Hannah Lynn Fitness

Happy Monday everyone! I know some people HATE Mondays, which I completely understand, but I try to think of it as a fresh start of a new week! There's just something refreshing about a fresh start, so that encourages me to have a positive view of the usually dreaded Mondays. Just some food for thought :) But that's not the only food I want to talk about today! I want to address what perhaps everyone has heard of- "skinny" drinks. I know I can't be the only one who faces the temptation to order a Starbucks drink and ask for it "skinny." Maybe because I feel like it justifies my buying whatever I am ordering, and find encouragement in the vague title. But do we really even know what's in those drinks? Why are they "skinny"? What makes them that way? Are they actually better for you? Do they actually help to keep you skinny? Let's find out! So traditionally, if you order a "skinny" drink, it means you would like the dri...

Hello again:) I know the title of this post is quite alarming, but it is due to this article written recently. Basically, it states how because of the presence of acrylamide (more on that later), coffee shops may be required to have a sign posted warning people that by consuming coffee, they will be exposed to this chemical. There was a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles against shops like Starbucks for not publicly informing their customers of the presence of acrylamide in their drinks. Okay so what is acrylamide, and why is it such a big deal? According to the National Cancer Institute , "acrylamide is a chemical used primarily to make substances called polyacrylamide and acrylamide copolymers." These are used in products like paper, plastic, food packaging, etc. It is found in some foods and also tobacco smoke; these are the two most common ways for people to be exposed to this chemical. Acrylamide forms in coffee when the beans are roasted; it is actually in a lot of food...