Coffee increases calories and breaks diet

Frappuccinos, Chillates, and iced cappuccinos might be refreshing on a hot summer day, but low-cal they are not. If you've traded in your hot cup of java for a creamy, chilled coffee beverage you might want to rethink your order.

If you're a daily consumer of these hard-to-resist treats, you're likely to notice the numbers on your bathroom scale creeping upwards. In fact, once you look at the nutritional information for your favourite chilled coffee drink, it might not go down so well.

Consider that a 16-ounce (grande) Java Chip Frappuccino with whip cream from Starbucks delivers 510 calories, 21 grams of fat, 15 of them saturated fat, and a whopping 20 teaspoons of hidden sugar. A Tim Hortons large (18-ounce) Iced Cappuccino with cream will set you back 414 calories, 20 grams of fat and almost 14 teaspoons of sugar.

Sounds like liquid dessert to me. Even a glazed donut is easier on your waistline. In fact, you'd have to eat three glazed donuts to consume the same number of calories, fat and sugar that hides in many of these all-dressed chilled coffee concoctions.

It's true that a glazed donut contains unhealthy trans fat from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, whereas blended coffee drinks don't. But sipping on artery-clogging saturated fat from whole milk and whipped cream is not much better, reports theglobeandmail.com

According to naplesnews.com hoping to appeal to more calorie-conscious coffee drinkers, Starbucks is launching "light" versions of its Frappuccino drinks, made with lower-fat milk and artificial sweeteners. A 12-ounce serving of the new light drink will have 110 calories and 1 gram of fat, compared with 190 calories and 2.5 grams of fat for the regular version.

The Seattle-based chain of coffee shops also plans to stock stores with brochures detailing nutritional information about all their drinks. The same data has been available on Starbucks' Web site for about a year.

Despite the increased attention to obesity in America, Starbucks Senior Vice President Michelle Gass said the company has not seen a backlash from customers suddenly worried about how fattening their coffee is. The new light drinks and brochures, she said, "are just part of, in general, us trying to answer consumer needs."

A cup of black coffee has just 10 calories, Starbucks says, but an espresso drink laden with milk, flavoring and whipped cream can be almost a meal in itself. Some nutritional information for 16-ounce "grande" drinks at Starbucks:

Nonfat latte: 160 calories, 0 grams of fat.

Vanilla latte, with whole milk: 280 calories, 10 grams of fat.

Chai latte with nonfat milk: 230 calories, 0 grams of fat.

Mocha with whole milk and whipped cream: 400 calories, 22 grams of fat.

Caramel Frappuccino, with whipped cream: 430 calories, 16 grams of fat.

Strawberries & Creme Frappuccino Blended Creme, with whipped cream: 600 calories, 17 grams of fat, informs Starbucks.