Cut sugar and cream to maximise coffee’s health benefits

New research from Tufts University reveals that drinking black coffee significantly lowers the risk of death, but adding sugar and cream may blunt these health benefits.

Researchers at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy analysed nearly 20 years of dietary and mortality data from 46,000 US adults and found that drinking one to two cups of caffeinated coffee a day with minimal added sugar and saturated fat reduced the risk of death from any cause by 14 percent.

The study, published in The Journal of Nutrition, analysed nine cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2018, linking dietary recall data with national death records.

Coffee consumption was categorised by type, quantity and the amount of sugar and saturated fat added. The researchers categorised sugar additions under 2.5 grams per 8-ounce cup (about half a teaspoon) as low, and saturated fat additions under 1 gram per cup, equivalent to five tablespoons of 2 percent milk or one tablespoon of cream.

Additional findings

People who drank at least one cup of coffee per day saw a 16 percent reduction in their risk of death from any cause, with the benefit increasing slightly to 17 percent for those drinking two to three cups daily. However, consuming more than three cups daily did not lead to additional mortality benefits, and the association with lower cardiovascular mortality weakened at higher intake levels. The study found no significant link between coffee consumption and cancer mortality.

“Coffee is among the most-consumed beverages in the world, and with nearly half of American adults reporting drinking at least one cup per day, it’s important for us to know what it might mean for health,” said Fang Fang Zhang, senior author and Neely Family Professor at the Friedman School.

“The health benefits of coffee might be attributable to its bioactive compounds but our results suggest that the addition of sugar and saturated fat may reduce the mortality benefits.”

Quantifying the impact of additives

Lead author Bingjie Zhou, a recent PhD graduate in nutrition epidemiology, emphasised the importance of quantifying the health impact of additives.

“Few studies have examined how coffee additives could impact the link between coffee consumption and mortality risk, and our study is among the first to quantify how much sweetener and saturated fat are being added. Our results align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans which recommend limiting added sugar and saturated fat.”

The study found no mortality benefit linked to decaffeinated coffee, likely due to lower consumption levels in the sample.

A related study earlier this year showed that drinking coffee in the morning lowers the risk of cardiovascular mortality compared to drinking it throughout the day, suggesting that consumption patterns further influence health outcomes.

Although the results have limitations due to self-reported data and some variation, the large sample size and mortality linkage strengthen the credibility of the findings.

Therefore, by reformulating products to minimise sugar and saturated fat, coffee manufacturers and producers could improve the health profile of their offerings while also helping consumers unlock coffee’s full potential as a life-enhancing beverage.