In addition to trans fats, what else should we worry about in instant coffee? You must know

The trans fats contained in the additives of instant coffee are harmful to the body. For this reason, more and more people choose not to drink instant coffee; but we found that most of the instant coffee sold on the market has cancelled the addition of trans fats. So, is instant coffee without trans fats safe?

In fact, excluding trans fats, the biggest concern about instant coffee is the acrylamide level.

Green coffee beans do not contain acrylamide. When green coffee beans are roasted at high temperature, they contain about 300 micrograms of acrylamide per kilogram. When instant coffee is extracted from coffee beans, the amount of acrylamide per kilogram is as high as 700 to 1000 micrograms. Usually, the acrylamide content of instant coffee is 2 to 3 times that of coffee beans.

When the heating process such as baking and frying exceeds 120℃, acrylamide will be produced in food, and the higher the temperature and the longer the heating time, the more acrylamide will be formed. Therefore, including potato chips, French fries, barley tea, stir-fried dishes, etc., whether fried or not, as long as the degree of heating is sufficient, even when cigarettes are burned, acrylamide will be produced.

Acrylamide is considered a potential carcinogen, but its relationship with cancer formation has not been proven, so there is no safe dose.

The effect of drinking coffee on acrylamide intake depends on the diet. Take the United States as an example. Because people eat more foods high in acrylamide, such as French fries, coffee only accounts for 6% of Americans' acrylamide intake. Therefore, controlling acrylamide intake does not lie in drinking less coffee or drinking which type of coffee, but in reducing the intake of foods such as French fries. In countries where people eat less French fries and other foods, drinking coffee may become the main way to ingest acrylamide; for example, 54% of the acrylamide consumed by Swedish women comes from coffee. People in these countries and regions should consider the issue of what kind of coffee they drink.

Among coffees, those with acrylamide PPD values ​​of over 100 are instant coffees, while freshly brewed coffee has a PPD value of less than 13. The acrylamide contained in instant coffee is dozens to dozens of times that of freshly brewed coffee. If you drink instant coffee regularly, your acrylamide intake will be much higher than that of freshly brewed coffee.

Acrylamide has only been taken seriously for more than a decade, and its impact on health needs further research. Although the relationship between acrylamide and cancer has not been proven, it should be consumed as little as possible before there is definite evidence of harmlessness or a toxic dose is determined. So if you have the conditions to drink freshly brewed coffee, you should drink this kind of coffee and add filter paper when brewing.

In general, coffee is a very healthy drink. If you drink freshly brewed coffee or hand-brewed coffee, and drink less instant coffee or not drink it at all, there is nothing to worry about!