For years, coffee had been considered the culprit of many evils. But after studying it in depth, it was discovered that consuming coffee in moderation can have health benefits due to its diuretic, antioxidant or stimulant properties, among others. However, nutritionists warn that not all the coffee we drink is really healthy …
What depends on whether coffee is healthy or not
For a coffee to be truly healthy, two factors must be taken into account: the variety of coffee and the type of processing to which it has been subjected, explains the dietitian-nutritionist Carlos Ríos, standard-bearer of realfooding and CLARA blogger.
What variety of coffee is the most recommended?
The best coffee is 100% Arabica due to its properties and organoleptic characteristics, according to Carlos Ríos.
- Arabica coffee has a milder and slightly sweeter or fruity flavor than Robusta, which has a burnt and bitter taste and is the most popular variety because it is cheaper.
- It has less caffeine: 1.5% for arabica versus 2.7% for robusta.
- No sugar is added and it is less caloric (but keep in mind that depending on how you drink your coffee, it can be a real bomb whatever the variety is).
Which coffee processing is better?
Without doubt, nutritionists defend a natural, light or medium roast, because it better preserves the healthy properties of coffee.
- "Ultra-processed coffees are those that have an excess of roasting such as roasted, which is mixed with sugar and that excess of roasting increases the formation of acrylamide (carcinogenic component) and destroys the healthy properties naturally present in coffee (phytonutrients , antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, etc.) ", reveals Carlos Ríos.
- And neither are soluble (with more acrylamide) nor capsules (with components that can also be carcinogenic and not very sustainable) or chicory (which is not coffee, but toasted cereals) are not recommended.
Other coffee factors to consider
In addition to being 100% arabic and natural, Carlos Ríos also recommends that it be specialty and, if possible, fair trade.
- Specialty coffee is of higher quality than commercial coffee and, therefore, has more aroma and flavor.
- It always comes from Arabica, it has not been roasted for an eternity and, therefore, it preserves its healthy properties better
- And if it is fair trade, it complies with ethical and environmental values that do not directly affect our physical health but do affect the spiritual and the planet.
If you want to know more, here is everything you can do to save, take care of the planet and not give up the capsules.
