A new study claims people who like their coffee black and bitter are more likely to be psychopaths. Now you might want to recall if your friend, lover or officemate refused to put sugar and cream into his or her cup.
Huffington Post reports a study published in Appetite says those who like black coffee scored higher on personality tests that measured Machiavellianism traits such as psychopathy, narcissism and sadistic behaviours.
For the study, researchers from University of Innsbruck in Austria assessed the taste preferences of about 1,000 people and those who reported they like bitter food and beverages such as celery, radish, tonic water and black coffee were more likely to exhibit these dark traits.
This research claim remains unreliable, however, considering its minor study size and self-reported data.
In fact, other studies have proven that food preferences change over time and what people eat actually depends on their current state.
So no, not all black coffee drinkers are psychopaths.
Although adding sugar and cream isn't that bad, drinking black coffee is apparently healthier. An 8-ounce cup of black coffee sans sugar and cream contain 2 grams of calories and zero fat. Meanwhile, the same amount provides nutrients like calcium and potassium.
In addition, black coffee could potentially reduce risks for liver, colon, breast and rectal cancer.
According to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition, the antioxidants found in black coffee could also protect regular drinkers from degenerative problems such as Parkinson's disease and diabetes 2. Coffee has been found containing more of these antioxidants compared to other beverages such as wine and tea.
Although the research entitled "Individual differences in bitter taste preferences are associated with antisocial personality traits" may have not proven much, researchers are still hoping to conduct further studies to explain the connection.
