The Truth About Coffee Calories
Every New Year, I vow to kick my coffee habit, but halfway through January something always prompts me to break my promise. This year it was the scent of my husband’s Sumatra Gayo Mountain roast wafting through the kitchen that made me give in.
The good news is that black coffee has close to zero fat and calories. The bad news is that I don’t drink my coffee black.
According to a recent study by the journal Preventing Chronic Disease, I’m not alone. In a survey of about 3,000 purchases from Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, “approximately two-thirds of the purchases at Starbucks and one-fourth of purchases at Dunkin’ Donuts were blended coffee drinks.“
The study reported that these blended beverages average about 239 calories. Some, like Dunkin’ Donuts Vanilla Bean Coolatta, add up to 860 calories and 172 grams of sugar in just one 32-ounce serving.
That just makes me want to give up my morning cup (again).
Click here to read the full report.
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tsmall/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
—Maria Wakem, senior editor
Related posts
Chat with Dr. Murad Live Tomorrow
It’s not every day that you get to ask a world-renowned dermatologist about your skin issues. But tomorrow you’ll have just that chance.
Dr. Murad, founder and CEO of Murad skincare products, will be hosting a one-hour webinar tomorrow, January 27, at 11am PST. If you have a computer, you can participate.
During the webinar, Dr. Murad will talk about his research on health and aging, answer audience questions, and share before and after photos of people who have improved their appearance and health with simple life changes.
In order to participate in the webinar, all you have to do is click here to register.
—Stephanie Kinnear, web editor
Related posts
Catching Up On Sleep? Think Again
If you’ve been skimping on your sleep during the week while planning to make up for it with extra shut-eye over the weekend, you might want to rethink your plan. According to a study released in the January 13 issue of Science Translational Medicine, sleeping in on Saturday might make you feel better in the short term, but the negative effects of chronic sleep loss will linger on and on and on …
According to the study: “chronic sleep loss from six hours of sleep per night for two weeks causes a similar level of impairment as staying awake for 24 hours” and, at this point, experts do not know how many nights of sufficient sleep it takes to make up for that loss.
The study also notes that approximately 16 percent of Americans routinely operate on 6 hours of sleep a night. Experts we’ve interviewed recommend getting at least 7 hours!
You can read more about the study here.
So, how many hours of sleep do you get every night?
Image: Corbis
—Stephanie Kinnear, web editor
Related posts
Special Invitation! Renewal Weekend Sale at Gilt Groupe
As the resident fashionista and stylist here at Spa, there’s little that brings me more joy than a really good sale. Starting today, one of my favorite online discount shopping sites, Gilt Groupe, is having a “Renewal Weekend Sale” and I just had to share the news.
Spa favorites like Blueprint Cleanse, Beyond Yoga, and Exhale Spas are offering their services and products at MAJOR discounts:
Exhale Spa (NY Location) – 10 Core and Yoga classes: MSRP $280, Gilt $179
Blueprint Cleanse – 5 Day Cleanse: MSRP $375, Gilt Price $277
Beyond Yoga – Two tone tank: MSRP $66, Gilt $28
Pure Inventions – Anti-Oxidants Fruit Extracts with Blueberry and White Tea: MSRP $41, Gilt $20
You need an invitation to join the sale site, and luckily Spa has one right here for you! Just click here and follow the easy instructions to join. Make sure to shop soon, as these sales only last for 2 days and items are already selling out quickly.
Also if you’re looking for amazing travel discounts, check out Jetsetter, one of their sister sites. They currently have rooms on sale at The Tides Zihuatanejo, Hotel Fauchere, L’Auberge Del Mar, Paresa Resort, LeBua, and Charleston Place.
Happy shopping!
—Veronica Sooley, photo editor
Related posts
Book Review — Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual
These days, eating well has become a confusing endeavor. Should we choose low-carb, fat-free, or “lite” snacks? Local, organic, or cage-free eggs? Fully commit to veganism, or enjoy a daily steak on the Atkins diet?
Clarifying these culinary conundrums, the new book Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual ($11, Penguin Books) is a concise guide that’s easy-to-use and easy-to-read (I finished it in an hour or so). But don’t let the book’s simplicity be deceiving. You may recognize its author Michael Pollan as the journalist behind The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food, two bestsellers from the past few years that each received heaps of critical praise, including the food industry’s highest honor, the James Beard Award.
In his last book, Pollan condensed years of research into a seven-word motto: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”Divided into three sections, Food Rules elaborates on each of these terse sentences with easy-to-digest rules of thumb.
Advocating a return to traditional, non-Western diets, Pollan offers sage advice from doctors and nutritionists, as well as anthropologists, folklorists, and even grandmothers. When creating his rules of healthy eating, he also took into consideration more than 2,500 reader suggestions, solicited last year on a New York Times wellness blog.
Some tips are brilliant in their simplicity: “#1. Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.” Others are tongue-in-cheek but just as applicable: “#57. Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does,” i.e., a gas station.
