Is adding milk to coffee antiinflammatory?

Coffee is known to have anti-inflammatory effects, and a lot of people might assume that adding milk to coffee doesn’t have any health benefit or may even reduce the anti-inflammatory effect. A lot of people add some kind of milk to their coffee, mostly to make it taste better. For work tasks, I add oat milk to my coffee, but before I workout or go for a run, I drink it black. Coffee also has a small bronchodilator effect, so I use it to help with my asthma on long runs, particularly in very cold weather or very hot weather. No matter how I take it, I never miss a day without it…except that one time I went to “detox” camp with a friend and they made us cut out all caffeine. I felt like the saddest, tranquilized bear in the world. I am aware, especially in the “world of wellness”, that many consider coffee “the devil.” I do not. I’ve read enough research studies on it to know that, in moderation, it at least has some health benefits. Of course, anything not consumed in moderation can hurt us, so it is equally true that too much coffee may affect your health in a negative way. I probably drink too much coffee, and if it turns out one day to be an awful vice, that’s okay. It is a vice I’m willing to accept. ;)   But back to the question, is adding milk to coffee antiinflammatory?

On Episode 137 of Causes or Cures, I chat with Professor Marianne Nissen Lund, who is a researcher and professor of food chemistry at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. She will elaborate on what “food chemistry” means and how the chemical mechanisms in food and between foods can impact quality, stability and health. In the episode, she will focus on her recent work here and here and break down the chemistry into plain language to show how adding milk to coffee can increase its anti-inflammatory effects and lead to positive health outcomes. She will explain how they did the research, what they measured and describe the potential health benefits.

There is a lot of “chemistry” in this episode, but don’t worry. Professor Lund did a great job breaking it down for folks to get the gist of it.

It’s funny…above I mentioned how some folks in the “world of wellness” view coffee with great disdain. The same can be said for dairy products. Some folks in the “world of wellness” also believe milk is very bad and pro-inflammatory. While I’m simply not so extreme and a fan of moderation when it comes to any food or liquid we consume (with in reason)…just keep in mind that this podcast focusses on the combination of coffee and milk together.

Thanks for reading. To check out the podcast, “Is Adding Milk to Coffee Antiinflammatory?” please click here.

In addition, please feel free to check out some of the other podcast episodes, like this one: A fungus killer named after Keanu Reeves.