What is the nutritional value of coffee?

For a balanced diet, human beings need to consume about 50 nutrients and other non-nutritive supplements that bring benefits to the body. Coffee belongs to the second group, that of elements that provide practically no nutrients but nevertheless play an important role in nutrition.

Coffee

Coffee contains close to 1,000 natural chemicals; however, it contributes a negligible amount of calories, fat and protein. Instead, it has substances such as caffeine and polyphenols that benefit the body as stimulants and antioxidants.

Some of the most relevant chemical compounds in coffee are amino acids, polysaccharides, sugars, triglycerides, linoleic acid and diterpenes, such as cafestol and kahweol, which are associated with unfiltered coffee. There are also volatile (formic and acetic) and non-volatile (lactic, tartaric, pyruvic, citric) acids, phenolic compounds (chlorogenic acid), caffeine, volatile substances, vitamins and minerals.

The concentration of these compounds can vary according to the species, the variety, the maturity, the type of processing, the storage and the roast level of the coffee. In fact, during the roasting process, another substance is created: melanoidin, which gives coffee beans their brown pigmentation and lends flavor and color to the drink.

HOW MANY CALORIES ARE IN YOUR CUP OF COFFEE?

Coffee is made up of water and solids, which are the roasted and ground coffee beans. In 100 grams of brewed coffee without sugar, the nutritional composition is the following:
0-2 calories
0.2 grams of fat
0.1 grams of protein
97.8 grams of water
40 milligrams of caffeine

In other words, the consumption of 100 grams of coffee brewed with water and without sweeteners represents less than one percent of a diet of 2,200 calories per day.

It also provides calcium (2mg), magnesium (80mg), phosphorus (7mg), potassium (115mg) and zinc (0.05mg), which are all micronutrients that the body needs small amounts of.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF COFFEE WITH MILK

The nutritional value changes when it comes to coffee with milk. It depends on the type of dairy chosen, since different types of milk contain different amounts of fat.

If you choose whole milk, 40 calories should be added to the nutritional value of the coffee, while reduced-fat milk adds 30 calories and nonfat milk 21 calories. Similarly, 25 calories should be added for each spoonful of sugar.