Coffee is an iconic morning beverage around the world, beloved for its warmth, focus boost, and caloric burn. But its health benefits stand out: packed with anti-inflammatory antioxidants to fight mental fog and ease symptoms such as joint stiffness, digestive disorders, and high blood pressure, coffee has long been considered an anti-inflammation agent that can reduce pesky inflammation symptoms like joint stiffness and high blood pressure.

Good news is there’s a way to increase its health benefits: By adding milk to your coffee brew, it could boost caffeine and phenolic compounds’ immune-enhancing effects and anti-inflammatory capabilities. Scientists at Copenhagen have observed this correlation and discovered how combining polyphenols with proteins such as dairy can increase their anti-inflammatory effect.

Black coffee purists might frown upon adding milk to their morning cup, but most coffee lovers understand its benefit in making the drink more mellow and enjoyable. Furthermore, using milk helps the body digest caffeine more slowly so it won’t hit as hard — is that such a bad thing?

No matter if it is skim, 2%, or whole milk – drinking milk with coffee is an easy and delicious way to meet your daily protein and calcium requirements. In fact, one cup of latte (made with espresso and milk) provides more calcium than an 8-ounce serving of kale! Plus it provides essential vitamin D which promotes bone health.

But have you considered what else may be in your cup of joe? Many people add milk to their coffee for both taste and health reasons; adding milk makes your drink smoother if you are used to drinking coffee with sugar; it also reduces acidity of espresso which may irritate the stomach.

Healthwise, milk provides protein and several essential vitamins such as A, D, K and E. Furthermore, it’s an excellent source of calcium which helps protect bone density against osteoporosis as well as help the body absorb caffeine slowly so as to avoid the associated jitters or headaches associated with higher doses.

An interesting study published in 2023 in Food Chemistry revealed that amino acids found in dairy proteins combine with polyphenols found in coffee to amplify its anti-inflammatory effect, as demonstrated by artificially inflaming immune cells before treating both with polyphenols and proteins simultaneously versus cells only receiving polyphenols alone. Cells treated with both treatments proved twice as successful at fighting off inflammation compared to those only receiving polyphenols alone.

While more research needs to be conducted to understand exactly how it works, the study’s results indicate that adding milk to coffee may make it more effective at reducing inflammation and protecting against heart disease. Although you shouldn’t start drinking milk with every cup of java you consume – a balanced diet remains your best bet when it comes to protecting against disease – if you choose organic low-fat options when selecting milk as part of your morning beverage.