It's half past ten, and it's coffee run o'clock. A flat white, a pastry, maybe a full meal deal – job done. But between the counter and your desk, this small treat run can quietly load in more sugar than a chocolate bar. Let's decode it, cup by cup.
Swap that flat white for a caramel or vanilla latte and the syrup alone adds around six teaspoons of sugar to your cup, before you even count the natural sugar in the milk. Ask for one pump instead of the usual four, or try cinnamon on top instead.
That almond croissant by the till carries around five teaspoons of sugar in a typical bakery version, frangipane filling and all. A plain croissant has under one teaspoon, so the sugar's coming from what's inside it, not the pastry itself.
Grab the meal deal and pick a regular cola over water or a diet version, and you've just added roughly nine teaspoons of sugar to your lunch, more than the sandwich and the crisps combined. It's the easiest swap of the whole run.
Smoothies feel like the sensible choice, but a typical shop bought fruit smoothie can carry six to seven teaspoons of sugar. It's all natural, but it's still sugar, and without the fibre a whole piece of fruit would give you.
That flapjack by the till looks wholesome, oats, a bit of honey, but a typical bakery flapjack holds around six teaspoons of sugar, similar to a couple of digestive biscuits' worth, just pressed into one bar.
Start your transformation — try SugarCoach free, then £2.99/weekGeneral lifestyle education, not medical advice — personal medical decisions belong with your GP or pharmacist.