Do you love coffee? Is it part of your morning routine? If so, you’re not alone. Over 75% of the country wakes up each morning with some form of coffee.

Unfortunately, most of those people aren’t reaping the full benefits that a cup of coffee can provide. Many of them are loading their coffee with sugar, artificial sweeteners, flavored creams and more. These additions can cause the caloric value of a cup of coffee to skyrocket from a few calories to several hundred.

Today, I’ll show you a few ways to make your coffee healthier (and I’ll show you what to avoid).

There has been a lot of conflicting misinformation regarding coffee over the last 20 years or so. “Experts” have warned that the level of caffeine is bad or that there are chemical compounds that are unhealthy for you and so on. In reality, coffee is loaded with antioxidants and other super healthy compounds. There are so many of these, in fact, that any suggested negative effects of coffee are quickly outweighed.

Did you know that for many Americans, coffee is their primary source of antioxidants? It’s true. This is mainly due to the fact that the majority of Americans don’t eat enough vegetables and fruits and, therefore, don’t get a high level of antioxidants. Even though coffee is a great source of antioxidants, you should still try to diversify your antioxidant providing sources by consuming high levels of fruit, vegetables, green tea, dark chocolate, wine (in moderation) and other foods that are high in antioxidants.

So, now that you know that coffee can provide high levels of antioxidants, here are some additional tips to help you increase the benefits and reduce any negatives of your morning cup of joe:

1. Avoid artificial creamers! These things are not good for you at all. They are made with hydrogenated oils and corn syrup. There’s nothing natural or healthy about them. If you need to add a little cream to your coffee, then opt for the real stuff. It’s not man-made and it actually provides vitamins. If you can afford it, try to get organic and/or grass fed cream as these types have even higher levels of vitamins and healthy fats.

According to the Truth About Abs Free Download, you can even kick the health benefits up another notch by using coconut milk in place of cream. You can generally find cans of coconut milk in the Asian section of your grocery store. When you want to add it to your coffee just open the can and pour the desired amount in (you will need to shake the can pretty vigorously to help mix up the milk). This is a great tasting and healthy option for adding a little flavor to your coffee.

In addition to the low fat content of coconut milk, it’s healthy for you because it’s full of saturated fats known as medium chain triglycerides. These MCTs have been shown to increase your metabolism and also improve your immune system.

Finally, coconut milk and coffee is just super tasty. It is easily the healthiest option when it comes to adding creamer to your coffee. I always encourage guests at my house to try their coffee with coconut milk and they almost always tell me that it’s the best cup of coffee they’ve ever had.

2. Don’t add artificial sweeteners or sugar! Instead of adding these gut busting ingredients, I occasionally sweeten my coffee with a small amount of honey or maple syrup. These are two ways to add real and natural foods to your coffee and avoid adding the artificial crap. Most of the time, I just drink my coffee black because that is the healthiest way to drink it.

If you’re out and getting your coffee at a coffee shop like Starbucks, make sure that you avoid all of the artificial sweeteners, syrups and flavored crap that they add to their drinks. Yes, peppermint lattes taste great but they are LOADED with junk that will make you fat. If you must have one of these drinks, order it “skinny” or non-fat. If you don’t you could be adding 300 – 500 calories to your day in ONE drink.

In addition to the huge caloric content these drinks offer, the added sugars cause a huge spike in your blood sugar which is not good for you.

3. Add cinnamon! Cinnamon is a super-food and one that you should try to consume everyday. In addition to adding it to my daily bowl of oatmeal, I add a small amount of cinnamon to my coffee. It gives it a nice flavor and helps me lower my cholesterol and keep my blood sugar in check all at the same time.

In addition to cinnamon I occasionally add a small dash of cocoa powder. I always use the unsweetened type. This gives my coffee a nice chocolaty flavor and gives me an antioxidant boost. If you’ve never added cocoa powder to your coffee, I suggest you try it out and see if you like it. I, personally, think it’s great.

My mornings always start with a cup of coffee (or espresso) and a bowl of oatmeal (with cinnamon, honey, flax seed and blueberries added). I rarely have a second cup because I don’t like to get too jittery. However, in addition to drinking about 1 gallon of water each day, which is what the Truth About Abs Download recommends, I also continue loading up on antioxidants by drinking several cups of green and black tea throughout the day. This helps me get a large number of antioxidants from many different sources.

Finally, I strongly suggest that you drink coffee made from organically farmed beans. Non organic beans are known to be loaded with pesticides and other crap that you don’t want to put in your body.

I hope you enjoyed these tips today and that you will try some of these suggestions to make your coffee as healthy as possible.