While the book is not a definitive tome (check out his previous works for that), it is a handy and humorous reference that is filled with nuggets of wisdom you can actually use. Never a killjoy, Pollan also reminds us that, at the end of the day, eating is one of life’s greatest joys and should be treated as such: “#64. Break the rules once in awhile.”
—Victor Maze, art director
Related posts
5 Health “Secrets” for the New Year
With the New Year now under way (and resolutions to keep!), it’s great to be reminded that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is actually pretty easy—with the right direction, that is. Our friends at Canyon Ranch offer these 5 suggestions for keeping ourselves happy and healthy now and for many years to come:
 |
#1 – Take it Day by Day Commit yourself to making one doable, positive change in your life each month in 2010, then find the internal discipline to stick with it. Tip: Take a hint from 12-step programs, and tell yourself that you’ll take it one day at a time. |
 |
#2 – Exercise Regularly and Eat Well Physical functionality won’t happen without it, so don’t stint on activity. Resolve to do something every day—this will help you develop a genuine exercise habit. Studies have shown that exercise is good for mental function, as well. When it comes to eating, skip junk food and fast food—sticking instead to whole grains, fruit, and vegetables and lean meats. |
 |
#3 – Be Positive Try to find joy and give joy each day. You don’t have to be happy all the time—no one is—but try to find the silver lining whenever possible. To a large extent and in the long run, happiness is a choice we make. |
 |
#4 – Stay Connected Interact with others each day in a productive, satisfying way. In this hyper-busy, electronically saturated world, it’s easy to lose sight of the importance of maintaining our sustaining connections with others. Call up a friend, spend time with a family member, grab a cup of coffee with a co-worker. Join a club. Take a class. Volunteer. |
 |
#5 – Manage Your Stress Uncontrolled stress is a modern epidemic. Fortunately, you can learn dozens of easy, effective techniques to control it. Breathing classes, relaxation and meditation recordings, soothing music, yoga classes—they’re all good. |
—Julie Sinclair, editor-in-chief
Images: Canyon Ranch
Related posts
Get Protected: Kerstin Florian Oil-Free Daily Defense SPF 50
Now that the new year is just around the corner, I’m working on my list of resolutions. One of them is to be more consistent about wearing sunscreen every day. My fair complexion needs it!
Kerstin Florian’s Oil-Free Daily Defense SPF 50 ($55) is what I’m planning to use. I like it because it’s not too thick and not too greasy. It actually has a matte finish, which I love. And just a little dab of it is enough to cover my whole face.
The sunscreen also acts as a lightweight moisturizer and is enhanced with vitamin C and Co-Enzyme Q10 (a powerful antioxidant), so I feel like I’m doing all sorts of wonderful things for my skin when I put it on.
—Stephanie Kinnear, web editor
Related posts
How to Pick the Right Airline Snack Food
Ever wondered how many calories are in those little ham sandwiches your airline hands out as you’re flying over Ohio? If you have, then you’ll want to read The Diet Detective’s Annual Airline Snacking and Onboard Food Survey.
The Diet Detective (Charles Stuart Platkin) surveyed seven major airlines and gathered nutritional information on all their onboard food offerings. In his report, he shares those findings, recommends the best snack choices on each airline (hint: skip the muffins), and estimates the amount of exercise it will take to burn those snacks off once you land.
If you’re interested in making smart food choices while you travel, you might want to read the whole survey. I did and I’m sticking with the honey-roasted peanuts.
Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wordridden/ / CC BY 2.0
—Stephanie Kinnear, web editor
Related posts
Ageless Vitality Workshop at Vail Mountain Lodge & Spa
If improved fitness and improved health are on your list of New Year’s resolutions, the Ageless Vitality Workshop at Vail Mountain Lodge & Spa might be the perfect way for you to start 2010.
Led by Mary Horn M.S., the program will address “mindful eating” and provide daily exercise classes.
Program: Ageless Vitality Workshop
Details: Four-day intensive program designed to “explore health challenges women experience throughout the decades of their lives and offer healthy lifestyle changes that will impact their future wellbeing.” Daily lectures, meals, and exercise classes are included.
Dates: January 11 – 14, 2010
Cost: $900 per person for workshop (does not include accommodations). Discounted rates for program guests are available starting at $349/night.
Related posts
Food as Medicine Retreat – Green Mountain at Fox Run
We just caught wind of a fascinating weight-loss and detox retreat at Green Mountain at Fox Run in Ludlow, Vermont. It’s called the Food as Medicine Retreat and promises to teach women who find it difficult to lose weight how to live a healthy lifestyle and use food as medicine.
What a great way to start the new year!
The Deal: Food as Medicine Retreat
The Dates: January 6-9, 2010
The Cost: Single – $899; Double – $799; Triple – $699
The Details: Cost includes full program, materials, lodging, all meals (including special dietary intake program), and taxes.
