Drinking sweetened or unsweetened coffee is associated with a lower risk of death than not drinking the drink, according to a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Researchers surveyed 171,616 participants in the UK up to five times in a year about their lifestyle, including their coffee drinking habits. Scientists then searched for death certificates to see who died an average of seven years later.
Participants ranged in age from 37 to 73 years and reported no cardiovascular disease or cancer at the time of the study.
The results show that for people who drank a moderate amount of coffee, defined as 1.5 to 3.5 cups a day, those who sweetened their coffee had about 30% lower risk of death than people who do not drink coffee, according to Dr. Christina Wee, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who was not involved in the study. She is also the Deputy Editor of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Unsweetened coffee drinkers have between 16% and 29% lower risk of death than non-coffee drinkers, she added.
The results were adjusted for socio-demographic, lifestyle and clinical factors to eliminate their effects on results. For example, the research team asked questions about the level of smoking, the amount of physical activity, the level of education and eating habits, Wee said.
There is a limit to the researchers’ adjustments because they did not ask about other factors that could affect the results such as income level and profession, she said.
Pay attention to the added sugar
If you drink latte with sugar and caramel macchiato, you are out of luck.
According to the study, the average coffee drinker, who reports that he sweetens his coffee, puts on average 1 teaspoon.
“If you add only about 1 teaspoon of sugar to your coffee, the benefits of coffee that we believe exist do not completely negate that 1 teaspoon,” Wee said.
The results for people who used artificial sweetener in their coffee are less clear, so researchers have not been able to draw any conclusions about people who prefer sugar substitutes.
“Based on this study, clinicians can tell their patients that most coffee drinkers do not need to eliminate the beverage from their diet, but be wary of higher-calorie specialty coffees,” study lead author Dr. Dan Liu said in an email. She is from the Department of Epidemiology at the Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China.
How does coffee affect the body?
Previous research has shown that drinking coffee can protect the heart and help treat other diseases, Liu said. It could also reduce the risk of liver problems, according to a 2021 study.
Coffee also has different health profiles, depending on how it is made, said Gunther Kunle, a professor of nutrition and food science at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. He did not participate in the study.
Some species contain phenolic compounds that are thought to be useful, he said.
These chemicals affect the taste and aroma of coffee and are valuable because they can act as antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties. The two most common types of coffee are Arabica and Robusta, and research shows that Robusta coffee has a higher phenolic content than Arabica coffee.
Unroasted green coffee beans contain high levels of phenolic compounds, but the bad smell when brewed causes people to roast them. Depending on the degree of burning, some of the phenolic compounds may decompose.
And depending on how you prepare it, coffee can contain high levels of diterpenes, which are chemical compounds that can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, Kunle said.
Brewed coffee and French coffee contain some of the highest amounts of diterpenes, according to a 2016 study.
Mocha and espresso coffee contain a moderate amount of diterpenes, while instant coffee or coffee prepared by filtration has the least.
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