It is a rarity to travel anywhere in the U.S. and not be able to find a Starbucks coffee shop close by, and as the holiday season approaches, the menu has grown to incorporate festive drinks that can contribute to the dreaded annual weight gain.

It is no secret that Starbucks drinks have little nutritional value and contain a high number of empty calories, but they are still widely popular and regularly consumed. Many Starbucks goers ignore the fact that the drinks are unhealthy or simply do not how bad the drinks are for them.

“I don’t think about how many calories are in [Starbucks drinks] because I don’t get them too often and they’re really good,” junior Tina Uglietta said.

Uglietta typically gets a tall Hot Chocolate, which has 290 calories, although she guessed that it only contains 150 calories. This was a common trend among AHS students, for those who avidly go to Starbucks usually only have a vague idea of the nutritional content of the drinks.

Most of the Starbucks drinks, excluding plain coffee, average around 250 to 300 calories for a grande, or 16 ounce, cup. However, the holiday drinks, which reappeared on the menu in mid-November, contain even more calories and grams of sugar.

Students at AHS realize that Starbucks drinks are unhealthy, but when asked how many calories they believed their favorite drinks contain, the majority of students guessed that the drinks had a significantly lower amount of calories and sugar than they actually do. Students often thought that the drinks had half or even up to a fourth of the actual number of calories.

“I get a tall Soy Chai Latte because it’s a healthier option,” junior Luke Lundy said. In reality, however, the drink has 43 grams of sugar, more than the amount in a 12 ounce coke can.

Starbucks coffee drinkers often think that some drinks are healthier than others because of their names or how they are prepared. However, the only way to know for sure is to conduct research, as Starbucks posts the nutritional information online for all of the drinks that it sells.

“Smoothies are probably one of the healthiest drinks at Starbucks,” senior Alli Foster said. One would think that because the main ingredient of the smoothies is fruit, they would be a good choice, but smoothies still contain a high amount of sugar.

Avoiding Starbucks all the time is not necessary, but it should be treated as an indulgence and one should take note that it should not be consumed every day or even once a week. When ordering a drink, ask for no whipped cream. Also, switching from whole milk to nonfat milk can cut the calorie count significantly.

It may be tempting to order a large size, but most of the time a tall will suffice. If the reason that you go to Starbucks is for the caffeine, then opt for plain coffee and add in the sugar and milk yourself in order to limit the amount of calories in the drink and control how many grams of sugar you intake.