Is instant coffee good or bad?

Coffee is one of the main drinks of human beings, and it is an indispensable thing for many people every day. Chinese people have always given priority to drinking tea. in recent years, coffee has entered Chinese society in a fashionable manner, and the number of people who drink coffee has gradually increased. Drinking coffee overseas, as it has become an important part of social life, the conditions for making coffee are available everywhere. People drink freshly brewed coffee and seldom drink instant coffee, while Chinese people drink more instant coffee.

Instant coffee was invented by David Strang of New Zealand in 1890. In 1901, Japanese-American Congri Kato also developed a method of making instant coffee and obtained a patent in the United States. Another American inventor, George Washington, soon developed his own method and commercialized it, and Nestle instant coffee went on sale in 1938. After World War II, the high vacuum technology used in the production of penicillin and other drugs in wartime was transferred to civilian use, and the freeze-drying method of instant coffee and spray drying appeared. In short, instant coffee is brewed coffee that removes moisture.

The advantage of instant coffee lies in its convenience. It can be soaked in hot water when you want to drink it. In addition, it has a long shelf life and is relatively cheap. The market for instant coffee varies in western countries. Instant coffee in World War II is popular in Britain and is still in 75% of the market, compared with less than 10% in the United States and France and only 1% in Italy.

People drink coffee mainly because of the refreshing effect of caffeine. Coffee contains five times as much caffeine as tea, and brands such as Starbucks contain more caffeine. Consuming too much caffeine will cause some adverse reactions, caffeine addiction is also serious, many people are unable or unwilling to eat too much caffeine, so there is decaffeinated coffee. Decaf coffee contains very low coffee content, which is not much different from ordinary coffee in other respects, so it is very popular.

Caffeine content of different drinks

In recent years, it has been found that coffee can protect the liver, reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, benefit cardiovascular health, have certain anti-cancer effects, and alleviate diseases such as asthma and depression. These effects have nothing to do with caffeine, but are caused by other ingredients in coffee, so it is unique to coffee. On the contrary, it was previously thought that the harm of drinking coffee was overturned or could not be proved. According to the current evidence, drinking coffee is very worth advocating.

If you want to achieve healthy results, drink enough coffee, usually four cups a day, or nearly a liter. Drink so many cups, if it is regular coffee, caffeine intake is too much. Decaffeinated coffee doesn't have much caffeine, but other ingredients are still there, so drinking decaffeinated coffee is the best way to get the health benefits of coffee. In the United States, freshly brewed decaf coffee is easy to drink. In China, we can only rely on instant decaffeinated coffee, so it is all the more necessary to understand the health advantages and disadvantages of instant coffee.

From a caffeine point of view, ordinary instant coffee contains less caffeine than ordinary coffee. The caffeine content of ordinary instant coffee is between 54 and 65 milligrams, and that of ordinary coffee is between 80 and 100 milligrams. Although studies have shown that moderate caffeine intake has no adverse effect on health, this refers to two to three times the daily amount of regular coffee. As mentioned above, the best amount to get the health effects of coffee is four cups a day. If you drink four cups of regular coffee, there may be too much coffee. Pregnant women, people with high blood pressure and high blood sugar should avoid consuming more caffeine or drink decaf coffee instead. Many people are not used to drinking decaf coffee, so drinking instant coffee will consume less caffeine.

When drinking tea, caffeine intake is much less, but tea does not have the health effect of coffee, because the healthy ingredient tea does not exist, and myths about the health effects of tea, including green tea, have not been proved. it is not only in the laboratory and experimental animal stage, but there is no strong evidence. The health of coffee does not mean that tea is healthy.

Drinking freshly brewed coffee, Americans mainly drink coffee filtered with filter paper, while Europeans drink unfiltered coffee. Coffee contains ingredients that raise low-density cholesterol levels, which can be filtered out by filter paper. Coffee filtered with filter paper is healthier because low-density cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease. In the process of making instant coffee, the ingredients that raise low-density cholesterol levels are removed, so it is as healthy as filter-filtered coffee at this point.

The biggest concern about instant coffee is the level of acrylamide, which is a heated product in food, so coffee also contains acrylamide. Acrylamide is considered to be a potential carcinogen, and its relationship with cancer formation has not been confirmed, so there is no safe dose.

The effect of drinking coffee on acrylamide intake depends on diet. Take the United States as an example, because there are more foods high in acrylamide such as French fries, and coffee accounts for only 6% of Americans' acrylamide intake. therefore, the control of acrylamide intake is not to drink less coffee or what kind of coffee to drink, but to reduce the intake of foods such as French fries. In countries that eat less food such as French fries, drinking coffee may be the main way to consume acrylamide. For example, 54% of acrylamide consumed by Swedish women comes from coffee. People in these countries and regions should consider what kind of coffee to drink.

In coffee, the ppd value of acrylamide is hundreds of instant coffee, currently brewed coffee acrylamide ppd is less than 13, instant coffee contains acrylamide ten to dozens of times as much as freshly brewed coffee. If you drink instant coffee regularly, your acrylamide intake is much higher than that of freshly brewed coffee.

To reduce the intake of acrylamide, we should first avoid foods high in acrylamide. Several olives contain thousands of ppd of acrylamide, some non-coffee hot drinks have acrylamide levels as high as 3000 to 5000ppd, and potato chips may have acrylamide levels as high as 1000ppd. McDonald's fries contain 580ppd acrylamide, and this junk food should be eaten less. Second, consider whether to drink instant coffee or not.

Acrylamide has been valued for only more than ten years, and its effects on health need to be further studied. Although the relationship between acrylamide and cancer has not been proven, it should be consumed as little as possible until there is no definite harmless evidence or toxic dose, and if you can drink freshly brewed coffee, you should drink this coffee and add filter paper when making it.

Generally speaking, coffee is a very healthy drink, and apart from concerns about acrylamide, instant coffee has no other unhealthy factors, especially if you don't drink much, there's nothing to worry about.

Source: know daily newspaper