Drinking Coffee May Help You Live Longer — But Skip the Extra Sugar

Key Takeaways

• Drinking 1 to 2 cups of coffee a day may lower the risk of early death

• Coffee with little sugar or creamer offers the most benefits

• Coffee with a lot of sugar and fat showed no health benefits, though

THURSDAY, June 19, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Drinking a cup or two of coffee every day may help you live longer — but only if you skip the heavy cream and sugar, new research suggests.

The research, published recently in The Journal of Nutrition, found that black coffee or coffee with just a little sugar and saturated fat was tied to a lower risk of premature death. But when people drank coffee with lots of sweeteners or cream, the health benefits disappeared.

“Coffee is among the most-consumed beverages in the world, and with nearly half of American adults reporting drinking at least one cup per day, it’s important for us to know what it might mean for health,” senior author Fang Fang Zhang of Tufts University said in a news release.

Researchers looked at data from more than 46,000 U.S. adults who took part in national health surveys between 1999 and 2018. They analyzed what kind of coffee people drank — caffeinated or decaf — and how much sugar and saturated fat they added.

They compared that data to deaths from any cause, as well as heart disease and cancer.

The results?

• Drinking at least one cup of caffeinated coffee per day was linked to a 16% lower risk of premature death from any cause.

• Drinking two to three cups a day was linked to a 17% lower risk.

• No clear association was found between coffee and cancer deaths.

Researchers said people who drank black coffee or added coffee with low amounts of added sugar and saturated fat seemed to benefit the most.

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In the study, low sugar was defined as about one-half teaspoon per 8-ounce cup. Low fat, meanwhile, was defined as about 1 gram per cup — equal to 5 tablespoons of 2% milk or 1 tablespoon of light cream.

“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,” added lead author Bingjie Zhou, a recent Ph.D. graduate at Tufts. 

The study was based on self-reported food data, which may not be fully accurate. It also found fewer people drank decaf, which may explain why no strong link was found between decaf coffee and early death.

Still, the findings support the idea that coffee can be part of a healthy diet — just be mindful of how much sugar and cream you add!

More information

Johns Hopkins Medicine has more on why coffee is good for you.

SOURCE: Tufts University, news release, June 16, 2025

What This Means For You

If you drink coffee for your health, go easy on the sugar and cream. Black coffee or coffee with very little added sugar and fat may offer the most benefits.