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Most of us can’t start our days without a cup of coffee – for some of us, that’s two cups. And there’s nothing wrong with a daily cup (or two) of coffee, as long as you’re not over-doing it with the caffeine or filling your coffee with unhealthy ingredients. Many people don’t realize this, but coffee is a good source of fiber, certain B vitamins, magnesium, potassium and antioxidants.
Even though coffee can be good for you, we should still be wary of how we’re drinking coffee. There are actually quite a few coffee additives that can cause weight gain, like artificial creamer or too much sugar. And there is one sweetener no one should add to coffee anymore because nutritionists say it is the worst for you, no matter your age or if you’re trying to lose weight.
Nutritionists all agree that sucralose, artificially-made sugar alternatives like Splenda, Sweet’N Low, or Equal are the worst sweeteners you can put in your coffee. People often opt for these sweeteners because they are low in calories and can easily replace sugar, but the truth is that they are worse for you because they are made with chemicals that don’t usually agree with your body and make you feel bloated, experience headaches, muscle aches, swelling or dizziness.
Sucralose can even cause weight gain because it has been linked to increasing food cravings. “The taste of sweet—be it artificial or actual sugar—appears to play a significant role in increasing appetite,” Dr. Frank Lipman told Well and Good. In fact, multiple large-scale studies over the last 30 years have repeatedly found that artificial sweetener users gained more weight or had higher BMIs than those who didn’t use them.”
Dr. Lipman suggested that anyone who puts sucralose into their drinks slowly taper them out of their diets. He said, “With artificial sweeteners, I generally recommend tapering off. If you just quit cold turkey, the withdrawal symptoms can be quite unpleasant: headaches, moodiness, irritability, and strong cravings. I recommend people cut back daily intake little by little, monitoring how you feel until they’re able to cut it out completely.“
