What Is Instant Coffee?
Manufacturers produce instant coffee by brushing old coffee beans regularly to create a concentrated version. This concentration then removes the water to make your morning cup with the dry, dehydrated powder that you mix in water.
This allows for fast, simple and perfect instant coffee if a coffee maker is not available. Instant coffee usually has a long shelter, so it’s handy when you’re on the go, camping or just super busy.
Instant coffee can be created by:
- Spray drying, in which the coffee extract is sprayed into hot air, which quickly drys the droplets into a fine powder.
- Freeze-drying, which involves freezing the coffee extract and cutting it into small fragments that are dried at a low temperature
Why the Instant Coffee Concern?
The problem of instant coffee is linked to an acrylamide, a potentially harmful chemical. It is found in smoke, household goods, personal care products and other foods if coffee beans are rustled and found.
According to research published in Roczniki Panstwowego Zakladu Higieny, instant coffee could contain up to two times as much acrylamide as fresh roasted coffee.
Acrylamide concentrations in coffee substitutes were the highest among the researchers. Immediately, the next highest standard of the coffee and the least roasted coffee about half the time.
What Is Acrylamide?
Acrylamide, described as a food contaminant, can accumulate in your system and cause neuropathy or dysfunction of your nervous system. Overexposure to the chemical may also increase your risk of cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
Link between coffee and cholesterol
Several studies over the past decade have shown a link between coffee and cholesterol. According to one study, coffee oils (known as diterpenes) such as cafestol and kahweol are to blame. Coffee oils are naturally found in caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.
Research indicates that cafestol affects the body’s ability to metabolize and regulate cholesterol. According to a meta-analysis of controlled studies on coffee and cholesterol, coffee oils may decrease bile acids and neutral sterols. This may lead to increased cholesterol.
Researchers concluded that cafestol is the “most potent cholesterol-elevating compound identified in the human diet.”
If you have a genetic mutation that slows down coffee metabolism in your body, and you drink two or more cups of coffee a day, your risk of heart disease may be higher.
Other researchers found that five cups of instant coffee daily could result in a small but significant increase in cholesterol
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a waxy substance produced by the liver. It is naturally found in the body. In addition to the cholesterol your body produces, you get cholesterol through certain foods. Too much LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, puts you at risk for cardiovascular disease. Most doctors recommend limiting how much added cholesterol you get from your diet.
Coffee doesn’t contain cholesterol like many animal products do. Instead, coffee affects how your body produces cholesterol.
Warnings and risks
Perhaps some of the most relevant questions about coffee’s effects lie in its energy and mood-boosting element: caffeine. After all, it’s why many of us drink coffee in the first place.
Caffeine is a stimulant. Too much can cause jitters, insomnia, headaches, upset stomach, and anxiety. Some people are particularly sensitive to the effects of caffeine. These people may want to limit how much coffee they drink, or switch to decaffeinated.
Caffeine may worsen some conditions, such as:
- insomnia
- anxiety
- depression
- high blood pressure
- heart problems such as arrhythmia
- kidney problems
- chronic stomach issues
Scientists state that drinking regular coffee [not instant one] in moderation not only is harmless, but it also might have a positive influence on your health. The benefits of drinking coffee will be topic for another article with “Cup of Coffee in hand”.
