Trying to shed a few pounds? If you drink coffee, here’s something that may help: Adults who drink unsweetened coffee lose less weight, according to a new study.
The basis of the study was the perception that the consumption of both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee would reduce long-term weight gain. Starting with that base, the researchers studied the associations between coffee consumption, caffeine intake, and weight changes and what impact the addition of sugar, cream, or a non-dairy coffee whitener had on a basic cup of Joe.
The conclusion?
After boiling down what the researchers found from the study’s 100,000 participants, it concluded this:
“An increase in intake of unsweetened caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee was inversely associated with weight gain,” the study’s researchers said. “The addition of sugar to coffee counteracted coffee’s benefit for possible weight management. On the other hand, adding cream or coffee whitener was not associated with greater weight gain.”
Breaking that down for those of you who are going to jump on the scale after reading this, the study associated regular drinking of unsweetened coffee with a reduction of weight gain of about 0.26 pounds. On the other hand, however, the addition of one little teaspoon of sugar to any food or beverage among daily drinkers was associated with a moderate weight gain of 0.19 pounds.
Two other nuggets: The relationship between sweeteners and weight gain was more pronounced among the participants who were younger, or overweight, and adding dairy or non-dairy creamers/whiteners to coffee didn’t make an ounce of difference in someone’s weight.
You won’t die any sooner -- or get more depressed -- either!
Another group of researchers set out to find if there was any connection between mortality and coffee – no matter if it was unsweetened or sugar- or artificially sweetened.
And the conclusion of this study? “Moderate consumption of unsweetened and sugar-sweetened coffee was associated with lower risk for death.”
A third study looked into the association between how much coffee we drink, and all the variations, and depression/anxiety for people who drank two to three cups of coffee a day.
The researchers' conclusions were mixed. "We found that moderate daily coffee consumption, especially at two to three cups of ground coffee, milk-coffee, or unsweetened coffee, was associated with a lower risk of incident depression and anxiety," the researchers said.
What does that mean for you? The researchers said that if you stick with that "moderate" -- two to three cups a day -- consumption, it could be considered "part of a healthy lifestyle to prevent and manage depression and anxiety in the general population."
