Recently, Starbucks ran a limited promotional drink called the Unicorn Frappuccino. Almost immediately, my Facebook newsfeed was filled with comments about how much sugar was contained in the drink.
I was shocked that a pink and purple drink, covered in whipped cream and sparkles, could possibly be high in sugar. I had to question all truths I’d previously held as absolute.
Next I might be told that Santa Claus isn’t real. I mean, he is real, isn’t he? There must be a Santa. My super healthy sugar cookies always have a bite out of them when I wake up on Christmas morning.
Still, knowing that Facebook news can’t be trusted, I decided to do some intrepid investigation into the subject. Astonishingly, the Unicorn Frappuccino did have a lot of sugar. Sorry to break it to you.
As long as I’m talking about Earth-shattering discoveries, it also turns out that donuts, ice cream and cake frosting have also been found to be high in sugar. But don’t worry, I didn’t find anything to convince me that Santa is fake.
On a serious note, does anybody actually go to Starbucks thinking that they are about to purchase anything remotely healthy? Is there legitimately a single person that is convinced their caramel macchiato or pumpkin spice latte isn’t high in sugar?
Anybody who is genuinely astonished and appalled that the Unicorn Frappuccino is heavily laden with sugar really needs to consider the quality of their critical thinking process. Everyone who thinks that Starbucks has health-conscious items on their menu might want to reconsider their definition of healthy.
Here’s what really gets my goat about the whole thing: all the public outcry about how much sugar is contained in the drink. Pepsi has just as much sugar, but nobody fills Facebook with complaints about it. Although, Pepsi was around before we felt the compulsive need to be offended by everything, or the need to be opinionated about what others consume.
If you don’t want to consume a lot of sugar, don’t buy purple drinks. It’s that easy. If you see somebody drinking a purple drink, you don’t have to tell them it’s high in sugar; they likely already know. Sometimes we just want something sweet.
