Watering your garden with coffee helps your plants by providing them with nitrogen
Coffee is full of beneficial nutrients that aid plants grow.
Health groups are petitioning the Food and Drug Administration to ban the chemical, which is sometimes used to decaffeinate coffee. It was recently reported that California lawmakers are also proposed a bill ban the compound in coffee statewide. Does that mean you have to stop drinking it?
The Spotless Label Project, a nonprofit organization that advocates for transparency in food labeling, found that several popular coffee brands including Kirkland Signature, Kroger, Maxwell House and Peet’s Coffee, contained trace amounts of methylene chloride, a liquid sometimes used to strip paint that can cause a range of health problems in enormous doses. (A Peet’s representative told USA TODAY that the brand switched to a different way to remove caffeine more than two years ago.) Other major brands, including Starbucks, Dunkin’, Tim Horton’s and Folgers, showed no traces.
In the wake of calls to ban methylene chloride in decaffeinated coffee, here’s what nutrition experts would like readers to know about the health benefits and potential dangers of coffee.
More: Chemical paint stripper killed their children. In their heroic fight to ban it.
Is decaffeinated coffee harmful?
Some nutrition experts say the fuss over methylene chloride in coffee is not as controversial as it seems.
“The dose matters” – dietician Miranda Galati tells USA TODAY.
While methylene chloride has raised concerns about possible carcinogenic effects in rodents at higher doses, the amount that remains in a cup of coffee contains “significantly less,” Galati notes. Most of the compound is removed during the decaffeination process, and the remaining amount— FDA was created Less than 0.001% as OK – is so compact that it will not have any real impact.
If you still have doubts, Galati advises looking for decaffeinated coffee that’s “solvent-free or processed with Swiss Water,” or opting for tea instead.
“Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what you feel comfortable with,” he adds.
How much caffeine is too much? Here’s what you need to know before you reach for your next cup of coffee.
Which coffee is the healthiest?
Most dietitians will tell you that the term “healthiest” is subjective—people with different health goals or concerns may have completely different definitions of what is best for them.
“The healthiest foods in any category will depend on you, your budget, your culture, your health goals and many other factors,” Galati previously told USA TODAY. “It’s great that you can make more nutrient-dense choices when you can, but choosing a more processed or convenient option isn’t always a bad thing. As a registered dietitian who wants you to build a hearty lifestyle that will last, I would recommend abandoning the idea that there’s a healthiest version of anything.”
Both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee offer similar health benefits, including links to hearty liver enzyme levels and a reduced risk of colon cancer, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Caffeinated coffee can provide “unique benefits, including improved mood, alertness and athletic performance,” Galati says.
“But if it makes you nervous, anxious or disrupts your sleep, decaf is your best bet,” she adds. “Decaffeinated coffee offers many of the same benefits as regular coffee without the potential downsides of caffeine.”
As Galati notes, decaf coffee also offers “health-boosting antioxidants and other phytochemicals that may protect against type 2 diabetes, cognitive decline, and some cancers.”
More: Can Drinking Coffee and Tea Save Your Life? And More Studies You Need to Know About.
For people who experience physical or mental side effects from caffeine, Galati recommends decaffeinated coffee or herbal teas.
