54 Grams of Sugar in Your Favorite Holiday Drink? Try This Keto Recipe Instead
Dr. Don Colbert – Back away from the drive-through. Turn your car around and head home. The Peppermint Mocha on the other side of that drive-up window may cost you much more than the $7 price tag. It may cost you over 1/4 cup of straight, liquid, killer sugar. Instead, break out your blender and try our delicious keto recipe instead!
Most consumers have little idea of the amount of sugar packed into lattes and gourmet coffee drinks. Unfortunately, the mixture of quick, liquid sugar and caffeine can have destructive consequences on health.
Here’s a much better option, and why you should avoid the sugar-caffeine trap.
Delish Keto Peppermint Mocha
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon organic/free-range butter
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar-free (stevia-based) chocolate chips
- 1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (very warm but not boiling)
- 1/3 cup espresso or strongly brewed coffee (or ~2 shots of espresso)
- 1 tablespoon Keto Zone Chocolate Collagen
- 1 teaspoon Keto Zone Vanilla MCT Oil Powder
- 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract (approximately 4-5 drops)
- dash salt
- Optional: keto-friendly sweetener, to taste
- Optional: whipped cream or coconut cream
- Optional: shaved sugar-free chocolate or sugar-free candy cane pieces
Instructions
- Place butter and chocolate chips in a blender.
- Add hot coffee and milk. Add collagen, MCT Oil Powder, extract, and salt.
- Carefully blend on medium speed until fully combined and frothy. Take care to hold the lid in place and allow steam to escape as needed.
- Pour into a mug. Add sweetener if desired. Top with whipped cream and shaved sugar-free chocolate or sugar-free candy if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition Info: 214 calories, 20 grams fat, 3 grams net carbs (7 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber), 0 grams sugar, 2 grams protein
Keto Peppermint Mocha vs. Starbucks
Why go through the trouble of making your own Keto Peppermint Mocha instead of just grabbing Starbucks?
First, there’s the sugar. One 16-ounce serving of Starbucks Peppermint Mocha packs in an astonishing 54 grams of sugar. What are the sources of these sugar grams? A look at the ingredients list tells us it’s sugar, peppermint syrup with sugar in it, vanilla syrup with sugar in it, and dark chocolate curls with sugar. Pretty much, it’s sugar.
Then, there are flavorings and preservatives, and a lot of chemical ingredients you simply don’t need.
In fact, Starbucks Peppermint Mocha is made of:
Milk, Mocha Sauce [Water, Sugar, Cocoa Processed With Alkali, Natural Flavor], Brewed Espresso, Peppermint Syrup [Sugar, Water, Natural Flavor, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid], Whipped Cream [Cream (Cream, Mono And Diglycerides, Carageenan), Vanilla Syrup (Sugar, Water, Natural Flavors, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid)], Dark Chocolate Curls [Sugar, Chocolate Mass (Processed With Alkali), Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla Extract]
And, it has this nutrition info per 16 ounces:
440 calories, 15 grams fat, 63 grams carbs, 54 grams sugars, 4 grams fiber, 13 grams protein
The Danger of Sugar and Caffeine
What’s the harm?
Of course, this much sugar is simply harmful to your body. It can spike blood glucose, increase resistance to insulin, promote fat storage and inflammation, and more.
Specifically, the mixture of caffeine and sugar can be even worse.
When you consume sugar, your body digests and absorbs it quickly. In the case of liquid sugar, this process is even faster. Once absorbed in the digestive tract, sugar makes its way to your liver, and then into your bloodstream. At this point, it’s crucial that your body sends out a bolus of insulin to deal with the sugar and store it.
This is not a healthy process, but it is the lesser of 2 evils. Without insulin opening up the cells for glucose storage, the glucose would stay in your bloodstream, harden arteries, and deteriorate health.
When insulin is sent out, it’s also vital that your cells respond by opening up. If they are not as sensitive to the insulin as they should be, and ignore it rather than opening and allowing the glucose to enter for storage, there will be problems. Caffeine, when mixed with sugar, can exacerbate these problems.
The Lethal Caffeine and Sugar Combo
Just how bad is the caffeine and sugar combo?
Caffeine can disrupt the sensitivity of insulin in cells, even in otherwise healthy people, when consumed with sugar. This means the glucose has nowhere to go, and blood sugars may begin rising.
In fact, studies have found that when caffeine and liquid sugar are consumed, the caffeine impairs sensitivity to insulin, which impairs the body’s ability to deal with the sugar (1). Meta-analysis has shown this is consistently an issue, for both healthy subjects and those with impaired blood sugars to start (2).
Bottom Line
If you’re fond of delicious holiday peppermint mochas, it’s time to get choosey. Don’t impair your sensitivity to insulin. Instead, choose a delicious homemade keto peppermint mocha! Skip the 54 grams of sugar and choose health this Holiday Season.
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