4 ingredients you should never put in your morning coffee

Your morning cup of joe may come with some health benefits—but likely only if you drink your coffee black, without sugary additives. Here are four things never to add to coffee, plus tips for incorporating healthier caffeinated beverages into your diet.

1. Sugar

This common coffee ingredient may be harmful to your overall health. According to a 2023 research analysis, adding just 1 teaspoon of sugar to your coffee daily is linked to a slight increase in weight gain over the course of four years.

Sugar triggers inflammation in the body, which can lead to tissue damage and raise the risk of developing chronic health conditions like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

To control added sugar in your morning coffee, consider making it at home instead of purchasing one at a coffee shop, and using nutmeg or cinnamon to sweeten the taste a bit.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting added sugars to less than 10 g per meal, which is 2.5 teaspoons of table sugar.

2. Artificial Sweeteners

While artificial sweeteners may seem like a solid replacement for regular sugar, they're also an ingredient you might want to consider omitting from your cup of coffee. While these additives, including sucralose and aspartame, contain little to no calories or carbohydrates, researchers are still unclear on whether they may have any other health benefits.

For example, they won't spike blood sugar levels in the same way as regular sugar, but they could also contribute to inflammation in the body. In addition, artificial sweeteners can be difficult for the digestive system to process and might trigger uncomfortable digestive symptoms like bloating and gas.

To switch it up, consider adding a splash of vanilla extract instead to your coffee for a bit of sweetness without calories or additives. Or try to forgo a sweetener altogether, as some research suggests that drinking more unsweetened coffee is linked to less weight gain over time.

3. Full-Fat Milk

Many people may reach for a splash of milk to help tone down the intensity of black coffee, but the type of milk you select matters when it comes to health benefits.

Research suggests that milk proteins interact with the antioxidants in coffee, affecting how the body absorbs these beneficial compounds. Based on this finding, adding milk to your coffee may reduce the amount of coffee antioxidants available for your body to absorb.

If you prefer the taste of milk in your coffee, opt for skim milk varieties or unsweetened plant-based milks.

4. Saturated Fat

It may seem unusual to add a saturated fat ingredient to your coffee, but the concept of including grass-fed butter (or "bulletproof coffee") is still in practice by some.

Adding butter to your coffee, while popular among those following a ketogenic or paleo diet, increases fat intake for the potential purposes of providing energy, but it actually increases your saturated fat intake. This can lead to an increase in cholesterol levels and may be a potential risk factor for developing heart disease.

In at least one study, people who drank plain black coffee or coffee with low amounts of saturated fat and added sugar had a decreased risk of dying from heart disease or dying from any cause.

Other Tips for Healthier Coffee

In addition to reducing these non-beneficial ingredients, here's what experts recommend to help make your coffee (or caffeinated beverage) healthier:

• Consider trying green tea as a coffee alternative; it contains less caffeine and offers antioxidants.
• Add some cinnamon or unsweetened cocoa powder to your coffee for flavor purposes.
• Select a natural sweetener like monk fruit or stevia, rather than relying on artificial sweeteners.
• Avoid drinking coffee or other caffeinated beverages after 2 p.m., as they can interfere with your sleep schedule.
• Try drinking plain black coffee to reap its benefits without some of the potential drawbacks of added ingredients.

Keep in mind that for most healthy adults, nutrition experts recommend a limit of up to 400 milligrams (mg) of caffeine per day, which equals about two or three cups of coffee. This amount may vary a bit based on body composition and the way that your body may metabolize the stimulant.

Check with a healthcare provider if you have any questions about how much caffeine and which types of beverages are right for you.

Read the original article on Verywell Health