(c) 2011, Kathy Fannon
I can't shake this Trenta size from my thoughts. Maybe it's because I'm in the middle of my course work for Integrative Nutrition and I'm learning so much about the effects of sugar and caffeine on the our systems. It all seems so obvious to me how dangerous this is and I wonder why other people don't get it! Ah, nutrition school can be a curse!
I did a little digging and have come up with some information that I hope will at least make you think twice before purchasing a Trenta iced tea or lemonade.
(Coffee is not included in this post because caffeine is a huge issue on its own; books are written on it and the focus of this post is sugar. Also because how people doctor their coffee will make the sugar content vary. Just exactly how many packets of sugar DO you put in a Trenta?) [Yesterday I wrote from the caffeine perspective here.]
I did an internet search to find the recommended grams of sugar per day, and of course the internet is going to have numbers all over the place. I saw everything from 22 grams to 40 grams of sugar per day. Some of that will depend on your calorie intake, of course.
In the book, "The Sugar Solution" by the editors of Prevention magazine, with Ann Fittante, MS, RD, page 84 suggests less than 40 grams per day. That flows with what I found on the internet.
(Did you know you can figure out how many teaspoons are in the grams listed on a product? If a product has 20 grams of sugar, divide 20 by 4. Five teaspoons of sugar in 20 grams.)
The US Recommended Daily Allowance suggests 40 grams for a 2000 calorie diet. (I believe 2000 calories is too high for most Americans, but we'll go with this number for the sake of the argument.) I contend that these grams should be naturally occurring sugar from fruits, vegetables and whole grains. And milk if you drink it. But let's face it, Americans are addicted to refined sugar.
Thus, Starbucks would have us believe the new Trenta size is what Americans are clamoring for. Bigger, better, more sugar, more caffeine. Yes! How have we lived? For now it's only iced coffee, iced tea, and lemonade, but I would not be surprised to see the Frappuccinos available in this size down the road.
Trenta means thirty in Italian, but how many Italians are drinking 30 ounces of coffee? They don't. That's not how Europeans roll. They have their small cup of espresso for a dessert and move on, not sucking it all day long at their desks. But I digress.
I checked the Starbuck's website and discovered the following facts. All calories and sugar grams given are for a 16 ounce Grande size, about half the size of the new 31 ounce Trenta, so let's double the amounts, shall we? (Because Starbucks hasn't posted the new numbers yet.)
Tazo® Black Shaken Iced Tea Lemonade
Grande: 130 calories, 33 grams of sugar
Trenta: 260 calories, 66 grams of sugar
Tazo® Black Shaken Iced Tea
Grande: 80 calories, 20 grams of sugar
Trenta: 160 calories, 40 grams of sugar
Tazo® Shaken Iced Green Tea
Grande: 80 calories, 20 grams of sugar
Trenta: 160 calories, 40 grams of sugar
Tazo® Shaken Iced Passion Tea
Grande: 80 calories, 20 grams of sugar
Trenta: 160 calories, 40 grams of sugar
Tazo® Shaken Iced Passion Tea Lemonade
Grande: 130 calories, 33 grams of sugar
Trenta: 260 calories, 66 grams of sugar
Do you see my concern? Sixty six grams of sugar is not the way to start the day, to have a treat at lunch or to end the day. (Oh my! Please don't end the day this way!)
Do you remember my formula to detect how many teaspoons of sugar are in the grams? A Grande will have 5 - 8.25 teaspoons and the Trenta will have 10 - 16.5 teaspoons of sugar! Would you add that much sugar to your tea at home?
Why is this a big deal? Obviously, to get into too many facts would make this post even longer (again, books have been written!), but what it boils down to is that sugar is causing our obesity epidemic, the type 2 diabetes epidemic, sugar feeds cancer, sugar contributes to heart disease, sugar contributes to ADD/ADHD, depression, lethargy, dementia, cavities in your teeth and a bazillion other health issues.
So, IF you must get a Trenta, do so, but make it an occasional treat and be sure you're eating quality foods along with it (proteins, nuts, seeds, legumes to slow the insulin increase in your blood stream). And be careful not to consume any other refined sugar for the rest of the day…and maybe all of the next!
For the record, I have a Starbucks Gold card and I do use it often. I love Starbucks! We just need to be smart about the choices we make there.
Tell me what you are thinking. Are you still anxious to grab a Trenta or will you be more mindful when ordering?
