COFFEE is the most widely consumed drink in the world. It contains vitamins B2, B3, B5 and the minerals magnesium, manganese and potassium, which are needed for energy release and movement, as well as bone and teeth health.
Coffee contains polyphenol chemicals which may protect against inflammatory diseases, but it’s an area that needs more investigation. It’s important to know that the more the coffee is roasted, the more polyphenols are lost. Light roast coffee includes Nescafe Cap Colombie, medium roast includes Douwe Egberts Gold, dark brown roast includes Starbucks Caffe Verona and Maxwell House do an extra dark roast.
Coffee contains caffeine, of course, which can reduce tiredness, but too much caffeine may affect sleep and promote anxiety, which affects everyone differently. 1-2 cups per day won’t do any harm.
Too much espresso-based coffee (Americano, cappuccino, latte, macchiato, mocha, flat white, Vienna etc) can increase bad cholesterol. This is to do with a chemical called cafestol. Cafestol in very small amounts may also protect against a chemical called benzopyrene which can cause cancer and which can be produced on barbecues when grilling meat over an open flame. Acrylamide is another chemical that may cause cancer and is produced when coffee beans are roasted (see previous roasts to understand this). A high intake of caffeine can make you go to the toilet more, but most people build up tolerance to this after a while. Polyphenols and tannins found in coffee can affect iron from plant foods (bread, rice, pasta, noodles etc, nuts, beans, peas, lentils) being absorbed so don’t consume coffee at same time of eating these foods.
Lee McCusker (BA; MSc; MSc; MSc; ANutr; SENr) is a registered nutritionist from Belfast and can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Email: attentive nutrition@gmail.com
