Back in 2003, Starbucks® created its first Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) that included a sugary syrup, artificial colors and flavors, and other unhealthy ingredients. After customer complaints, ingredients were changed to remove some harmful chemicals and the potentially cancer-causing caramel coloring. One additional recipe update changed the pumpkin syrup to a pumpkin “sauce,” and the recipe has remained unchanged since then.
While certainly less harmful than the 2003 version, let’s take a closer look at what is actually in that cup of Fall nostalgia you may reach for on your way to work, and explore whether there may be a healthier version.
Coffee: Let’s start with the beans. We talked at length in a previous blog post about the harmful chemicals that can sneak into your coffee from “toxic pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers,” as well as healthier choices you can make. Some small organic roasters, such as LifeBoost Coffee, test their coffee for hundreds of harmful toxins and chemicals to be sure you are getting the cleanest and healthiest beans possible.
Organic, toxin-free Arabica coffee has many health benefits when enjoyed in moderation. Check out, “The Truth About Coffee” for additional information, details, and specific benefits.
Milk is what makes your coffee into a latte. On a positive note, the milk found in today’s PSL is 2% rather than whole. It accounts for around 100 calories of your beverage. We recommend avoiding cow dairy altogether. Many people have intolerances or sensitivities to either proteins or sugars found in dairy products. In addition, most dairy cows are fed GMO grains, which allows biocides to build up in the cows and in their milk. We recommend homemade nut milks like almond milk, to avoid the stabilizers, gums, and flavorings found in processed store-bought. A cup of almond milk has only 40 calories, and is rich in magnesium, calcium, and vitamin E.
Pumpkin Sauce: This thicker “sauce” that replaced the original syrup contains sugar, condensed skim milk, pumpkin purée, fruits and vegetable juice for color, natural flavors, annatto, salt, and potassium sorbate (a preservative). While it is nice to see there is actual pumpkin purée included, there are still ingredients of concern. The main ingredient in the “sauce” is sugar. As we have noted previously, added sugars have been linked to an increase in cardiovascular risk and inflammatory conditions, and we recommend avoiding them altogether. The typical 3 pumps of the “sauce” in a PSL contains roughly 40g of sugar.
When you hear “natural flavors,” you may envision things like spices and food extracts. Unfortunately, the legal definition is, “… the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.“ To translate that into everyday language, a natural flavor can be made up of many flavor extracts, and can include “solvents, emulsifiers, flavor enhancers, and preservatives;” sometimes as much as 90% of the “natural flavor” is these other compounds.
NPR did a great story on what is really in the natural pumpkin spice flavors, and linked to a video called Pumpkin Spice 101. Their bottom line is, “They are copies of what’s found in nature, but they’re made in a factory.” Pumpkin spice “natural flavor” mix includes cinnamic aldehyde, eugenol, terpenes, zingiberene, and vanillin, but according to the video, also has a total of 340 additional compounds(!), of which 5-10% are used by any given manufacturer to make their proprietary flavor blend.
We recommend steering clear of natural flavors as much as you can, and using actual organic spices to flavor your coffee.
The additive annatto, is used to give the pumpkin sauce its orange hue. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, “Annatto causes hives in some people. In fact allergic reactions to annatto appear to be more common than reactions to commonly used synthetic food dyes.”
Whipped Cream: Starbucks whipped cream is made from heavy whipping cream and vanilla-flavored syrup, coming in at 80 calories per serving. (The vanilla syrup consists of sugar, water, natural flavor, potassium sorbate (preservative) and citric acid). While we recommend avoiding dairy altogether, additional caution is advised over heavy whipping cream, as it is loaded with saturated fat. High-fat dairy has been linked to higher risk of dementia, and increased mortality from breast and prostate cancers.
Pumpkin Spice Topping: This is a spice mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove, with sulfiting agent preservatives. We recommend organic spices, and Ceylon cinnamon rather than regular cassia cinnamon to minimize coumarin intake.
The Cup: While Starbucks has made immense strides in using “sustainable” materials, allowing people to use reusable personal cups (with hard plastic lids) and decreasing the amount of plastic in their single use cups by 20%, each time you sip your PSL, you are still exposed to plastic. There is a considerable opportunity to ingest microplastics and the chemicals they contain. It’s best to avoid plastic completely, make your own PSL with Nature’s pHarmacy® recommended ingredients, and drink from cups made of materials like stainless steel, ceramic and glass.
Final Thoughts
Now that we know what is in a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte, let’s look at some ways you can make a version of this Fall favorite at home, with fewer calories and without added chemical flavoring agents or preservatives.
- Substitute unsweetened almond milk for milk
- Use organic pumpkin puree (with one ingredient – pureed pumpkin – on the label)
- Use organic Ceylon cinnamon, ginger (fresh or powdered), nutmeg, and clove
- Sweeten with a small amount of homemade date syrup
- Top with homemade Sugar-Free Pumpkin Cold Foam.
As we head into the Fall season, we want you to indulge in the flavors of the season, without all of the calories, chemicals, and toxins.
Drop us a line and let us know how you are enjoying the flavors of the season in a healthy way!
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