7 Best Coffee Creamers For Weight Loss (Plus, 3 To Avoid)
You’re oh so cozy in bed, when all of a sudden, that piercing and horribly annoying alarm goes off. As you stumble to hit snooze, you let out an audible, “Nooo!”
You punch the blankets to the side and walk like a zombie straight to your coffee machine as if your waking life depended on it.
As a coffee lover and nutrition professional who’s obsessed with learning the health benefits of what we consume, I had to brew up the best coffee creamers for health and weight loss.
So what are the best coffee creamers for weight loss?
Half and half
Milk
Oatly
Nutpods Original
Califia Farms Unsweetened Better Half
Unsweetened Plant-Based Milk
Homemade Creamer
If your goal is weight loss, then your coffee creamer should not contain trans fats, artificial chemicals, excessive sugar, or fillers such as carrageenan.
Each of the options we’ll present in this article can be guaranteed to have lower amounts of these ingredients, and subsequently, calories — especially when compared with conventional coffee creamers.
So let’s grab a cup of coffee (or three) and get buzzed on everything you need to know about coffee creamers for weight loss.
Dangers of Coffee Creamers
Coffee itself is full of health-boosting chemicals and qualities. But what you pour into it can quickly cancel out these helpers. It can also wreak havoc on a healthy weight loss plan.
ADDITIVES
The problem with many coffee creamers is that most of them aren’t even made with cream. Instead, they get that rich and creamy texture from thickening ingredients and emulsifiers such as carrageenan.
There has been controversy around carrageenan. Some evidence suggests that it triggers inflammation and damages your digestive system. Since research is inconclusive, it’s best to either minimize or avoid it.
SUGAR
When eaten in moderation, and as a part of a healthy diet, a bit of natural sugar is fine. But problems occur when you consume too much added sugar, such as the type in sweetened coffee creamers.
According to Harvard Health, excess sugar not only has an impact on weight gain, obesity, and diabetes, it’s also is associated with a greater risk of dying from heart disease.
The American Heart Association suggests that men consume no more than 150 calories (about 9 tsp) of added sugar per day and 100 calories (about 6 tsp) for women, per day.
ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS
Some studies have suggested that artificial sweeteners may cause weight gain, changes in the natural balance of gut bacteria, and even increase the risk for type 2 diabetes.
There are also concerns that they reinforce the sweet taste, potentially leading to more intense and more often cravings for sugar.
Research is inconclusive but to be safe, it’s best to moderate or minimize consumption of them.
UNHEALTHY FATS
The small classic cups of creamer found on dinner tables, last about 9 months while those powdered versions will last for up to 24 months at room temperature! This is due to heat treatment and unhealthy partially hydrogenated oils.
When oils are hydrogenated, hydrogen molecules are added to change the texture and extend the shelf life of the product (how long until it goes bad).
The problem is that this processing changes the fat into a dangerous form. Studies show that this type of fat can lead to blood sugar issues, provoke inflammation, and increase the bad blood cholesterol levels (LDL) while decreasing the good ones (HDL).
