A recent published study in The Journal of Nutrition has revealed that a cup of black coffee each day can help decrease the risk of death by 14 per cent. Read more of the study.
Drinking a cup of black coffee a day can lower the risk of premature death by 14 per cent, a new study has found. But if you are adding milk or sugar, the benefits may not apply. No such association was observed between high added sugar or saturated fat and heavy sugar-sweetened coffee consumption, researchers said. The research appears in The Journal of Nutrition.
The health benefits of coffee have been attributed to its bioactive compounds, such as phenolic compounds and caffeine, the study’s senior author Fang Fang Zhang, from US Tufts University, said, but our results indicate the reduction of mortality may be less pronounced with consumption of sugar and cream added to coffee.
The researchers examined data from nine consecutive cycles of the US’ National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 1999 and 2018, linked to national death data. They also examined the responses of more than 46,000 adults 20 and older who completed first-day 24-hour dietary questionnaires.
Type of coffee consumed (caffeinated or decaffeinated), sugar and saturated fat content were also taken into account, and death outcomes assessed included all-cause, cancer and cardiovascular mortality.
Few previous studies have investigated how coffee dairy additives affect the association between coffee consumption and risk of all-cause and cause-specific death, and our study is one of the first to provide estimates of the amount of sweetener and saturated fat being added.
The authors wrote: “Drinking black coffee and coffee with low levels of added sugar and saturated fat was related to a 14 per cent reduced risk of all-cause mortality compared to drinking no coffee.
Drinking two to three cups a day could reduce the risk of dying from any cause by 17 per cent, while guzzling more than three cups a day was not linked with any extra benefits, the researchers said.
In addition, the association between coffee and reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease diminished when more than three cups of coffee a day were consumed, they noted.
Disclaimer: Tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purposes only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a dietician before starting any fitness programme or making any changes to your diet.