Customized drinks have gone viral – and may be a recipe for disaster

By Will Pry, ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥ News

Eternity in an Instant/DigitalVision, Getty Images
(Eternity in an Instant/DigitalVision, Getty Images)

Lea en español

When TikTok trendsetters went viral sharing their off-the-menu, customized drink recipes to try at the coffee shop, each one more over the top than the last, baristas took to social media and started posting the most outlandish customizations, calling out their customers and sharing war stories.

One order, for example – which already featured syrupy caramel blended with coffee and topped with caramel sugar – had a laundry list of add-ons that included extra caramel drizzle, whipped and heavy cream, cinnamon syrup and seven pumps of dark caramel.

Now, nutrition experts are hoping to have their say about the consequences of this syrup-pumping, cream-swapping fad: "It makes me cringe," said Marie-Pierre St-Onge, an associate professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University in New York. "It's a bad habit to start, that's for sure."

For starters, St-Onge said, customers should use caution when they order coffee drinks, tea or other popular, sugary beverages straight from the menu at their favorite establishments because they already may contain empty calories. The ingredient substitutions and add-ons can only make matters worse.

"We're talking about drinking calories, and liquid calories are often not very well compensated for at subsequent meals," she said. "They tend to be calories that are tacked on above and beyond your general energy requirement, so they are often those that lead to weight gain."

On its own – without added sugars or heavy creams – coffee is an excellent source of antioxidants, and regular consumption is associated with a host of health benefits, including a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes and Parkinson's disease. Many of the recipes that have gone viral, however, suggest adding heavy cream and sometimes more than a dozen pumps of flavored syrups.

"Of course, we know that this isn't healthy, and I don't know if that's also the intent, if that's what's making these drinks trendy," said Maya Vadiveloo, an assistant professor in the department of nutrition and food sciences at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston. "Is it people who are trying to say, 'This is just a delicious thing that I enjoy having when I'm feeling really, really decadent?' Or is it something that they think, 'This is my go-to drink of choice?'"

The trendy recipes aren't only based on coffee drinks; some of the most popular off-the-menu requests this summer are based on fruit drinks, which also can be deceptively unhealthy, Vadiveloo said.

"There's more of a 'health halo' around juice because people associate juice and fruit," she said. "But again, we don't compensate for calories from juice in the same way that we do with whole fruit. And when we just have juice, it takes away the fiber and some of the water content that helps keep you fuller, so you're more likely to over-consume juice and sugar at once."

A study last year in the found women who drank one or more sugary beverages a day had an 18% higher risk of cardiovascular disease. , from the AHA's journal Circulation, found sugary drinks are associated with an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease and, to a lesser extent, cancer.

If you have been trying out some extra-sweet recipes you've seen online – and if you've developed a sugary habit – it is possible to retrain your taste buds to appreciate a healthier version of your favorite beverage.

"You can wean yourself off," St-Onge said. "If you're starting off enjoying those eight pumps or 10 pumps, then start cutting. Go from eight to six, and then six to four, and then four to three and see just how low you could go.

"You could train yourself to cut back, and if you do so gradually, it doesn't seem so painful."

Of all the unhealthy additions helping drink recipes go viral, perhaps the most dangerous ingredient is FOMO, the fear of missing out.

"Many of these drinks are things that people consume pretty frequently, on top of already not eating a heart-healthy diet, and then they sort of are made glamorous by the 'secret menu' and some of the other consumer psychology tricks that people use," Vadiveloo said. "Like a fear of missing out: 'If I don't know about the secret menu, or if I don't try this pink drink, I'm somehow less popular.' But these are really not part of a healthy diet.

"If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is."

If you have questions or comments about this story, please email [email protected].


ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥ News Stories

ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥ News covers heart disease, stroke and related health issues. Not all views expressed in ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥ News stories reflect the official position of the ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥. Statements, conclusions, accuracy and reliability of studies published in ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥ scientific journals or presented at ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥ scientific meetings are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥â€™s official guidance, policies or positions.

Copyright is owned or held by the ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥., and all rights are reserved. Permission is granted, at no cost and without need for further request, for individuals, media outlets, and non-commercial education and awareness efforts to link to, quote, excerpt from or reprint these stories in any medium as long as no text is altered and proper attribution is made to ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥ News.

Other uses, including educational products or services sold for profit, must comply with the ľ¹ÏÖ±²¥â€™s Copyright Permission Guidelines. See full terms of use. These stories may not be used to promote or endorse a commercial product or service.

HEALTH CARE DISCLAIMER: This site and its services do not constitute the practice of medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always talk to your health care provider for diagnosis and treatment, including your specific medical needs. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem or condition, please contact a qualified health care professional immediately. If you are in the United States and experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or call for emergency medical help immediately.