Anyone who tells you that coffee is wrong for you isn't telling you the whole story. Coffee might potentially be considered a healthy complement to your diet on its own. Not only can it aid in illness prevention and weight management, but drinking a cup of coffee every morning may even help you live longer. No, it's not a joke.
However, it's crucial to remember that not all cups of coffee are created equal. It all depends on what's in your cup, as well as how much of it there is.
The amount of added sugars in your cup of coffee, in particular, might harm your general health and should be taken into consideration, especially if you've set yourself a few weight-loss targets.
"If you want to lose weight, adding sugar to your coffee is by far the worst habit," says Courtney D'Angelo, MS, RD, author at GoWellness. "Any unhealthy creamer with added sugars or artificial flavoring falls within this category."
Sugar consumption reduction has been associated with a slowing increase in obesity, according to an analysis published in the Polish Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences in 2019. At the moment, the average American consumes more than 300 percent of the daily recommended amount of added sugar, which is 25 grams for women and 37.5 grams for men, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).
What does that mean in terms of how much sugar you can drink, particularly in your coffee? "To maintain a healthy body weight and prevent disease, men should only consume 9 teaspoons of sugar each day, while women should have 6 teaspoons," D'Angelo explains.
While some sugars are necessary for life (such as those found in complex carbs such as fruits and whole grains), the researchers concluded that Americans are still overconsuming sugar and should seek to minimize their intake to benefit their health. An excellent place to start is with coffee.
"If you drink 2 to 3 cups of coffee a day and sweeten it with artificial sweeteners or sugar, you're putting your health and weight at danger," D'Angelo warns.
To put this in perspective, a single tablespoon of generic coffee creamer may have roughly 5 grams of added sugars, which is 10% of your daily value—or 20% of the AHA recommendations. Plus, with so many sugary drinks available at well-known coffee shops (did you know that certain Starbucks frappuccinos contain the same amount of sugar as seven Krispy Kreme donuts? ), it's pretty simple to go over your daily sugar limits—and undermine your health and weight loss in the process.
We believe in eating a nutritious, wholesome, balanced diet. Therefore if you want to indulge in a cup of sweet coffee now and then, grab the drink you like and enjoy it. However, doing so daily can have a significant long-term impact on your health. When it comes to your weight, this is especially true.