The Jibber-Jabber on Javaaaaah Creamer

Another word from the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s April, 2013 issue.

The creamer for coffee business is booming.  CSPI reported that in 2012, 67% of adults drank coffee daily.  Here’s the skinny on the creamer and coffee aisles of the grocery store.

• Coffee-Mate:  10 calories and “0” grams of fat per teaspoon.  According to label laws, 0 grams of fat means “less than 0.5 grams”.  In your coffee, watch the serving size:  as it goes up, this creamer is no longer non-fat.  If you take 2 Tablespoons of Coffee-Mate, it has 50 calories and 1.5 grams of fat (1.4 of them are saturated).
• Real Dairy Creamers:  Try ones that are part skim/part cream, and their fat content nets to 2% milk.  Land O’Lakes Fat-Free Half and Half works, or Whole Foods 365 Organic Original Coffee Creamer (skim mixed with soybean oil).  Better choices in Flavored creamers are harder to find because they add sugar, which adds calories.  Nestle Coffee-mate Low Fat Natural Bliss is the best of the “evils, with 20 calories per tablespoon.  Bailey’s Fat Free is close to this with 25 calories.  Many of the flavored creamers have double the calories of half and half per tablespoon!
• Soy or Coconut Milk:  Remember that soy creamers might not necessarily be heart healthy because they may contain palm oil, which provides saturated fat.  A good creamer choice in this arena is Trader Joe’s Soy Creamers, which use healthier oils (canola).  So Delicious Coconut Milk is a newer creamer.  The Original (unflavored) only has 10 calories per tablespoon.  Coconut milk creamer has about 1/10 the saturated fat of coconut oil creamer!
• Sugar & Oil Creamers:  CSPI becomes facetious here, because they claim that’s what International Delight and Nestle Coffee-mate liquids should call themselves.  International Delight uses palm oil (1 gram of saturated fat per tablespoon).  The fat-free varieties contain added sugar and the sugar-free varieties contain acesulfame potassium (Splenda:  CSPI is not convinced that acesulfame potassium is safe for human consumption).  Coffee-mate’s multi-serve liquids are made with partially hydrogenated oils and claim to be trans fat free, BUT CSPI had them analyzed.  It was found that they contained the always-to-be-avoided trans fat to the tune of .5 grams of trans fat per tablespoon.
• Starbucks VIA:  In 2009, we were introduced to this “gourmet” instant coffee.  What we got:  60 calories and 3 tsp of added sugar in 8oz.
• Keurig & Hills Bros:  Keurig brought us coffee K-cups, which contain 2 grams of saturated fat.  Hills Bros is worse.  A three tbsp. serving offers 120 calories, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, and 3 tsp of sugar.
•  Energy Drinks:  There has been a jump in Emergency Room visits since 2005 related to energy drinks.  They contain high doses of caffeine.  The information on how much caffeine is generally not disclosed on the labels.  15oz of Starbucks Doubleshot Energy has 145mg of caffeine:  this is where the “Energy” comes from, NOT from the added B-vitamins, ginseng, guarana, inositol, maltodextrin, and taurine.  Half of a 15oz can of Blue Sky Café Energy has 100mg of caffeine.  The “natural energy” comes from the caffeine of the coffee and the guarana.  Java Monster Coffee + Energy has 150mg caffeine in a 15oz can.  The label directs people to drink 1 can every 4 hours, with a limit of 3 cans per day.  This would be about the same as drinking 48oz of McDonald’s coffee.
• Ready-to-Drink:  It is hard to find ready-to-drink brews that are low in calories.  Starbucks Vanilla, Caramel, and Coffee + Milk only have 110 calories, but the calories come from sugar, they are low in milk, and they are sweetened with acesulfame potassium (see note on this above).  Starbucks Frappuccinos:  they have 200 calories and 5.5 tsp of added sugar (the “Light” cuts the calories to 100:  the sweetener is acesulfame potassium.  International Delight Iced Coffees have 150 calories per one cup (they use skim milk) plus 4 tsp of added sugar.  Again, the Light version eliminates some sugar:  the sweetener is acesulfame potassium.  They offer 6gm of protein per cup.  Straight milk has 8.
• Silk Iced Lattes:  There are only 100 calories per cup, but 4.5 tsp sugar with only 2gm of protein.  Empty calories.
• Illy Issimo:  It is coffee, milk, and 3tsp of added sugar.  There are 100 calories in an 8.45oz can.  If you just drink the Caffe flavor, the calories are 50 with no sugar.

So what is acesulfame potassium?   The trade name is “Splenda”.  The CSPI claims that safety tests are inadequate, but the proof is regarded as having flaws.  You can be the judge:  start here!    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1570055/pdf/ehp0114-a0516a.pdf