The healthiest alternative to sugar is whole fruits, followed by dried fruits, as they contain added nutrients and fiber. In comparison to table sugar, fruit juices, maple syrup, honey, and molasses are marginally healthier as they contain some vitamins and minerals.
The healthiest way to drink coffee is plain with nothing added — also known as drinking it black. Dr. Hashmi explains, “Ideally, you shouldn't put sugar in your coffee.
If you're only concerned with health, honey is the better coffee sweetener. Its sugars are easier to process, and it provides you with other important nutrients.
Unlike sugar and artificial sweeteners, both of which offer little in terms of nutrition, honey provides some vitamins, minerals, and other health-boosting compounds that may give your coffee a slight nutritional boost ( 1 ).
"Honey's advantages over sugar include a slightly lower glycemic index (i.e. it doesn't affect your blood-sugar levels as much)," Dr. Dixon says. "It also contains more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, such as calcium, potassium, vitamin C, zinc, phenolic acids, and flavonoids."
Too much caffeine can also cause anxiety in people with panic or anxiety disorders. For those who drink coffee, experts suggest brewing it with a paper filter, because unfiltered coffee is associated with higher rates of early death, and can contain compounds that raise levels of LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol.
Indeed, according to experts, drinking coffee on an empty stomach right after waking up can interfere with your cortisol levels and actually leave you feeling even more tired later on in the day.
Coffee with added milk provides all the macro nutrients in good amounts; just one ounce of milk provides approximately 1.5 g of carbohydrates, 1g of protein and 1 gram of fat. Milk also provides essential micro nutrients like calcium, with 100 g of milk providing 123 mg of calcium.
“If you're trying to lean out and [are] watching your calories and carbs, then almond milk is the better choice because it's much lower in calories and carbs and won't impact your blood sugar.” And again, if your top criteria for deciding between oat milk vs almond milk is sustainability, oat milk is the better pick.
Butter. Putting a slab of unsalted butter in your coffee sounds gross to the uninitiated, but there's a whole group of people who swear by it. It's been popularized over the last few years by Dave Asprey, who calls it Bulletproof coffee.
Think soda, juice, or sweetener in your morning cup of coffee. Too much sugar, whether it's added or natural, can harm your health. In particular though, too much added sugar can place you at a greater risk for heart disease, liver disease, diabetes, obesity, and other health conditions.
