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Mortality Benefit of Coffee Diminishes With Added Sugar and Saturated Fat

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on July 1, 2025.

TUESDAY, July 1, 2025 -- Only black coffee and coffee with low added sugar and saturated fat are associated with lower mortality risk, according to a study published online May 12 in the Journal of Nutrition.

Bingjie Zhou, Ph.D., from Tufts University in Boston, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study to examine the relationship between coffee intake, including the amount of added sugar and saturated fat, and mortality among U.S. adults. The analysis included 46,222 adults (aged 20 years and older) participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999 to 2018), with data linked to National Death Index Mortality Data.

The researchers found that during a median follow-up of 9.3 to 11.3 years, a total of 7,074 deaths occurred, including 1,176 cancer-specific and 1,089 cardiovascular disease-specific deaths. Higher coffee consumption was significantly associated with lower all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.84 for one to less than two cups/day; HR, 0.83 for two to less than three cups/day; and HR, 0.85 for three or more cups/day). Mortality benefits were limited to black coffee (HR, 0.86) and coffee with low added sugar and saturated fat content (defined as less than 5 percent of the daily value; HR, 0.86).

"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," Zhou said in a statement. "Our results align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommend limiting added sugar and saturated fat."

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

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Posted July 2025

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