Autumn is here, Halloween is around the corner, and then it’s straight on to Christmas! Time to see nature change colour, get cosy inside and grab a warm spiced drink.

Starbucks is bringing back its most popular Pumpkin Spiced Latte for the 21st year, Costa is marking the start of the season with its Maple Hazelnut Latte, and Pret hasn’t missed the memo with its Salted Caramel Latte.

With all the flavours to choose from but a niggling feeling that these drinks could be too good to be healthy, Natalie Louise Burrows, registered Nutritionist and Clinic Director of Integral Wellness, has created the below guide so you can get coffee shop smart.

"I don’t know about you, but autumn is my favourite season. While most of my friends get excited about coffee shop menus, I get curious about what goes into making these concoctions and what I can do to enjoy the drink in the healthiest way possible.

Yes, I am that person who holds up the coffee queue because I’m ordering something off the menu and then changing it to something bespoke. We all deserve bespoke coffee orders, and when you start to uncover the hidden truth behind these flavours, you might agree with me."

What to avoid in coffee shops?

Here’s a quick lowdown

1) Avoid going large

Whether it’s an Italian or British name given to the size of the coffee, I recommend keeping yours to the smaller end of the scale. As tempting as it is to make the flavours and warmth of the drink last, some of these autumnal coffees and hot chocolates provide the same energy as a small meal. Simply sapping from a large to a small can reduce the energy by 120 calories*.

To be clear, I prefer counting nutrients over calories when it comes to health. But I do appreciate that it’s easy to disregard liquids as energy-providing foods. After all, it’s just a drink. But with milk-based drinks, our digestive system has to break it down the way it still would do food - and with the additional flavours and maybe a dash of cream, it soon adds up.

*depending on the drink of choice.

2) Hold the cream, please.

Speaking of cream, I personally, give it a miss. This is not a quality raw, unpasteurised, grass-fed whipped cream you may use at home. The quality of the cream is hard to find information on, but the addition of 6% sugar ( coffee shop dependent of course) is not. Yep, that added sugar (sometimes in the form of vanilla syrup) is why it tastes so different and, to some of us, so good!

If you forego the cream, you can enjoy a drink with less sugar and less inflammatory fats.

3) Keep calm on the caffeine.

I love coffee and its benefits. It’s gone from being demonised to being proven rich in antioxidants and polyphenols and supportive of metabolic health. However, some of these drinks contain over a third of the recommended amount of caffeine in the daily diet.

If you’re sensitive to caffeine, or even if you’re usually not, you may find these autumnal coffee choices create a wired and jittery feeling. When the caffeine boost is added to sugar-derived flavours, you can end up with a surge in blood sugars, and what does up must come down, leaving you with an exhausting crash and searching for more. Keeping a hold on your blood sugar and fasting insulin sustains metabolism

How to choose a drink in a coffee shop - we want to enjoy ourselves too!

1) One pump, not three. I’m sweet enough.

That leads us to learn how to drop that sugar content. I’m sure you were aware that these flavours tend to come from syrups. They are spicy and sweet, making a delicious drink when added to milk. Our tastebuds and brains love it! But as I’ve mentioned, the sugar can be a concern for a blood sugar rollercoaster and your metabolism that could last you the rest of the day.

In some of these drinks, sugar content is over 200% of the daily recommended amount. You read that right. It is recommended that adults consume no more than 30 grams of free sugars a day (free sugars are the type that would come from added sugar, found in syrups and fruit juices). This is a limit, not a target, yet some of these seasonal drinks reach between 30-65g of sugar with their autumnal spiced syrups.

Consider asking the barista how many pumps of flavouring they add to the small-sized cup (usually, it’s three) and tell them to drop it down to half or simply one. You still enjoy it, and your blood sugars prefer it, too.

2) Make it with the right milk.

Still, on the theme of sugar… many alternative mylks in coffee shops are different from the type/brand you might choose at home. I’d recommend you select a brand with the key

ingredient (almond, cashew, oat, etc), with spring water and salt. Nothing more and definately unsweetened. There's nothing better than walking into a coffee shop and seeing a brand like Plenish behind the barista bar.

However, when we drink out, that request is out of our hands, and sweetened mylks tend to be what’s available (along with extra additives in the ingredients list). This can add to the sugar content. Plus, if it’s oat mylk you choose, these oats are broken down into starch, which also ends up as sugar. Now might be a good time to check how you feel an hour or two after your oat mylk latte.

If you can swap to a whole milk dairy option, the dairy's protein and fats will help balance blood sugars from the sugary flavoured syrups. Just another tip if you find yourself on that rollercoaster sugar ride.

3) Moderation.

As with most things in a healthy lifestyle, moderation is key. What we do the majority of the time is what really matters, and the 80/20 rule is a guide I like to live by.

Our bodies are incredible, and if we treat them, feed them, and move them well 80% of the time, then our bodies will forgive us for the other 20% of the time.

If you have a specific health condition, you may find that you need to live more 90/10. We’re all individual. Find your balance and find your new bespoke autumnal coffee order!

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This article is for informational purposes only, even if and regardless of whether it features the advice of physicians and medical practitioners. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice. The views expressed in this article are the views of the expert and do not necessarily represent the views of Healf

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