If I say the word “acrylamide,” there’s a more than likely chance that 1.) you drink coffee in California or 2.) you’re a brainworm who will soon be the head of the Department of Health and Human Services. Essentially the coffee bogeyman that Modern Age peddlers will point to as the reason why coffee will kill you, acrylamide is a naturally occurring chemical created by applying high temperatures to food. Just like roasting coffee. Although it can be carcinogenic in very enormous doses – and this was the reason some California congressmen wanted all coffee bags to carry a cancer warning – the amount found in the average cup of coffee is below par, around 0 .45 micrograms. (which is basically a rounding error compared to the 39-83 micrograms of the substance found in swift food french fries.
Therefore, it is generally accepted that drinking coffee does not pose any health risks related to acrylamide. Unless you drink a lot of instant coffee. The study showed that instant coffee has twice the acrylamide content of freshly ground coffee.
As reported Daily mailthe findings are based on a Polish survey 2013 which examined the level of acrylamide in 42 different coffee samples, including 11 instant coffees (and three coffee substitutes). This study found that instant coffee samples had twice the acrylamide levels of fresh coffee, ranging from 358 microg/kg to 179 microg/kg. In terms of single cups (160 ml), freshly brewed coffee was in line with previous findings at 0.45 micrograms per cup, meaning instant coffee contained 0.9 micrograms. Incidentally, coffee substitutes lead the way with 3.21 micrograms per cup.
Using these numbers, researchers from McGill University tried to determine at what level instant coffee consumption becomes a problem. Based on a conservative estimate of a secure daily intake level of approximately 25 micrograms per day of acrylamide, they state that to reach this amount, a person would need to drink approximately 2.5 liters of instant coffee per day, or about 10 cups.
They also note that some agencies set the secure level of acrylamide at 195 micrograms per day, bringing the total number of cups to more than 70.
This all means that even if you drink instant coffee, which contains the most acrylamide, everything is fine. Unless you drink more than 10 cups a day at a conservative level. And if so, I just want to know why? Who hurt you? Is this a cry for facilitate? I also agree that you shouldn’t drink more than 10 cups of instant coffee a day, but as a rule more than anything else.
