Think Pumpkin Spice Is Harmless? Think Again.

Links have been found between consumption of pumpkin spice and increased rates of obesity.

Think Pumpkin Spice Is Harmless? Think Again.

"We were as surprised as everyone else," wrote molecular biologist Dr. Hannah Beck in her upcoming feature in the journal Nature. "It's very popular, and all of the ingredients are currently FDA approved."

"I got suspicious when one of my lab assistants underestimated the size of her belly and knocked a rack of test tubes to the floor. Most of these kids are 22, 23, 24 years old. They shouldn't be growing so quickly that it affects their coordination, and that's when I remembered that she always had a pumpkin spice latte in the morning. Those things are full of sugar, but only a few hundred extra calories couldn't explain the massive changes in body weight and composition we were seeing."

Animal trials began in January of 2015 and concluded one month ago. According to Dr. Beck's upcoming paper, mice who were given free access to food that had been flavored with pumpkin spice gained 76% more weight compared to mice who were given free access to either unflavored food or food flavored with cocoa powder (p<0.01).

"It's not about the amount they're consuming," she clarified. "All groups consumed approximately the same mass of food pellets. Something in the pumpkin spice mixture is actively interfering with their metabolism, causing lethargy and increased conversion of blood sugar into fat."

Dr. Beck and her team are currently investigating the use of pumpkin spice in the treatment of dangerously underweight individuals. You can read more about it in the October 2016 issue of Nature.