Drink This, Not That

CBS4 News Special Report

MIAMI (CBS4) ―

Coffee and smoothie businesses have been raking in the dough from customers all over the country with 3 - 5 dollar drinks. But, along with the high cost to your pocketbook, the drinks also pack quite a punch to your diet.

If you're a fan of Smoothie King, you might want to choose your drink carefully. Their popular vanilla shake has 738 calories, 37 grams of fat, and 82 grams of sugar. Writers of the popular diet book, "Eat This, Not That," say you might want to substitute the amaretto coffee smoothie. The substitution drink only has 118 calories, no fat, and 82 grams of sugar.

Dunkin Donuts fans need to watch out for the strawberry coolata. It has 290 calories and 72 grams of carbs. Instead, you might opt for the Caramel Creme Iced Latte. This drink only has 260 calories and only 40 grams of carbs.

And if you can't go a day without a Starbucks mocha, you might find it interesting to know you're drinking 200 calories and 24 grams of sugar in a 2 percent grande mocha, not including whip cream. Instead, you could drink a non-fat vannilla caffe latte, which only has 120 calories and 19 grams of sugar.

Ph.D. nutritionist Sharon Price says it's important to know the ingredients in the drink as well as the nutrtional value. The book lists a drink such as the Jamba Juice Mega Mango as a good choice, but Dr. Price says you should avoid the drink because of the sugar.

"97 grams! I would like to call it Mango Diabetic coma. It just is not a good thing.

One other Jamba Juice drink to avoid, The Power Peanut Butter Mood. It may sound tempting, but a look at the nutritional content shows the drink has almost 1200 calories. That's as much as some people can have for their full dietary intake.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

---