7 Healthy Things to Add to Your Coffee, Ranked

An alternative to pre-flavored coffee, added spices like cinnamon and chicory root can infuse a distinctive taste and appealing aroma to your cup of joe while providing a bonus health benefit, notes Jackie Newgent, RDN, CDN, plant-forward culinary nutritionist and 2021 Forbes Health advisory board member. “You can add ground spices to your coffee before or after brewing,” says Newgent. When adding spices afterwards, let your freshly-brewed coffee steep for five minutes to allow the spice flavors to become well infused. Alternatively, you might find it works best to whisk spices into milk or plant-based milk before adding them to brewed coffee.

Cinnamon, considered a “sweet spice,” is a great substitute for sugar, as it will sweeten up your drink without the added calories. “Along with its potential cardiometabolic and weight management benefits, a cool tidbit about cinnamon is that it may play a minor yet helpful role as part of a science-based treatment protocol for COVID-19, though more research is needed to confirm these benefits,” she adds.

Chicory root, a staple of New Orleans–style coffee, comes in ground form similar to coffee, so they can be brewed together. Newgent says it is a great option for those who aren’t crazy about coffee’s natural bitterness, “and if you use enough of it, your usual cup of caffeinated coffee will have less caffeine since it’ll have less total coffee in that cup,” she says. “Plus, chicory root has digestion promoting properties thanks in part to its inulin content.”

Proffee, a concoction of protein powder and coffee, went viral on TikTok, with millions of people watching videos touting the combination as a protein-packed pick-me-up with weight loss benefits. While Pedre maintains that adding the powder to any drink is a great way to get more protein in the diet, there is one problem: Your body can only digest so much protein at a time. And, unless protein is digested properly, only a fraction of the protein can be absorbed, regardless of the form it is ingested.

Research shows that adding 1.5 grams (g) of whey protein per kilogram of body weight each day to your diet helps decrease body fat, increase lean body mass, and maintain positive nitrogen balance, Pedre says. “But only about 8 to 10 g can be absorbed per hour, so with a transit time of about 90 minutes through the small intestine, the maximum amount of protein that can be absorbed is approximately 15 g,” he says.

Therefore, in order to reap the maximum amount of protein, you would want to spread out your proffee intake throughout the course of a day.

While boosting dessert-like deliciousness in coffee, cocoa powder punches up its health-related qualities, especially due to antioxidants called polyphenols, explains Newgent. “Studies suggest that when including a significant amount of cocoa in the diet, its antioxidants may offer anti-inflammatory abilities as well as protection against risk factors of cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular disease, and more,” she says. Cocoa powder also adds fiber to your cup — 2 g per tablespoon, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data.

Keep in mind that cocoa powder contains some caffeine — more than 12 milligrams (mg) per tablespoon, per the USDA — “so, it’ll make that caffeinated cup of coffee a slight bit more buzz-worthy, which can be a concern for some people that need to limit caffeine intake, such as pregnant women or those with high blood pressure or taking anti-anxiety meds.”

Dave Asprey popularized adding grass-fed butter to coffee when he launched Bulletproof Coffee in 2011. “It may not be for everyone, but grass-fed butter — not regular butter — in coffee can actually have some real health benefits,” says Pedre.

Grass-fed butter is high in CLA (conjugated linolenic acid), which some research indicates may help with weight loss. “Whereas animal research has been more promising, studies in humans have only yielded modest weight loss,” Pedre points out. A review of 18 human studies showed that, compared with a placebo, supplementing with 3.2 g daily resulted in a loss of 0.11 pounds per week, approximately half a pound per month.

“What we do know is that putting butter in coffee can suppress the appetite and help a person who is incorporating intermittent fasting to use it as a bridge to support the fasted state in the morning hours,” he explains. “By doing this, it can certainly help promote fat and weight loss over time.”

Lemon water and lemon-infused tea have been go-to wellness cocktails for decades, but a recent viral TikTok trend suggests adding the citrus juice to coffee. The hashtag #lemoncoffee has amassed over eight million views, with the premise that combining the caffeinated stimulant with the fruit works as a weight loss aid.

Newgent maintains that there are a number of scientifically backed health benefits of lemon. “New research finds that the greater the intake of citrus fruit, the lower the risk of lung cancer. Lemon offers possible neurological benefits thanks to citrus flavonoids, too,” she says. Squeezing lemon into your coffee is not going to help you melt away fat, prevent headaches, or treat diarrhea, however.

Pedre uses lemon water “to help get the digestive motors in motion,” he explains. One very small study of 10 people found that lemon juice increased gastric acid production. So, for anyone who is adding lemon to coffee, think of it as a digestive aid, and not meant to be done solely on an empty stomach, advises Pedre. He suggests consuming it before a meal, “or as they do in Europe, an espresso with a lemon rind twist added to it after a meal.”

Jennifer Aniston recently shared a video of her morning pick-me-up, which includes a scoop of her Vital Proteins Collagen Creamer. “Collagen is a fibrous protein found in body tissues, like bone, skin, muscles, and tendons. It makes up about one-third of total body protein, and it’s what gives these tissues their strength and elasticity,” explains Pedre. “As we age, less collagen is produced. One area that can be impacted by this is the skin — with less elasticity that means more wrinkles.” It’s also found in the joints, and just like the skin, collagen levels can decrease with age, and as this happens, a person may be more predisposed to joint pains due to arthritis.

Collagen supplements come in many different forms, with powder being the easiest to add to drinks like coffee. One study found that supplementing with collagen orally (there are lotions and creams, too) improved skin elasticity, dermal collagen density, and skin hydration. Additionally, other studies have shown that oral collagen supplementation may improve arthritis-related joint pain.

People began adding this kitchen staple, aka sodium bicarbonate, to coffee in hopes of neutralizing its acidic effects since baking soda is alkaline. In theory, cutting highly acidic (usually cheap) coffee with baking soda will neutralize the naturally occurring acids in the coffee and make it easier on the stomach. In practice, however, it’s probably not such a great idea.

One published case study of a 50-year-old man who had been stirring baking soda into his drinks for years as a home remedy for heartburn found that baking soda toxicity may cause heart problems.

Plus, as its chemical name indicates, baking soda is high in sodium, with more than 1,200 mg in 1 teaspoon, according to an analysis by the USDA. So it probably won’t taste great either.

If coffee bothers your stomach, you can always look for a low-acid variety (dark roasts and espresso tend to have less, according to the Cleveland Clinic), or drink cold brew, which research has found is significantly lower in acidic compounds compared with traditional coffee.