A new study suggests Americans are getting more calories from their daily coffee, even though they’re drinking roughly the same amount. The surprising culprit isn’t sugar . It’s non-dairy creamer.
Researchers at Tufts University analyzed dietary reports from approximately 30,000 adults and found that average daily coffee calories climbed nearly 40%, from 43 to 60, between 2003 and 2018. Coffee consumption remained around 13 ounces daily.
The study , published October 19 in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics , raises a practical question: How much nutrition is hiding in your morning cup?
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The Coffee Additive That Overtook Sugar
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By 2018, non-dairy creamer contributed approximately 18.5 calories per day, compared with 16 from sugar or syrup and 11 from dairy milk.
“We found that non-dairy creamer being added to coffee has now passed both sugar and dairy for its…