Coffee seems to be one of the most popular drinks in the world. With many cultures finding their own ways of brewing it through the centuries, it is now rare to find someone that has not at least tried this very tasty beverage, but not all coffees are created equal and not all of them are good for you and we are not talking about the different varieties. Of course, we are talking about the fat and sugar that people put into their coffee to make it more palatable, but that can also make it a lot worse for their health.
The benefits of coffee as a whole have been repeatedly studied for years, with many equating it to the elixir of the Gods (although that might have more to do with caffeine than with the drink itself) and others stating that it is a terrible drug that can make you addicted and should be banned. Both positions have some merits, after all, a cup every once in a while will not hurt anyone, but consuming too much caffeine will have the same effects as consuming any other drug and the withdrawal symptoms are not nice at all.
What this means is that consumers need to be smart about how they consume their favorite drink, but that is not all that they should consider, especially if they plan on enjoying the proven health benefits that coffee can bring.
How coffee can improve your health
Since coffee is a berry, it contains many of the advantages and antioxidants that many berries do, so it is not terrible for your health. The lighter the roast, the more benefits you will get from drinking it, but not even dark roasts will lose all of the good properties. But once it is roasted and made into a drink many people choose to alter the taste by adding sugar or cream, or worse, some concoction that contains both along with a bunch of chemicals that are meant to flavor the drink artificially and make it taste like the drink came out of a syrup bottle.
This altering can eliminate all the good effects that the drink can have and make so that it is so unhealthy that there are actual negative consequences to your health should you consume more than a cup every few days.
This is backed by research from Tufts University, which indicates that drinking black coffee may contribute to a longer life, and after analyzing data from over 46,000 adults, the study found that those who drank their coffee with little or no added sugar or cream had a reduced risk of dying from heart-related conditions. Specifically, consuming black coffee was linked to a 14% decrease in overall mortality compared to those who did not drink coffee at all. The study also notes that the health benefits tend to decline when sweeteners are introduced.
And that is the key, in order to reap the benefits of the drink, you must take it as it was intended, without trying to alter the flavor, which is not something many are willing (or able) to do. This is easier if you have good coffee that has a nice flavor profile, but this tends to be expensive as well as subject to taste, and most people prefer to purchase a mediocre product and just add some cream and sugar than to spend a lot of money just to discover they do not like the results.
But, if you are intent on drinking this controversial beverage at least a few times a day, try to moderate the amount of sugar that you add to it, as the consequences for your health can be quite dire.