I Switched from Drinking Coffee to Ordering a Lotus...

People are destroyed for a lack of knowledge

Yikes!

Caution. Do not pass go.

Do not collect $200.

Initially I thought “okay that’s fine, sounds like a solid switch. Likely a health upgrade.” Instead of the white chocolate mocha, she is getting a flowery herbal drink. My patients are always looking for ways to upgrade their lifestyle, good for her.

And then I asked my orthorexic friend whose family runs a coffee shop, what is in a lotus drink.

Oh man!!! I was shocked. Hiding behind the word “Lotus” was upwards of 14 teaspoons of sugar per serving, not to mention the rounds of other non-negotiable additives.

No wonder these women were feeling lethargic, getting headaches, gaining fat while drastically changing their food routine for the better. It was the Lotus!

Lotus or any energy drinks should come with a warning label. Lotus drinks aren’t the worst thing on the coffee shop menu for health accumulators, but don’t be fooled into thinking they are better than coffee.

What’s worse is that 8th and 9th grade girls are downing a 16 ounce Lotus five times per week.

A single Lotus uses up the average person’s added sugar quota for the month.

If adults choose to poison themselves, fine, that is on them. They have their executive function intact, but tweens and teens need adult guidance.

Consider a 14–15-year-old girl whose hormones are already riding their monthly wave while she navigates school drama and tries to figure out who she is, now add the insulin surges and energy crashes from daily or weekly Lotus drinks. Not to mention, she may also have acne due to the detrimental effects sugar can have on hormonal balance in the skin.

Think about it, we are talking caffeine suspended in liquid sugar. One of the beautiful things about coffee is that it has polyphenols, antioxidants, chlorogenic acids and bitterness to promote digestive secretions.

Lotus has no beneficial quality. It is like using a hammer to drive in a screw, pure bodily destruction.

The bright colors, high caffeine content, and intense sweetness deliver a powerful dopamine hit to the brain’s reward pathways.

Even a fresh honey crisp apple can’t compete with this kind of sweet trauma.

And those bright colors are not from carrots, beets and turmeric, they are nothing but artificial. Think Blue #1, Red #40 and Yellow #5.

At times it seems humanity in the industrialized world is testing themselves to see how they can use food to torture their body and yet still remain alive. How close can we get to self-induced toxic overload without going comatose.

A cup of coffee is one of the most studied beverages in the world.

High quality coffee is associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes, decrease liver disease, decreased Parkinson’s, increased fat oxidation and increased life span.

Even increased telomere length (the caps that hold our DNA together). Just remember I said coffee does this, caffeine does not.

Please drop the white mocha, but don’t do yourself a massive disservice by replacing it with a Lotus.

Share with your friends and family, so that this liquid rot can be brought into the light.