Coffee, a low-calorie / low-fat beverage, full of antioxidants and flavonoids–an 8 ounce cup of coffee has 91 mg. of caffeine, which is about 1/4 of what is deemed “safe” caffeine intake for adults.
50% of Americans drink coffee and research indicates that 68% of coffee drinkers include add-ins such as sugar, cream, and milk.
And this is where what is considered a reasonably healthy drink gets complicated.
..a lot of coffee and tea drinkers regularly use caloric add-ins to improve the flavor of their beverages, but possibly without fully realizing or taking into consideration its caloric and nutritional implications
Co-Author of “Consumption of Coffee and Tea with Add-ins in Relation to Daily Energy, Sugar, and Fat Intake in U.S. Adults”
My Story
I started drinking coffee regularly 5 years ago. Looking at the creamy froths of cappuccinos, hanging out in coffeeshops, I tried it once, loaded my drink with 2-3 packets of sugar, and then I became a coffee drinker, or so I thought.
Don’t ruin your espresso.
You’ve never tasted coffee, until you’ve had it black.
A top California barista, friends and acquaintances who take their coffee black have said.
I wanted to decrease my sugar intake and quit dairy, so getting rid of my coffee add-ins seemed like the right thing to do.
How I got rid of coffee add-ins
I had a piece of chocolate or something sweet when I had my coffee. Yes, this might seem counterintuitive, but it worked for me. It took about 3 weeks but I found myself eating less of my sweet treat with every gulp and in about 5 weeks, I didn’t need it anymore.
Getting rid of the milk just came naturally after that. Without the sugar, I can finally taste the coffee and the milk just sweetened the coffee unnecessarily so I stopped putting steamed milk. I’ve been drinking black coffee ever since.
There are health benefits to ditching the coffee add-ins, but aside from that, I find black coffee tastes simply heavenly.
