Does Your Favorite Fall Beverage Really Need a Makeover??

Can we please talk about the elephant in the room? Or rather the elephant in the coffee cup?
The recent media buzz about some stores adding real pumpkin to their coffee drinks, and/or removing caramel coloring has instantly reminded me why I became a dietitian over 20 years ago. I cannot stand it when fear, hype, and pseudoscience dominate the nutrition headlines, instead of sound science and strong evidence.
This is just one more example of how fear-mongers who push for changing random ingredients are NOT helping the public make their own well-informed nutrition decisions. Adding a miniscule amount of pumpkin to a drink will not boost its nutrition in any meaningful way. Likewise, removing a safe food ingredient like caramel coloring is just another red herring.

As a dietitian with a master’s degree in science, it makes me crazy when the loudest voices in these conversations win out despite lacking credibility.

Let’s take a step back and get some perspective. Sometimes the biggest risk isn’t what we can’t see and don’t understand. It’s the obvious stuff that we prefer to ignore.

My proposed solution includes some insights on how to “have your latte and drink it, too!” For my proposed solution and some awesome resources go to: FoodInsight.org.

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Thank you for visiting my site! I hope you have a Guilt-Free day!
Melissa