High Street Iced Tea Increases Cancer Risk
TTKN Staff | Health | July 27th, 2009 | No Comments »
Quick Read: Sky News have reported that ice teas available from high street chains such as Starbucks, Caffe Nero and Costa Coffee can increase the risk of cancer and obesity due to containing upto a quarter of the daily calories for women.
The Ice Tea list in full:
Starbucks
Venti dark berry mocha with whipped cream 561
Venti dark berry mocha without whipped cream 457
Tall dark berry mocha with without whipped cream 288
Venti iced coffee 5
Tall iced coffee 3
Caffe Nero
Double chocolate frappe 483
Mocha frappe latte 483
Mocha frappe latte with skimmed milk 452
Framme latte with skimmed milk 277
Iced latte 117
Costa Coffee
Massimo iced mocha 361
Massimo coffee frescato 332
Primo coffee frescato 199
Primo iced mint latte 167
Primo iced mocha 152
Sky News reported women could be consuming more than a quarter of their daily calories with just one drink.
Dr Rachel Thompson, science programme manager for the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), analysed the calories at three leading high street chains: Starbucks, Caffe Nero and Costa Coffee.
Most iced coffee drinks contained over 200 calories, with some measuring in at around 450.
A Starbucks venti dark berry mocha frappuccino blended coffee with whipped cream has the highest number of calories – at 561.
Dr Thompson said: “The fact that there is an iced coffee on the market with over a quarter of a woman’s daily calorie allowance is alarming.
“This is the amount of calories you might expect to have in an evening meal, not in a drink.
“Having these type of drinks as an occasional treat is unlikely to do you any harm.
“But if you are having them regularly then they will increase the chances of you becoming overweight which, in turn, increases your risk of developing cancer as well as other diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.”
The recommended calorie intake for women is 2,000 a day and 2,500 for men.
Dr Thompson added: “There are some iced coffees on the market that are low in calories so it is worth shopping around. For example, we found one that has just three calories.”
A spokeswoman for Starbucks said they sold a range of low calorie drinks as well as “more indulgent options on offer which our customers may choose from time to time”.
A spokeswoman for Costa said: “Costa takes the nutritional balance of all its food and drink very seriously.”
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