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Coffee is a popular morning drink, and it can be a healthy one too, depending on what you add to your morning brew.
This hot drink is a great source of antioxidants and can help increase your metabolic rate, making it a good way to start your mornings. However, many people who don’t like to drink black coffee resort to adding other sweetening ingredients to this popular breakfast drink–and some of them can lead to health problems if you are not careful.
With that in mind, keep reading for the only way you should take your morning coffee.
First, the potential benefits of coffee. According to Eat This, Not That!, coffee can have major health benefits.
Amy Shapiro, MS, RD, CDN, and founder of Real Nutrition NYC, explains to the outlet: "Coffee is high in antioxidants and since so many Americans drink it, it's one of our biggest sources of antioxidants (as much as 50-70 percent of the total antioxidant intake of the average American!)."
What does that mean for you? Shapiro continues, "That means coffee helps to fight disease."
In this instance, Shapiro is talking about coffee on its own. If you start adding other ingredients to your morning brew (like creamer and sugar), it might not be as healthy.
Penny Kris-Etherton, a nutrition professor at Penn State University, explains to the American Heart Association: "We know that sugar has adverse effects. Even if you add sugar and don’t exceed your calorie needs, you’re still negating some of the benefits because sugar is a negative food ingredient."
With that in mind, when making or ordering coffee, it's a good idea to stay away from sugar, sugary creamers, and flavored syrups.
That also means avoiding specialty drinks that typically pack in all of these high sugar ingredients (as well as a lot of calories).
Although black coffee might be the healthiest choice, it's not the only option. You can add certain ingredients to your morning drink without worrying about it negating any of the coffee's health benefits.
For example, adding oat or almond milk to your morning cup could help temper the bitterness of black coffee without adding in a bunch of sugar. If you want to experiment, you can also add some cinnamon.
According to Healthline, "Cinnamon is a tasty spice that mixes particularly well with the flavor of coffee. Studies show that cinnamon can lower blood glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides in diabetics." Make sure you get Ceylon cinnamon (instead of Cassia cinnamon) to reduce any negative effects.
