Fall is coming, which means it’s time for all of our fall favorites: football, sweaters and pumpkin flavored everything! Now, if you’re like me, then you love pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks or pumpkin anything from Dunkin Donuts. And again, if you’re like me, then you don’t always seem to care what you are putting into your body. I go on a major health kick from time to time, but for the most part I eat and drink what I want to.

I’m sure we all know by now that some foods and drinks are not good for us; there are things that are put into these products that are not healthy, but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying them. I think that sometimes knowing that these things aren’t the best for us makes it that much more appealing to our taste buds. It’s that forbidden nature that makes the food or drink seem so alluring.

For the most part, I am careful about what I put into my body because that’s how I was raised. I am nowhere near saying that I only eat salads and drink milk. I’d be lying if I said I never consumed more than one Big Mac or pumpkin spice latte. Sometimes I have the whole “I don’t care” attitude and shrug off the fact that I just ate a thousand calories in one meal or just drank a ton of processed chemicals in one drink, but there are also times where I figure I’d better go for a run and eat oatmeal to help my arteries. I just want to do what makes me happy.

Everywhere you go, you’ll find some sort of article or nutrition fact that will make you hesitant to put certain foods into your system, but if you really want it and you aren’t allergic to it, then go for it; just be careful. You’re allowed to indulge yourself every once in awhile. What fun is that if you don’t?

I’ve seen a lot of different articles and theories going around about a lot of different products. I’ve heard about hair in food at Olive Garden, and I’ve read about all of the chemicals and sugars that go into Little Debbies’ Cosmic Brownies. Has that stopped me from eating at Olive Garden or eating Cosmic Brownies? The correct answer is no.

Many articles about the nutrition of these foods mention that these drinks contain harmful chemicals that may lead to cancer. Now I’m no expert in food or drugs or what have you, but these articles also say that this substance is approved by the FDA … for now. If this is the case, if these drinks do contain cancer causing chemicals, I still think that I would drink them. I bet you’re wondering how that makes sense, right? People say that drinking diet sodas can cause the same problems, but we still consume those. A lot of things in this world have the ability to put a strain on our health and yet we still take part in them because they make us happy. The companies that are making these drinks should rethink the ingredients that are going into their products, and we as consumers should also be wary of how much of these chemicals and products we are consuming. Ultimately, both groups are responsible.

The most alarming thing about this chemical being in our beloved pumpkin spice lattes is that it doesn’t even have anything to do with how the drink tastes. It’s all for the purpose of coloring. Well, if that’s the case then what’s the necessity of even having it? Why bother putting a dangerous chemical into a drink if it doesn’t affect anything but the color? I’m sure the manufacturers are smart enough that they could come up with a better, healthier solution to this problem. That’s what they get paid for, right?

I don’t know who has the time to sit and read all food labels and nutrition facts. If you are one of those people, then please feel free to continue to do so, and maybe you can give me a few tips. We all like what we like. We’re all going to do what we want to do. Eat your salads or your Big Macs, drink your milk or your pumpkin spice lattes; do what makes you happy. I know that I for one, even if there are “bad” ingredients in something that I enjoy, I’m still going to enjoy it. We only have one life so we might as well enjoy what we can. Let’s not overdo it, but let’s still enjoy it.