Scientific facts about the dangers and benefits of decaf coffee

Coffee is one of the most popular and useful drinks in the world. However, it is contraindicated for some people due to the presence of caffeine. First of all, these are women during pregnancy and breastfeeding, children, and hypertensive patients. Decaffeination allows you to remove this substance from coffee and make it available to such persons.

But the benefits and potential harms of decaffeinated coffee strongly depend on the type of industrial processing of coffee beans.

Decaf Coffee: what is it and how is it made?

Decaf coffee, also called decaf coffee, is a product from which about 97% of caffeine has been technologically removed. This process is called "decaffeination".

At the first stage, coffee beans are soaked in hot water or exposed to steam, which leads to their swelling and opening. In the future, there are several options for excluding caffeine from grains:

1. Using a solvent. After soaking, the grains are immersed in a solution of a chemical solvent that "removes" caffeine. Then the grains are washed again in hot water and dried. The disadvantages of this method are the possible negative effect of the solvent on the human body and a strong change in the taste and aroma of coffee beans.
2. Prolonged "steaming". Coffee beans are soaked in hot water for a considerable period of time, during which almost all the caffeine is eliminated. The resulting mixture is then passed through a system of paper filters that retain caffeine. It is important to note that the aromatic and flavoring properties remain almost the same. The method is characterized by extremely high production costs, which causes a high cost of the final product.
3. WITH ₂ -extraction. Compressed carbon dioxide is used to remove caffeine. First, the grains are immersed in hot water, and then carbon dioxide is passed through the resulting solution. The gas is used as a solvent, but it is completely safe for humans. Within 10 hours, up to 99% of the caffeine is removed from the coffee, the taste and aroma are preserved.

It is worth noting that there is also natural coffee, which lacks caffeine. In 2004, coffee trees were discovered that produce decaffeinated coffee beans. The absence of this psychoactive substance is associated with a mutation of the gene synthesizing caffeine. In the future, this could be used in genetic engineering to breed new varieties of the coffee tree.

How much caffeine is there really in it?

As already mentioned, it is impossible to completely remove caffeine from coffee.

According to American scientists , 1 cup of decaf coffee (180 ml) can contain from 0.13 to 7 mg of caffeine.

For comparison: an average cup of natural ground coffee has contains 70 to 140 mg of caffeine.

But even such a low caffeine content can have an impact on the human body in exceptional cases.

Composition

Many people are interested in the content of other valuable nutrients (vitamins, macro- and microelements, antioxidant components).

Research demonstrates that technologically processed coffee retains almost the original amount of antioxidants. The concentration of antioxidant substances can be as low as 15%. This almost does not prevent them from unlocking their full biological potential.

According to French experts , &171;decaf&187; coffee contains a similar natural volume of polyphenols, which protect the body's cells from the effects of free radicals, normalize protein synthesis processes, prevent mutations, the formation of cancerous tumors and slow down cell apoptosis – the process of natural programmed death.

Also proven that antioxidants protect protein molecules from oxidative stress.

Antioxidants also help prevent the development of the most common diseases from the cardiovascular (coronary heart disease, hypertension, heart attack) and endocrine systems (type II diabetes mellitus, obesity), as well as oncological pathologies.

In addition, 1 cup of decaffeinated coffee provides the human body with 2.4% of the recommended daily value of magnesium, 4.8% potassium, 2.5 – niacin and vitamin B3. This is the data received experimentally by Indian scientists.

7 useful properties

Despite decaffeination, such a drink has almost all the beneficial properties of natural coffee .

