A must-read if you love lattes or iced coffee

OK, all you Starbucks savorers or Dunkin’ Donuts devotees, I have an important message for you today.

Because those lattes or iced coffee drinks that you know and love so well really have quite an impact on you…and not in a good way.

Here’s what you might not know (or want to know), but MUST know, about these concoctions that may make your taste buds dance, but slowly reveal their dark side as they continue their way through your body.

First let’s start with…

The numbers

The average large flavored iced coffee drink or skim milk latte packs a whopping 350 calories.

That’s more than a hot fudge sundae!

And whole milk lattes are even worse—they weigh in at about 450 calories!

That’s about two Hershey’s chocolate bars.

The typical recommended calorie intake for the average person is 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day. So even if you’re “only” indulging in one of these drinks each day, you’re looking at about 20 percent of your entire day’s calories in one shot.

Plus remember those are empty calories, my friend, as in sugar (more on that below)—so it’s not as if those calories will fill you up or nourish you.

Your body’s hunger signal is triggered by a need for nutrients.  So if it doesn’t get what it needs, it doesn’t care that you just gulped down the caloric equivalent of three Cadbury Crème Eggs—your inner dinner bell will ring and you are going to feel hungry!

And last but not least, when we’re talking about numbers, we’re also talking about cost.

It never ceases to amaze me how people willingly spend anywhere between $3 and $5 for a nutrient-anemic, sugar-loaded coffee drink, yet will complain about the price of something like a dozen organic eggs which cost about $3.50.

Now let’s move onto…

The sugar

There are actually various forms of sugar that can be swirling around in your fancy morning joe—(regular, table) sugar, brown sugar, molasses and of course copious amounts of high fructose corn syrup—the worst form of sugar known to man.

High fructose corn syrup is not “fine in moderation” like the advertisements would love you to believe—it stresses your liver, it causes more fat storage than other sugars and it’s even been found to contain heavy metals like mercury.

That doesn’t sound too “fine” to me.

Plus sugar in ANY form is a health-wrecking monster, increasing your risk of our two top killers (heart disease and cancer) plus the obvious obesity and type 2 diabetes.

In addition, here are two other health consequences of sugar that are less obvious but no less serious:

1- Cognitive decline and dementia

Elevated blood sugar levels are fast becoming significant markers for cognitive decline and dementia.

The reason why is because sugar clogs the nutrient channels in all of your cells.  Not only can this weaken your bones and muscles, but it can slow down communication between your nerve cells--which can lead to mood swings, memory problems and eventually dementia.

In addition, sugar uses up your body’s stores of vitamins and minerals, while at the same time providing next to none for you.  Every single teaspoon of sugar decreases your body’s supply of B vitamins, and B vitamins are crucial for mental performance.

2- Weakened immune system functioning

Sugar feeds harmful yeasts and parasites in your intestinal tract and depresses your immune system functioning.

Plus it throws off your intestinal flora balance, creating an environment which favors harmful bacteria.  Not only does this continue the cycle of depressed immune functioning, but it also irritates the gut wall making you a more likely candidate for leaky gut and impaired nutrient absorption.

Once your gut wall starts leaking toxins into your bloodstream and you start lacking essential nutrients, any form of sickness or disease is fair game to take up residence inside of you.

As if that wasn’t enough, now let’s look at…

The acid

Your body is designed to operate best in an environment with a slightly alkaline blood pH—about 7.365.  When your blood becomes either too alkaline (alkalosis) or too acidic (acidosis), your cells cannot function properly and begin to break down, eventually affecting the functioning of your organ systems.

Alkalosis is extremely rare, and is usually only seen with kidney disease or prolonged vomiting.

Acidosis, on the other hand, is rampant in our society because of our acid-creating typical diets, and coffee is a big offender here.

Coffee has a pH value of about 5—which is far better than soda (which has a pH of about 3), but still well into the acid range. 

This adds to your body’s burden of trying to regulate your blood pH, and can result in your body having to chip away at its own stores of alkaline minerals (including calcium and magnesium) to neutralize the acid.  Eventually this can lead to deficiencies and increase your risk of osteoporosis, among other things.

So now what?

If you’re a latte or flavored coffee lover, you’re probably chewing your nails right now, but rest assured there are alternatives that are far less harmful.

First of all, brew your own coffee at home and strive for organic brands (Jim’s Organic Coffee is excellent).  And don’t you dare balk about the cost of a pound of organic coffee—especially if you’ve been paying five bucks a pop at the fancy gourmet coffee shop.  You’ll be saving boatloads of money.

Try to reduce or eliminate the sugar—you’ll be surprised how quickly you can adjust to the taste.  If you have to have sweetness, opt for stevia. 

And as far as creams go, organic cream, half and half or milk are your best bets.  Stay FAR AWAY from powdered creamers, which are loaded with trans-fats in the form of hydrogenated oils.

For flavors you can try adding a dash of cinnamon or a drop of vanilla or maple extract.

Lastly, limit your consumption to one cup in the morning, then balance it off with water throughout the rest of the day to help counteract the acidity.

Help your body recover

If you’ve been a latte-a-holic for a while, chances are excellent that you may already be paying the health price of too much sugar and/or too much acid.

But you can help turn that around by incorporating more alkaline foods in your diet, improving your digestion and relying less on sugar-loaded processed foods in general.

And if that sounds like an impossible feat, not to worry--it’s far easier than you think. 

Because the Great Taste No Pain system will guide you all the way!

In Great Taste No Pain, I teach you all the dangers of refined foods (like sugar and high fructose corn syrup), as well as give you delicious ways to incorporate more of the good stuff into your meals and improve your digestion.

Plus I also explain the importance of an alkaline pH and show you which foods help encourage a health acid/alkaline balance.

Do the balancing act

In addition, if sugar has been your steady companion lately, you very well may have some seriously imbalanced intestinal flora going on…and that can mean impaired immune functioning, excessive gas and bloating as well as leaky gut.

But Super Shield multi-strain probiotic formula can help turn that around for you.

Super Shield contains a robust blend of 13 high-quality probiotic strains (from both the Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus species) that are ready to take their place along your intestinal wall, crowd out harmful pathogens and provide a more healthful environment for your friendly flora (where 70 percent of your immune system resides).

It’s all about wise choices

Don’t forget--making wise choices about your diet and helping your body recover from harmful foods can go a long way in keeping you healthy and disease-free well into your golden years.

And I can’t think of anything more important than that!

To your health,

Sherry Brescia

PS: Always be sure to let your doctor or healthcare provider know what supplements you are taking.