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Coffee Nutritional Profile
Energy value (calories per serving): Low
Protein: Trace
Fat: Trace
Saturated fat: None
Cholesterol: None
Carbohydrates: Trace
Fiber: Trace
Sodium: Low
Major vitamin contribution: None
Major mineral contribution: None
About the Nutrients in Coffee
Coffee beans are roasted seeds from the fruit of the evergreen coffee
tree. Like other nuts and seeds, they are high in proteins (11 percent),
sucrose and other sugars (8 percent), oils (10 to 15 percent), assorted
organic acids (6 percent), B vitamins, iron, and the central nervous
system stimulant caffeine (1 to 2 percent). With the exceptions of
caffeine, none of these nutrients is found in coffee.
Like spinach, rhubarb, and tea, coffee contains oxalic acid (which binds
calcium ions into insoluble compounds your body cannot absorb), but this
is of no nutritional consequence as long as your diet contains adequate
amounts of calcium-rich foods.
Coffee's best known constituent is the methylxanthine central nervous
system stimulant caffeine. How much caffeine you get in a cup of coffee
depends on how the coffee was processed and brewed. Caffeine is
water-soluble. Instant, freeze-dried, and decaffeinated coffees all have
less caffeine than plain ground roasted coffee.
The Most Nutritious Way to Serve Coffee
In moderation, with high-calcium foods. Like spinach, rhubarb, and tea,
coffee has oxalic acid, which binds calcium into insoluble compounds. This
will have no important effect as long as you keep your consumption
moderate (two to four cups of coffee a day) and your calcium consumption
high.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude Coffee
Bland diet
Gout diet
Diet for people with heart disease (regular coffee)
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