E dey bad for you to drink coffee wen you dey chop?
If dem don ever warn you say to dey drink coffee wen you dey chop, or straight afta am, fit be bad idea, some kain truth dey inside
More dan 1000 chemical compounds dey inside coffee, and one handful, like caffeine, polyphenols, and tannins, fit interfere wit how you absorb nutrients from your food.
Di good news be say for most pipo, dis effects dey small — e no dey serious enof to cause deficiencies.
Nutrients na substances wey dem dey find inside our food and drink wey dey carry out certain vital jobs inside body. We need different nutrients to keep us healthy.
"No be all absorption dey completely 'blocked' – some reduction fit just dey," Alex Ruani, University College London doctoral researcher in nutrition science education and chief science educator for The Health Sciences Academy tok.
Di impact dey depend on di strength of di coffee; di amount of nutrients consumed, and individual risk factors such as age, metabolism, health status and genetics, Ruani explain.
Di nutrients wey we dey tok about include calcium, iron, and B vitamins.
No need to worry if your "nutrient levels don already dey enof, but for those wey don nearly hit deficiency or dey wit existing low levels, excessive coffee intake fit contribute to further depletion, Emily Ho, director of di Linus Pauling Institute and professor in di College of Health at Oregon State University tok.
Who need to dey cautious about dia cappuccino?
Since di 1980s, studies don associate coffee wit lower iron absorption.
"Wen you drink coffee wit a food, di polyphenols inside am fit attach to certain minerals in your digestive system," Ho tok
She explain say dis binding process fit make am dey harder for your body to absorb di iron - as minerals need to pass through di intestinal cells to enta di bloodstream. "If e dey tie to polyphenols, dey simply pass through your body and you poo-poo am."
Dis dey especially important for iron, particularly di type wey dey inside plant-based foods, wey dem dey call'non-heme iron'. Non-heme iron from foods like fruit and vegetables dey harder for di bod to absorb.
Polyphenols inside coffee - especially chlorogenic acid - fit attach to dis type of iron, stop am make e no absorb into bloodstream properly. Sake of result say, di iron remain tied to dis compounds as e dey move through di digestive system. You go eventually poo-poo am instead make di body use am.
All dis means say pipo wit iron-deficiency anaemia suppose dey cautious about drinking coffee wey too close to iron-rich meals.
"E fit dey best to enjoy your coffee at least one hour bifor or some hours afta you eat iron-rich foods so dem no go mix inside your belle," Alex Ruani tok.
Women wey dey menstruate and di ones wey get belle often dey fall into dis category of pipo wey need to keep eye on dia iron levels. Dem typically need more iron and dey more prone to develop iron-deficiency anaemia so dem need to keep eyes on dia coffee intake.
Calcium
Calcium dey good for bone health, yet 9% of 16–49 year-olds in di UK dey consume less dan di Lowest Reference Nutrient Intake (LRNI) of calcium through dia food. Dis deficit dey put dem at risk of weak bones later in life.
Our kidneys dey remove waste and extra water from di blood (as urine) and help keep chemicals (like sodium, potassium, and calcium) balanced inside body. E dey also dey make hormones.
Studies suggest say caffeine fit make am harder for your body to hang on to calcium e go disturb how e dey processed in your kidneys and absorbed in di intestines.
Again, dis effects dey minimal and more important for pipo wey already dey eat low calcium diet or dey at higher risk for bone-related health issues.
"One popular study wey dem publish inside journal, Osteoporosis International, proposes say caffeine fit contribute to bone loss as e dey interfere wit bone metabolism," Ruani tok. "But more studies dey needed to determine di true impact of caffeine on osteoporosis risk."
Calcium fit dey stored by di body, so you no need to consume di recommended amount daily – but over di period of months adults weydey di age of 19-64 suppose average out around 700mg of calcium a day.
E also worth to get am for mind say caffeine get diuretic effect i.e. e dey increase how often you need to urinate.
"Dis fit lead to di loss of water-soluble vitamins (like some B vitamins) and minerals (like iron and calcium), as excretion dey play key role to regulate dia levels in di body," Ho add.
B Vitamins
"Sake of coffee influence on kidney function and nutrient metabolism, to drink large amounts of coffee (like four cups a day or more), fit make you poo-poo too much and wit dat, di loss of water-soluble vitamins, including B vitamins," Ruani explain.
B vitamins dey dissolve in water, so dem no dey stored in di body. Instead, any excess go comot for body through urine.
Probiotics
Probiotics na live bacteria and yeasts wey dey promoted to get various health benefits.
Dem fit dey helpful to restore di natural balance of bacteria inside your gut in some cases according to di NHS site but na small evidence dey to support many health claims about dem.
However, if you wan try probiotic supplements or probiotic-rich foods like yogurt and kimchi, e dey best to avoid to dey chop dem dem alongside hot drinks like coffee.
"Live bacteria wey dey inside probiotics dey highly sensitive to heat, and exposure to high temperatures - like di heat in coffee - fit reduce dia survival rate in di gastrointestinal tract, make dem less effective," Ruani tok.
Sometimes e dey prescribed by doctors to help ease diarrhoea wey antibiotic medication cause, to get di maximum benefit wait 30-60 minutes bifor you take probiotic if you don take a cup of coffee.
E worth to swap out coffee for tea?
If you dey consider to switch to tea, e dey important to sabi say some of di same concerns apply to tea too.
"In fact, di polyphenols wey dey inside tea fit get similar effect on nutrient bioavailability, so e dey important to pay attention to di timing of your tea consumption if you dey worry about nutrient absorption," Ho warn.
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