If you take your coffee with a little bit of sugar, you could be helping to extend your life.
New data suggests that the health benefits of coffee persist even when a bit of sugar is added.
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The research showed that people who drank any amount of unsweetened coffee are 16 percent to 21 percent less likely to die than those who don’t drink it, based on data from 171,000 British participants.
Sweetened coffee drinkers who had an average of 1.5 to 3.5 cups per day were 21 percent to 29 percent less likely to die during a seven-year follow-up period than non-coffee drinkers.
But this doesn’t mean you should head for a syrupy sugar-bomb of a coffee. The people who benefited tended to add just a little bit of sugar to their coffee.
On average, people put about one teaspoon of sugar in each cup, which only tacks on about 16 extra calories. Specialty syrups sugar coffees, on the other hand, can have hundreds of calories. They are basically liquid cakes.
The study also found that unsweetened coffee drinkers had a lower risk of death regardless of how much they drank, with the greatest overall benefit being in the 2.5 – 3.5 cups per day.
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Sweetened coffee drinkers also had benefits, but as long as they drank less than 4 cups per day. Having 4.5 cups seemed to slightly boost the risk of early death.
If you’re a coffee drinker and like a little sugar, this can be great news for you. Sometimes it’s easy to get scared off by any amount of sugar, so knowing there is room for a slight indulgence in your daily coffee can be comforting.
If you don’t drink coffee, you don’t need to start drinking it for a longer life. There are plenty of other things you can do to live a long and healthy life.
About eight years ago, Mat Lecompte had an epiphany. He’d been ignoring his health and suddenly realized he needed to do something about it. Since then, through hard work, determination and plenty of education, he has transformed his life. He’s changed his body composition by learning the ins and outs of nutrition, exercise, and fitness and wants to share his knowledge with you. Starting as a journalist over 10 years ago, Mat has not only honed his belief system and approach with practical experience, but he has also worked closely with nutritionists, dieticians, athletes, and fitness professionals. He embraces natural healing methods and believes that diet, exercise and willpower are the foundation of a healthy, happy, and drug-free existence.
