Drinking coffee linked to lower mortality risk

Adebayo Obajemu

According to Medical News Today, drinking coffee even with sugar has been linked with a reduced risk of developing diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, liver disease, and obesity. A new study has found that even sweetened coffee is linked to a lower risk of dying.

The study was fairly large, with 170,000 participants and a follow-up after an average of 7 years. The researchers wanted to investigate whether adding sugar or artificial sweeteners reduced the health benefits of coffee. They found that moderate coffee consumption, even with added sugar, appeared to be associated with a 30% reduction in risk of mortality.

The results for people who added artificial sweeteners to their coffee were less clear-cut, though this may be because relatively few participants chose to use them.

It is important to note this was an observational study that did not account for other health and lifestyle factors or changes in coffee consumption over time. Nor did it investigate the effect of highly sweetened coffees that have become popular in recent years.

However, this study does suggest it is unlikely that coffee is harmful, even with the addition of a spoonful (or two) of sugar, and that is good news for the millions of people who enjoy a cup to start the day.