Nutritional Pearl: Does Adding Coffee Sweetener Impact Overall Health?
In October 2022, I shared with you yet another article that showed that coffee is not bad for you: those who drank a moderate amount of coffee every day were less likely to have a heart attack or die of heart disease.1
With many ways to make coffee, it's important to specify what kind of coffee people drink: the previous study was careful to look at the differences between those who drank caffeinated coffee and those who did not as well as whether the coffee was instant or made from ground coffee beans.
The Research
Today's research goes a step further: does the type of sweetener you put in your coffee, if any, matter?2
A team of researchers in China sought to answer the question utilizing data gathered for the UK Biobank study, a long-term, large-scale prospective survey of over 500,000 United Kingdom residents that started gathering data in 2006.
For the analysis, the authors excluded those participants who reported having cancer or cardiovascular disease (including myocardial infarction or stroke) at the start of the study, as well as those who did not complete at least one dietary questionnaire and those who reported drinking both sweetened and unsweetened coffee on different occasions. More thanOver 170,000 participants remained.
Interestingly, this research not only asked participants what type of coffee they drank—caffeinated versus decaffeinated—but also asked them to specify whether the coffee was made from instant or with ground coffee, for example drip coffee or cappuccino. Additionally, they were asked to specify if they drank their coffee unsweetened, sugar-sweetened, or artificially sweetened as well as how much sweetener they used.
The Results
The authors took into accountconsidered an impressive array of factors—from education to physical activity to specific dietary items such as dairy and fresh fruit intake—to find that, while those who drank their coffee without sweeteners were between 16% and 29% less likely to die of any cause, those who added sugar to their coffee were still up to 31% less likely to die of any cause, although those who drank more than 4.5four and a half cups of sweetened coffee per day were slightly more likely to die of any cause.
The association between drinking artifically-sweetened coffee and death from any cause was “less consistent and conclusive,” however, leading the researchers to conclude that “moderate consumption of unsweetened coffee and … sugar-sweetened coffee were associated with similar reductions in risk for death.”
What’s the Take Home?
According to the researchers, using artificial sweeteners in your coffee is something that people shouldn’t worry about, noting “moderate coffee consumption may be an indicator of a normal and healthy lifestyle.” That is, those who drink coffee in any form may simply have a healthier lifestyle in general.
As always, bear in mind that some coffee drinks, such as those topped with whipped cream and containing excessive amounts of sugar syrups, should be considered desserts due to their high caloric content. But your morning coffee is probably safe enough.
References:
- Harlan TS. Details on coffee and heart disease. Dr. Gourmet. Accessed November 1, 2022. https://www.drgourmet.com/bites/2022/042022.shtml
- Liu D, Li ZH, Shen D, et al. Association of sugar-sweetened, artificially sweetened, and unsweetened coffee consumption with all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Ann Intern Med. 2022;175(7):909-917. doi:10.7326/M21-2977
Dr. Gourmet is the definitive health and nutrition web resource for both physicians and patients with evidence-based resources including special diets for coumadin users, patients with GERD/acid reflux, celiac disease, type 2 diabetes, low sodium diets (1500 mg/d), and lactose intolerance.
Timothy S. Harlan, MD, FACP, CCMS, is a practicing, board-certified Internist. He is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine at George Washington University and Director of the GW Culinary Medicine Program.
Health meets Food: the Culinary Medicine Curriculum, is an innovative program teaching medical students about diet and lifestyle that bridges the gap between the basic sciences, clinical medicine, the community, and culinary education. Medical students work side-by-side in the kitchen with culinary students to teach each other, and most importantly, teach the community and patients how to return to their kitchens and transform their health.
He served as Associate Dean for Clinical Services at Tulane University School of Medicine and is the founder and Senior Advisor of the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine, the first-of-its-kind teaching kitchen operated by a medical school.
Dr Harlan attended medical school at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, and pursued his residency at Emory University School of Medicine Affiliated Hospitals in Atlanta, GA.