Which coffee is healthier and safer for health: instant, capsule or ground coffee

Founder of the International Institute of Integrative Nutritionology

How does capsule coffee differ from freshly brewed coffee and why you should not drink instant coffee from bags?

Coffee is a flavorful beverage made from the beans of the coffee tree. The variety of types and varieties of coffee is impressive: classic Arabica, fashionable glasse, serious Americano. But how useful is coffee in capsules? Ground, instant or in capsules – what kind of coffee can enter the full diet?

Pros and cons of ground coffee

Freshly ground coffee, brewed in a turbo or coffee machine, is the most natural and has a rich flavor. A cup of black coffee contains 70 to 140 mg of caffeine, which has a pain-relieving effect while stimulating brain activity. Coffee contains chlorogenic and caffeic acids, which are excellent antioxidants that cleanse the body and neutralize free oxygen radicals in the body.

Natural coffee also contains theophylline and theobromine, which have a beneficial effect on the nervous system: they accelerate the flow of electrical impulses in the brain, which stimulates thought processes and improves memory.

Scientists have proven that moderate coffee consumption reduces the risk of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease by about 20%, and also protects against type II diabetes.

Excessive coffee consumption induces the leaching of vitamin B1 from the body and increases appetite. In addition, excessive use of coffee on an empty stomach can lead to gastritis and peptic ulcer. And if you abruptly give up the drink, headaches, increased irritability, weakness and drowsiness may appear.

Pros and cons of instant coffee

Soluble coffee is much faster and easier to prepare, but the benefits of it are much less.

First, instant coffee is a highly processed product, so often low-quality coffee beans are used for manufacturing.

Secondly, instant coffee is produced by complex technological processes. The production method of drying with the use of freezing technique is also popular. Thus, the content of antioxidants and minerals in instant coffee is drastically reduced, and the amount of caffeine is almost halved. A cup of instant coffee contains about 95 grams of caffeine.

Pros and cons of capsule coffee

Coffee in capsules, designed for the coffee machine, allows you to quickly prepare a flavorful drink: espresso, latte, cappuccino or macchiato. The capsules themselves are made of aluminum material, but some manufacturers save on raw materials, adding mechanically processed extract to the capsules.

A serious disadvantage of capsules is the presence of toxic furan, which is formed in the process of vacuum packing coffee into capsules. This carcinogenic substance accumulates in the kidneys and liver, causing cell damage that can trigger the development of cancer.

Furan is found in coffee whether ground or in capsules, but instant coffee contains 10 times less furan than capsule coffee.

How much coffee you can drink a day and how to do it correctly, told in the previous material.

Pros and cons of coffee from bags

The most harmful version of the drink is coffee from a bag. A bag of coffee with the inscription “2 in 1” and “3 in 1” is not coffee at all, but a coffee drink. The ingredients usually include:

• sugar and glucose syrup;
• hydrogenated vegetable fat and skim milk powder;
• acidity regulators and emulsifiers;
• flavorings and milk protein;
• about 10% instant coffee.

That is, the main ingredient in the beverage is sugar, which should be limited rather than consumed in liquid form. For comparison: a cup of coffee without milk and sugar contains almost no calories – only 0.5 kcal per 100 g. Soluble coffee contains about 420 kcal per 100 g (about 69 kcal in a bag).

The listed ingredients will negatively affect your health and lead to unpleasant consequences:

• Insulin spikes in the blood due to the abundance of sugar and the development of insulin resistance;
• weight gain;
• addiction to the drink;
• weakened bones;
• deterioration of tooth enamel;
• skin aging;
• gastrointestinal problems.

Is it worth giving up coffee

I am not against drinking coffee in moderation, but it is better to drink it between 10:00 and 11:00 and 14:00 and 16:00. At this time, the hormonal system produces a little cortisol, we feel naturally tired and can cheer up after a cup of a fragrant drink.

The optimal amount of coffee is a few cups a week. I recommend drinking it in combination with cardamom and other savory spices, but without added sugar, syrups and sweet desserts.

If you are prone to stress, it is better to give up coffee, otherwise you risk insomnia.