This story has been updated since it was originally posted on 01/05/2023 to include an additional item
Coffee is an essential part of most people’s day. According to a recent study by E-Imports, the average American has 3.1 cups of coffee every day. Wow, we’re definitely addicted! And everybody’s coffee order is different. Some like their coffee black while others prefer a light roast with half and half, hazelnut syrup, and whipped cream on top. However, some of these ingredients, (like creamer, caramel, vanilla, whipped cream, and more) can actually stall weight loss efforts. Unfortunately, there are four ingredients, which happen to be the tastiest, experts recommend removing from your coffee order immediately: heavy cream and creamer, sugar and syrups, whipped cream, and artificial sweeteners.
To learn more about unhealthy coffee ingredients, we spoke with Dana Ellis Hunnes, PhD, MPH, RD, senior dietitian at UCLA medical center and author of Recipe for Survival, Rachel Scott, Co-Founder and Medical Practitioner at National TASC, Trista Best, Registered Dietitian at Balance One Supplements, and Lisa Richards, creator of the Candida Diet. They told us these ingredients can lead to weight gain because they’re extremely high in both unhealthy fats and sugars. Read on below!
1. Heavy cream and creamer
We get it–black coffee can be boring and bitter. That's why many people add additives like heavy cream or creamer to their morning pick-me-up. From the same E-Imports study, 35% of coffee drinkers enjoy black coffee while 65% like adding cream for taste. But, many creamers are high in sugar which can lead to blood sugar spikes, weight gain, and more. If you regularly go overboard with cream, your waistline will unfortunately pay the price. Much of the fat found in creamers comes from saturated fat which has also been linked to an increased risk of high cholesterol. Best says heavy cream or creamer are the worst offenders when it comes to fattening coffee ingredients.
"Oftentimes plant-based creamers can be just as high, if not higher, in calories than regular dairy creamers," she says. "The added sugars in these creamers should also be a consideration when making your coffee. An unnecessary amount of calories, fat, and added sugar are found in most coffee creamers regardless of their basis." Say it ain't so! Guess we can always replace heavy cream with some milk alternatives.
2. Sugar and syrups
They may add flavor, but coffees with syrups and sugars also add a lot of health risks, too. Most flavored syrups for coffee are widely sweetened with corn syrup that increases blood glucose way up leading to weight gain. Similarly, sugar also has high amounts of fructose, which is linked to all sorts of problems like weight gain and diabetes. Not only is sugar bad for your general health, but sugar-heavy diets have been linked to inflamed breakouts and premature wrinkles.
These sugar and flavored syrup additives are highly inflammatory to the body and thus increase the cholesterol level in the blood. "The bad thing about refined sugar is that the body is able to metabolize and break them down rapidly so it causes a spike in blood sugar levels," Scott explains, "In turn, there is an overproduction of insulin. If this continues, your body will have insulin resistance which can lead to diabetes and other heart diseases. This can also cause you to have a hard time losing weight." While refined sugars and flavored syrups should be avoided as much as possible, this is especially important for women over the age of 40. Not only are these ingredients high in calories, but they're empty calories so they have no nutritional value.
3. Whipped cream
If you're the kind of person that loves Starbucks' frappuccinos with all that whipped cream on top, you should know that this topping is actually detrimental to your metabolism. Since whipped cream is made primarily from cream, it's just as bad as heavy cream and creamer. Whipped cream contains around eight calories, a gram of fat, and nearly half a gram of sugar per tablespoon. Yikes!
And, canned whipped cream from the store is stored using nitrous oxide which is 300 times worse for the environment than CO2. Once it leaves your whipped cream can, it hangs out in the atmosphere for 120 years!
While a cup of black coffee has zero calories the calories come in when drinkers add creams, sugars, or flavorings to their cups. And, when it comes to all of these dangerous coffee ingredients, Hunnes says they "halt weight loss because they tend to be high in calories and can make some coffee beverages contain upwards of 300-500 calories (depending on size and ingredients), which is as much as a meal but does not satiate us." So, not only are these ingredients riddled with empty calories, but they don't even satisfy our hunger so we end up overeating later in the day.
4. Artificial Sweeteners
You may think that artificial sweeteners make a viable option when compared to refined sugar. Unfortunately, though, Richards tells us that this sweet ingredient comes with its own share of health risks—especially when it comes to your gut.
Sucralose and aspartame, in particular, she says "can irritate the gut and cause dysbiosis in the gut’s microbiome." This dysbiosis (an imbalance in gut bacteria) can result in "gastrointestinal discomfort like gas, bloating, and worse." Plus, your gut health plays a crucial role in your body's ability to lose weight. Additionally, the sweet taste of artificial sweeteners could result in cravings for more sweets and actual sugar, making it a poor choice for weight loss all around.
Healthy alternatives
Even though heavy cream, syrups, and whipped cream cause inflammation, that doesn't mean you can't add anything to your coffee. Hunnes says there are plenty of healthy milk alternatives and ingredients you can try instead (the coffee ingredient that boosts brain function may surprise you!).
"You can use an unsweetened but flavored lower-calorie plant-based alternative (ie. Unsweetened vanilla soy milk or oat milk) and then add just enough sweetener to get a hint of sweetness," she recommends. "You can also add spices such as cinnamon or pumpkin spice to get some of that flavor without all the calories that are found in the pre-sweetened high-calorie creamers available on the market. This way, you may only be taking in 80-100 calories instead of 300-500 calories." Yum!
So there you have it: three coffee ingredients that are actually interfering with weight loss plans. That doesn't mean that you can never have heavy cream or vanilla syrup, just add them to your coffee sparingly. Or maybe, try some of those healthy alternatives with your morning brew!
