Just a Coffee?

Next time you take a sip of a Starbucks Frappuccino, you may be getting more than you bargained for…

How many times have you opted for a frozen, refreshing Starbucks Frappuccino over a meal or snack on a hot day?  A coffee beverage has fewer calories than a sandwich or salad, right? 

Wrong.

A Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino contains 460 calories, which, if eaten in the form of a sandwich in the middle of the afternoon, would be more likely to curb your hunger at dinnertime, according to Registered Dietician Dr. Connie Crawley

 Starbucks’ over 30 Frappuccinos are made from a pre-mixed powder combined with a dairy base, or a water base, in the case of the Coffee Frappuccino.  Most contain large numbers of calories without much nutritional value. 

If you aspire to consume a 2,000 calorie diet daily, a Java Chip Frappuccino can account for 23% of your daily calories.  The amount of sodium – in any Frappuccino – is approximately three times that obtained from a single serving sized bag of potato chips.

A grande (medium) sized Frappuccino accounts for approximately 12 grams of saturated fat per 19 grams of total fat, according to Starbucks nutrition facts.

The saturated fat allowance for an adult is 20 grams per day, and even less for those already at risk for cardiovascular disease – somewhere around 16 grams.

“If a person who is overweight cut out one 460 calorie Frappuccino per day, they could lose up to 40 pounds in one year,” said Crawley.

So before you indulge in your Frappuccino, consider the healthier alternatives that Starbucks has to offer.

One of the health-friendliest choices at Starbucks is black coffee with non-fat cream, weighing in at 5 calories, 10 mg of sodium and zero fat.

And if you must have a Frappuccino, a light pumpkin spice Frappuccino, for example, has 150 calories, 5 grams of fat, 250 mg. of sodium and zero saturated fat, according to the nutrition facts.