Whether you love limited-edition hot chocolates or prefer a latte packed with toppings, festive hot drinks are a fantastic way to celebrate Christmas in style, and the biggest high street chains have plenty to choose from. 

Each cup is often finished with syrups, cream, sprinkles and sparkles to make them look and taste as magical as the season, making them an indulgent treat that’s perfect for a warming, cheery pick me up. However, beyond the delicious flavour, some additive ingredients may potentially challenge a delicate gut. For women going through the menopause and perimenopause, this is especially concerning, with uncomfortable pain from bloating being a common symptom during this life stage.

According to research from King Edward VII’s Hospital, two thirds of adults admit to suffering from gastric issues during Christmas, with six in ten people putting these issues down to overindulgence. Festive drinks, like every Christmas treat, are fantastic to enjoy in moderation. However, during a time when sugary snacks, party food and rich meals are the norm, it’s natural to want to dig deeper into ingredients and their effects, to make informed choices and avoid any uncomfortable repercussions.

Is good gut health on your Christmas wish list this year? We analysed data from the festive range from the UK’s most popular high street coffee shops to see which ones ranked highest on the naughty list based on ingredient analysis.

Festive hot drinks with ingredients that could challenge your gut, ranked

To create our rankings, we looked at the 2025 festive menus from Costa Coffee, Starbucks, Caffè Nero and Pret A Manger, focussing on the hot drinks. For each one, we gave them a weighted score based on the inclusion of ingredients that could theoretically be high or moderate risk to gut health, as well as those that may be beneficial. Our analysis looked at ingredients rather than overall health impact.

To help support a balanced diet, we also logged the volume of nutritional factors including caffeine, calories, saturated fat and sugar.

Some of the ingredients analysed included Carboxyl Methyl Cellulose, a common stabiliser that studies suggest may have a detrimental effect on the gut microbiota, as well as the artificial sweeteners Sucralose and Acesulfame K, which research indicates could impact microbial diversity and resilience. The colouring Curcumin, on the other hand, may enhance gut barrier function according to some studies, while other studies suggest that the stabiliser Polydextrose could have prebiotic potential. 

When looking purely at ingredients identified by the study as being potentially challenging to gut health, Costa Coffee’s Gingerbread Latte had the highest risk, featuring five ingredients that could potentially challenge the gut, alongside one that could be beneficial. 

This was followed by the Starbucks Egg Nog Latte, which featured three potentially challenging ingredients, while the coffee giant’s Gingerbread Latte came joint seventh, featuring only one ingredient that may be beneficial to digestion, rather than challenge it. Caffè Nero’s Baileys Tiramisu Latte, Millionaire's Hot Chocolate and Orange Hot Chocolate, as well as Pret A Manger’s Frosted Mint Hot Chocolate and Gingerbread Latte also scored joint seventh, all also posing the least potential risk. 

Gingerbread is the spice of the season, with all four brands including a gingerbread latte on their menu. Costa Coffee’s version of the seasonal treat was the highest risk ranking, based just on ingredients that had gut health-challenging potential. Caffè Nero’s Gingerbread Latte was the second highest risk ranking, while Pret A Manger’s and Starbucks’ Gingerbread Latte had the lowest risk ranking. 

Of all the hot chocolates analysed, the Starbucks Caramel Cookie Hot Chocolate ranked highest based on the inclusion of potentially challenging ingredients, with Caffè Nero’s Millionaire and Orange Hot Chocolate, as well as Pret A Manger’s Frosted Mint Hot Chocolate, scoring the lowest risk ranking.   

When looking only at the combined value of nutritional factors such as calorie, sugar and saturated fat content, Caffè Nero’s Orange Hot Chocolate topped the charts. This drink had a whopping 45.1 grams of sugar and 14.9 grams of saturated fat. The Starbucks Toffee Nut Latte had the lowest overall volume, yet still contained 20.9 grams of sugar, which is nearly 67% of the recommended adult daily allowance.  

Why gut health matters for your health and your hormones

Although it remains a slightly taboo topic, public awareness of gut health is rising. Holland and Barrett’s Gut Health Report found that 58% of people surveyed have experienced gut health problems, with 45% of those saying those issues lasted three months or more.

Your gut affects more than digestion though, and is often referred to as the ‘second brain’. An imbalanced gut could do more than make you feel uncomfortable, due to wind, bloating and indigestion, but research indicates it could also affect your mood, energy levels, immunity and more. 

For people experiencing the menopause or perimenopause, problems with gut health may also be exacerbated. This is likely due to the fluctuation of hormones such as oestrogen that happens during this time, with some reports indicating that healthy gut bacteria could help to regulate oestrogen levels too. 

Remembering to enjoy in moderation

Like everything in life, balance is the key to good health. There’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy any of the festive drinks that we analysed in moderation. The odd treat here and there is unlikely to cause lasting damage. 

Looking into the data, however, does help to raise awareness of how you can start to make informed choices around your nutrition, at a time of year when it’s easy to give in to temptation more often than you might usually do. 

On top of diet, other factors around Christmas, such as lack of sleep and stress, can also impact your gut health and could soon leave you feeling uncomfortable, fed up and frazzled rather than full of festive spirit. 

For women aged around 40 years and upwards, being aware of the effects of your diet is especially important, as hormonal changes could be affecting your wellbeing even more at an already challenging time of year for many people.

Guilt-free drinks to balance, boost and indulge this Christmas

Our product development team have created a collection of drinks that offer plenty of festive flavour with a feel-good twist, all based around our popular Balance &Boost hormonal health supplement.

Featuring five tasty drinks and one layered dessert, you can view the guide for inspiration in the kitchen, below.

We wanted to recreate the nostalgic flavours people love, while combining them with our range of premium blended ingredients that are selected to support your health and wellbeing, including your gut. Every recipe includes Serenova Balance & Boost, which supports women experiencing perimenopause and menopause, as it’s packed with plenty of essential vitamins, minerals and botanicals like ashwagandha, lion’s mane mushroom and maca root. 

You can have cosy festive drinks that feel good and taste good with this range of recipes, while still enjoying the indulgent alternatives when you fancy.

Methodology

Serenova looked at the ingredients of all festive hot drinks from the four biggest high street chain coffee shops, Costa Coffee, Starbucks, Caffè Nero and Pret A Manger, sourced from their website or requested directly. From there, we analysed the ingredients that were listed as being additives. These were acidity regulators, preservative, emulsifiers, stabilisers, artificial sweeteners or colourings. We also logged the nutritional contents: caffeine, sugar, saturated fat and calorie content per brand, to calculate the effect on overall wellbeing, as well as gut health.

We then researched the ingredients using online resources. Any that were identified as being high or moderate risk for challenging gut health, or beneficial to gut health, and included a link to a related study or source, was added to our table.

Each drink was than ranked and a weighted score was given based on the potential positive effects or higher risk of the focus ingredients analysed, with a different score and ranking given to include the nutritional factors too. The final ranking is an analysis of ingredients and should not be interpreted as medical claims or advice. Data correct as of November 2025.