Coffee is one of the world’s most popular beverages, and in addition to its great taste, it has many health benefits.
The good effects of coffee have been studied for many years now. This time, a team of scientists from the University of Copenhagen looked into whether coffee with milk is healthier than regular black coffee.
The health benefits of coffee
We all know coffee contains antioxidants and minerals that help to reduce the risk of various diseases.
This includes things like cancer, type 2 diabetes and dementia. On top of that, the caffeine in coffee suppresses appetite, which can help fight obesity. Even though there are so many benefits to coffee, there’s still some debate about which type is the healthiest.
Cappuccino or americano?
The latest research from Denmark shows that coffee with milk, like cappuccino, has stronger anti-inflammatory effects than the traditional black Americano. It’s not the case that black coffee is unhealthy.
In fact, drinking it in moderation can have a number of health benefits. However, scientists have found that combining milk and coffee creates a bigger effect that could make these benefits even better.
The anti-inflammatory effects of milk and coffee
Danish researchers have found that when antioxidants in coffee combine with proteins from milk, it has a double effect on immune cells, making them twice as anti-inflammatory. This combination makes coffee with milk even more effective at fighting inflammation in the body.
While this effect has only been studied in a lab setting with cell models so far, the researchers think similar results could be found when studying the human body.
The research leader, Professor Marianne Nissen Lund, said they plan to keep running tests, first on animals and then on humans, as long as they can get the funding. The study, which was published in 2023 in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, suggests that white coffee has higher anti-inflammatory effects than black coffee.
