Caffeinated coffee with limited cream and sugar may promote longevity, study shows

A daily cup of caffeinated coffee may lower all-cause mortality risk by 16%, according to a new study. Black coffee and coffee with low added sugar and saturated fat were linked to a 14% lower risk of mortality.

However, researchers at Tufts University, US, did not see this link for coffee with high added sugar and saturated fat. Mortality outcomes included all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. 

“Coffee is among the most-consumed beverages in the world, and with nearly half of US adults reporting drinking at least one cup per day, it’s important for us to know what it might mean for health,” says senior author Fang Fang Zhang, Neely Family Professor at the Friedman School. 

“The health benefits of coffee might be attributable to its bioactive compounds, but our results suggest that the addition of sugar and saturated fat may reduce the mortality benefits.”

Quantifying sugar and saturated fat

The observational study, published in The Journal of Nutrition, outlines data analyzed from nine consecutive cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2018, linked to National Death Index Mortality Data.

The data represented 46,000 adults aged over 20 who completed a 24-hour dietary recall. However, researchers note this as a limitation of the study, as people’s recollections are prone to errors.

Low-added sugar included granulated sugar, honey, and syrup, comprising under 5% of the daily value (2.5 grams per 8-ounce cup or half a teaspoon of sugar).

Low saturated fat came from milk, cream, and half-and-half, up to 5% of the daily value, one gram per 8-ounce cup, or the equivalent of five tablespoons of 2% milk, one tablespoon of light cream, or one tablespoon of half-and-half. 

Per day, one cup of coffee was linked to a 16% lower risk of all-cause mortality and 2–3 cups rose to 17%. Over three cups showed no more reductions but the link between coffee and lower risk of death from heart disease weakened.

Researchers saw no significant associations between coffee consumption and cancer mortality. Decaffeinated coffee was not linked to all-cause mortality; perhaps not many drank it, posit the researchers.

Low-added sugar included granulated sugar, honey, and syrup, comprising under 5% of the daily value.“Few studies have examined how coffee additives could impact the link between coffee consumption and mortality risk, and our study is among the first to quantify how much sweetener and saturated fat are being added,” says first author Bingjie Zhou, a recent Ph.D. graduate from the nutrition epidemiology and data science program at the Friedman School. 

“Our results align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommend limiting added sugar and saturated fat.”

Coffee under spotlight 

In previous research, women consuming up to five caffeinated coffees daily in midlife were found to be more likely to be healthy agers, according to a preliminary study that followed 47,513 women for 30 years.

Earlier this year, a Swiss study suggested that drinking over five cups of coffee daily may improve cognitive performance and reduce inflammation in heart patients. The authors suggest that coffee may offset these people’s risk of cognitive decline. 

Another study suggested that drinking coffee in the morning lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality more than drinking it all day.