The most important properties are discussed below:

1. Reducing the risk of developing type II diabetes mellitus. According to scientists , the drink prevents the appearance of this disease, while the higher the dose of coffee, the more pronounced the effect. On average, the frequency decreases by 7-15%.
2. Improving liver health. Installed that decaf coffee good for the liver , as it reduces the severity of any pathological processes in the organ accompanied by destruction (acute hepatitis of viral and alcoholic etiology, cirrhosis, etc.). Against the background of taking the drink, there is a decrease in enzymes-markers of necrosis (ALT, AST, GGT), the growth of which is directly proportional to the number of dead liver cells.
3. Prevention of degenerative brain diseases. According to US research , the drink slows down the "aging" of the central parts of the nervous system, reduces the severity of symptoms such as: of memory and attention , deterioration of associative processes. Detected that decaffeinated coffee protects neurons from apoptosis caused by free radicals. This property makes it possible to prevent a number of pathologies that lead to a decrease in labor and social adaptation, and a deterioration in the quality of life (Pick's disease, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's).
4. Reduction of heartburn. Scientifically proven that caffeine causes an imbalance in the work of the esophageal-gastric sphincter, increases the secretion of hydrochloric acid, destroys the protective bicarbonate barrier on the gastric mucosa. This causes the development of gastritis, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, gastroesophageal reflux disease. Taking caffeine-free coffee, according to German scientists, not only avoids the described disorders, but also reduces the likelihood of their occurrence.
5. Improving colon health. Drink, thanks to the abundance of antioxidants, warns the development of autoimmune (ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease) and oncological diseases significantly reduces the incidence of rectal cancer. Just 2 cups per day reduces the risk of cancer pathology by 48%.
6. Endothelial protection. Confirmed that coffee improves the functional activity of the endothelium, prevents pathological transformation of the vascular bed against the background of hypertension and type II diabetes mellitus.
7. Overall increase in life expectancy. Due to the positive effects on a number of the most common and deadly diseases, coffee, including decaf, prolongs life in the population. One of the largest American studies, which involved almost 130,000 people, confirmed this fact .

It is important to note that caffeine also has many useful properties that a technologically modified drink lacks. These include:

• Increased physical and mental health ;
• Memory improvement and attention, the development of alertness;
• Weight loss;
• Preventing depression and reducing the likelihood of suicide.

Possible harm

Scientific research has been studied quite well the negative effect of regular coffee on the body . Almost all of these effects are related to caffeine.

The evidence base regarding a caffeine-free drink is almost completely absent. We can cite only a few proven facts of negative effects on the body:

1. The development of allergic reactions. Various chemical solvents added during decaffeination can cause sensitization of the body and the development of allergic pathologies, which can manifest themselves in different ways: from banal urticaria to extremely life-threatening anaphylactic shock or Quincke's edema.
2. Reduced absorption of nutrients. Revealed that coffee inhibits the absorption of calcium by intestinal cells. This can lead to a decrease in bone density , the development of osteoporosis and bone fractures, the appearance of degenerative diseases from the peripheral nervous system. The drink also reduces iron absorption, drinking coffee 2 or more hours before the intended meal allows you to eliminate this effect.
3. The increase in cholesterol levels in the blood. A number of substances contained in coffee, with prolonged use, increase total cholesterol level in the blood , which may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis and associated complications from the cardiovascular system.

To whom is it preferred?

The lack of caffeine in the drink makes it possible to use it in the following conditions:

1. Pregnancy.
2. Breastfeeding.
3. Sleep disorders.
4. Mental disorders. The group includes: panic attacks, neurosis and neurosis-like states, obsessive-compulsive disorder.
5. Diseases of the digestive system accompanied by inflammation of the walls (gastritis, peptic ulcer, duodenitis, colitis, etc.).
6. Gastroesophageal reflux disease.
7. Hypertension (uncontrolled).
8. Smoking (nicotine increases the effects of caffeine by 2 times, which makes the simultaneous presence of a bad habit and taking caffeinated coffee incompatible).
9. Taking oral contraceptives and certain antidepressants (fluvoxamine).
10. Liver pathology with a decrease in detoxification and metabolic activity of the organ.

Conclusion

Thus, removing caffeine from coffee reduces the risk of many complications associated with caffeine intake. This treatment significantly reduces the list of contraindications for which drinking natural coffee is dangerous to health. Preference should be given only to those decaffeinated beverages that have not been added to chemical solvents that can cause harm.