Drinking black coffee every morning can help you live longer

A new study has revealed that drinking one to three cups of black coffee coffee per day is linked to a lower risk of death of all causes and the death of cardiovascular diseases, but adding sugar and saturated fat in large quantities can eliminate these advantages.

What research says

The study, published in The Journal of Nutritionexamined the relationship between coffee consumption, including the amount of sugar added and saturated fats and mortality in adults in the United States.

They found that the consumption of at least one cup of caffeine coffee daily was associated with a risk of 16% of mortality and mortality all causes combined by cardiovascular disease.

Two to three cups reduced the risk by 17%. Beyond three cups, however, no additional reduction has been observed and the advantages of mortality by cardiovascular disease were weakened when more than three cups were consumed.

Researchers also found that the consumption of black coffee and coffee with low levels of added sugar and saturated fats was associated with a risk of mortality all causes of 14% compared to coffee consumption. However, the reduced risk was not observed when large amounts of saturated fats and sugar have been added.

“The reality is that most of us are not only drinking coffee alone,” said Fang Fang Zhang, PH.D, principal of the study and Neely family teacher at the Friedman school.

“Although we can think, anecdotal, that yes, sugar and fat may have weakened the advantages of coffee consumption, we really wanted to generate evidence,” added Zhang.

How the study was conducted

Zhang and his team used data from the national survey on health and nutrition exams from 1999 to 2018, linked to the mortality data of the national death index, which included a representative sample at the national level of 46,222 adults aged 20 and over.

The researchers have defined “sugar with low additions” such as granulated sugar, honey or syrup under 5% of the daily value of the FDA, 2.5 grams per cup of 8 ounces, or about half a teaspoon of sugar.

Meanwhile, “low saturated fats” were defined as 5% of the daily value of the FDA of milk, cream and half and half and half.

This is equivalent to 1 gram per cup of 8 ounces, or:

• 5 tablespoons of 2% milk
• 1 tablespoon of light cream
• tablespoon in half and a half

The meaning of the results

This study is one of the first to examine how what we put in our coffee can be as important as drinking it, said Liz Weinandy, MPH, RD, Dietistian nutritionist and medical diet instructor of Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Although researchers have not examined how or why coffee can have protective effects, other studies suggest that caffeine can help accelerate your metabolism and improve insulin sensitivity.

Coffee grains also have flavonoids, which have been linked to many health benefits, including reducing the risk of chronic diseases.

On the other hand, research has shown that high quantities of sugar and saturated fat can harm glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity, leading to obesity.

“This is only one study, but it certainly supports what we already know – the Sugar and saturated fats are not good for human health, and we must limit both in our diet,” said Weinandy.

Should you change your coffee order?

While many studies based on nutrition offer an edifying message on what to stay away, Zhang said that she thought that the overall message of this study is positive:

“Take advantage of your coffee if you are a coffee drinker,” she said. “This is a good thing that we have seen the advantages of drinking coffee. Look at what you add. If you like milk, you can add it, if you like sugar, you can do it – try not to go beyond the threshold.”