I started working at a coffee shop about seven months ago and we serve Starbucks products. Prior to working there, I had never thought about how much sugar is going into something as simple as a sweetened tea (about 11 grams.) So I decided to do a bit of research about how much that Venti Iced Caramel Macchiato that I ordered every day about a year ago actually affects my health.

For those of you that don't know, the average daily sugar intake for a woman should be about 25 grams and 37.5 grams for men. That Venti Iced Caramel Macchiato has 49 grams of sugar, which is way past what the average daily intake should be for men and women. Now if we think about another popular Starbucks drink, a Grande Caramel Frappuccino, it has 66 grams of sugar... that's more than double what the average woman should be consuming.

Why is this so important though? Sugar, especially artificial is really not good for you. Sugar leads to weight gain, acne, a risk of heart diseases, and many other health issues. Since simple foods like marinara sauce and peanut butter even have added sugars, therefore it's not a good idea to be consuming double your sugar intake in a drink alone.

When it comes to sugar the best thing to do is consume it in moderation. So this doesn't mean giving up on that gold card at Starbucks that you worked very hard for, it just means choosing drinks that have less artificial sweeteners and still enough caffeine to get you through your day.

My suggestion is to try just black coffee or espresso with a Splenda or two. However, I know people like their drinks sweet, so a good option is ordering a smaller size and asking for it half sweet instead. The tall vanilla lattes come with three pumps of vanilla sweetener and total 27 grams of sugar, so if you get it half sweet you're going to get about 13 grams and still get your caffeine fix.

Sugar is amazing, don't get me wrong, but your health is far more important.

If you want to check how much sugar is in your favorite drink use the Starbucks Nutrition Guide.