out by the American Heart Association for both men and women (no more than 36 grams per day) and women (no more than 25 grams).
Asking for this beverage to be prepared “half sweet” is a simple way to reduce its sugar level.” The majority of Starbucks beverages can be made in this way, according to Bakovic.
Bakavic also notes that choosing the 12 oz tall size is another easy method to cut back on the amount of sugar and calories you’ll ingest from one serving of this beverage if you don’t want to adjust the sweetness level.
She continues, “Excessive consumption of added sugars is linked to weight gain as well as chronic conditions like obesity, cardiovascular disease, and Type 2 Diabetes.”
Oatmilk Frappuccino with Apple Crisp:
The Starbucks Apple Crisp Frappuccino has 420 calories, 15g fat, 70g carbs, and 60g sugar, making it far from healthful.
According to Burrows, the amount of carbs on their own is comparable to what you would find in a respectable dinner. Another major worry is the amount of sugar.
In my opinion, this beverage belongs on the “not recommended” category. Given that it contains twice as much free sugar as the daily maximum and that it will affect inflammation and blood sugar levels, she claims that this should be classified as confectionery rather than a beverage.
If you order this Starbucks drink, Burrows suggests replacing the oat milk with whole milk for a somewhat healthier option.
Cream Cold Brew Pumpkin :
If you must have a seasonal beverage, a cold brew would be a little better option. Compared to other autumn drink options, a grande Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew has notably less calories, 12g of fat, and 31g of sugar (250 calories).
Burrows notes, “You can tell by how different the nutritional value is—a cold brew tends to have a lot less ingredients.”
The amount of saturated fat in this beverage is one of the main causes for worry. According to Burrows, “the Pumpkin Spice Cream Foam will probably have the highest saturated fat content, but this could be easily reduced by omitting it.”
To take it a step further, you may request Starbucks for only one pump of vanilla syrup rather than two.
Hot Oatmilk Macchiato with Crisp Apples :
The Hot Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato has a lot of calories (320), sugar (29g), and fat (10g), much like most of the beverages on the autumn menu. A 16 fl oz grande contains 170 mg of caffeine, making it quite rich in caffeine as well.
Burrows notes, “Just two of these drinks, and you would have almost reached your daily limit of caffeine.” Furthermore, you could be setting yourself up for a severe blood sugar rise and subsequent energy crash with 29g of sugar.
Burrows suggests cutting the Spiced Apple Drizzle and Apple Brown Sugar Syrup in half because they will provide the majority of the sugar.
Spiced Pumpkin Frappuccino :
A large Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino is among the biggest offenders when it comes to sugar consumption, weighing in at 65g. It has 420 calories as well.
There are 510 calories and 80g of sugar in a venti serving.
In comparison, a 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola has only 39 grams of sugar and 139 calories. According to nutritionist Tony Cottenden, it is about twice as much sugar and three and a half times as many calories.
“You could think about changing the beverage by using skim milk, but this change won’t significantly lower the total amount of calories consumed,” he says. “The drink still has more calories than a lot of baked goods, like cookies and doughnuts, even after this modification.”
Starbucks Oatmilk-Crushed Apple Crisp Iced Macchiato :
The Iced Apple Crisp Macchiato is extremely heavy in calories and sugar, much like many of the other selections. 34 grams of sugar and 310 calories are included in a grande serving.
But just because something is high in calories doesn’t indicate that eating it will satisfy you. According to Cottenden, “the easiest thing about drinks like this is how easy they are to overconsume.” “Starbucks Drinks heavy in sugar, like this one, encourage us to eat more.”
You might want to ask for less of the Spiced Apple Drizzle and Apple Brown Sugar Syrup because they will contribute significantly to the overall sugar load.
Pumpkin Cream Chai Latte with ice :
According to Cottenden, this drink has a rather amazing number of calories. A grande size Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Latte has 460 calories, 66g of sugar, and 17g of fat.
“A drink like this can unintentionally contribute to the problem, often without the consumer fully realizing the impact, in a society where caloric overconsumption is already a concern,” the author writes.
Asking Starbucks to have the Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam topping removed might help cut down on the drink’s calories as almost 150 of them are from fat. Or you might have a Light Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam instead.
Shaken Oat milk Iced Apple Crisp Espresso :
According to Cottenden, one of the better options on the autumn menu is the Iced Apple Crisp Oatmilk Shaken Espresso, which has 180 calories, 4.5g of fat, and 21g of sugar in a grande.
You’re still ingesting liquid calories, he claims, though. “The issue with liquid calories is that they don’t provide a lot in terms of fullness. In addition, a lot of sugar makes this drink highly good, which might lead to a need for additional delicious, high-calorie items, he says.
You’re already picking a little healthier option if you choose this drink over the others, but you can make it even healthier by asking for half of the Apple Brown Sugar Syrup.
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