The Starbucks I go to is now selling magic beans. Well, matcha tea lattes actually, which are like magic beans in the sense that they possess special powers:
Detox the body
High in antioxidants
Helps the immune system
Burns calories
I was particularly intrigued at the last claim. This latte actually “burns calories”.
Which is strange, because a venti serving of said magic tea latte — sorry, matcha tea latte — contains 316 calories all on its own, making it the most calorie-laden tea drink on the menu:
This is pretty much a similar number of calories as in one of those super-sized chocolate chip cookies they sell.
Hmm. Do the chocolate cookies also “burn” calories?
Obviously this is all ridiculous. When you drink a venti matcha tea latte, you consume calories, you don’t burn them. You consume as many calories as you would if you ate a chocolate biscuit.
Physical activity burns calories. Some other things (like stress) can also burn calories, but not always in a good way.
You can’t burn calories by consuming them.
But I guess anything that claims to perform “detox” is bound to be bunkum.
Brian Hughes is an academic psychologist and university professor in Galway, Ireland, specialising in stress, health, and the application of psychology to social issues. He writes widely on the psychology of empiricism and of empirically disputable claims, especially as they pertain to science, health, medicine, and politics.