You can't drink instant coffee? The harm of instant coffee is not that great. What brand of instant coffee is good?

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The article "No instant coffee, more carcinogens than smoking" has been circulated on major Chinese websites, saying that the concentration of acrylamide, a carcinogen detected in instant coffee, is higher than that of potato chips, French fries, cakes and cigarettes. Drinking instant coffee is far more harmful than smoking. "instead of quitting smoking, it is better to quit instant coffee."

Experts said that online articles about "instant coffee can not drink" have also been read, some of which are true, but the analogy and judgment conclusions are biased and wrong.

First of all, instant coffee does contain acrylamide. In 1994, the International Cancer Research Center listed acrylamide as a class 2A carcinogen, that is, it is potentially carcinogenic to human beings, but there is still a lack of epidemiological evidence. So, where does acrylamide come from in instant coffee? Experts explain that raw green coffee is free. When green coffee is roasted at high temperature into coffee beans, it contains about 300 micrograms of acrylamide per kilogram. When instant coffee is extracted from coffee beans, the content of acrylamide per kilogram is as high as 700 to 1000 micrograms. In general, the acrylamide content of instant coffee is 2 to 3 times that of coffee beans.

"when the heating process of baking and frying exceeds 120 ℃, acrylamide will be produced in the food, and the higher the temperature and the longer the heating time, the more acrylamide will be formed." Therefore, including potato chips, French fries, mugi-cha, fried dishes, whether fried or non-fried, as long as the degree of heating is enough, and even cigarette burning, will produce acrylamide.

So which one has a high concentration of acrylamide, instant coffee, potato chips or cigarettes? Experts replied: "Ten years ago, the content of acrylamide in potato chips was higher than that of instant coffee in the same unit." By improving the production process of potato chips that reduce acrylamide over the years, the contents of the two are now about the same. Relatively speaking, the release of acrylamide from cigarette combustion is the lowest. "

Although both instant coffee and cigarettes contain acrylamide, there is no simple analogy. The former belongs to hot-processed food, while the latter belongs to tobacco products with different attributes. If it has to be "compared", then smoking has the greatest risk of causing cancer, which has been confirmed by World Health Organization (WHO) earlier.

Cigarette smoke is known to contain more than 4000 chemicals, of which more than 400 are confirmed to be toxic to humans, and about 60 are carcinogens or synergistic carcinogens. As early as 2009, World Health Organization (WHO) listed cigarettes and arsenic as high-risk carcinogens with the same lethal force. World Health Organization (WHO) bans not only smoking, but also other forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. Acrylamide in instant coffee is at best a "potential carcinogen". In addition, most people drink instant coffee more frequently than smoking.

In a word, the argument that drinking instant coffee is more carcinogenic than smoking is not true. "you can drink instant coffee at ease!"

Of course, to say that instant coffee has a low risk of cancer does not advocate unrestrained drinking. Experts said that in April 2005, the then Ministry of Health issued a notice advising people to reduce the intake of acrylamide-containing foods, followed by potato fried foods, cereal fried foods, cereal baked foods and other foods. "although the contents of instant coffee, mugi-cha and corn tea rank low, they should not be taken lightly."

As for how much instant or freshly ground coffee to drink every day, experts said: "this is the subject of our study." Compared with potato chips, instant noodles and foreign instant food, the formation mechanism and pathway of acrylamide in instant coffee are not clear, and it is also a difficult problem in hot processed food in the world.

But experts warned: "whether instant or freshly brewed coffee, the first is the right amount, the daily limit should not exceed 5 bags (cups)." Referring to the 2015 edition of the Dietary guidelines for American residents, the expression "supporting coffee drinking" is that "there is strong evidence that drinking three to five cups of coffee a day is a healthy diet and can even reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. There is also some advice: don't get extra calories from cream, milk and sugar; oppose oversized energy drinks popular in supermarkets; and limit pregnant women to two cups of coffee a day. If you drink coffee as water and eat too much caffeine, the brain will change from excitement to inhibition, and people are likely to become depressed. "