Discover the Surprising Benefits and Risks of Coffee on a Plant-Based Diet!

Coffee, the world's top-selling hot drink, is often considered one of the healthiest beverages. Population studies suggest that consuming 3-4 cups of coffee daily is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular and digestive diseases, liver cancer and cirrhosis, type 2 diabetes, and depression. Both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee offer these health benefits, likely due to their rich polyphenol content, which provides antioxidant properties.

The Vegan-Friendliness of Coffee

Coffee, in its purest form, is indeed a plant-based beverage. From bean to cup, no animal products are involved in making coffee. This means that vegans can enjoy their morning cup of joe guilt-free.

What Makes Coffee a Plant-Based Beverage?

Coffee starts as seeds that grow into a plant belonging to the Coffea species. With proper care, this plant produces coffee cherries, which hold coffee beans inside. The beans are removed from the cherries and then dried and roasted, transitioning from green to brown.

Should Vegans Drink Coffee?

While coffee in its purest form is plant-based, the decision to consume it depends on individual factors. Consider both the potential benefits and downfalls.

Potential Benefits of Coffee Consumption

Coffee consumption, alongside a plant-based diet, can offer several health perks, including:

Read also: Protein Coffee Smoothie Recipe

Improved Alertness, Concentration, Energy, and Mood: Coffee enhances physical and mental energy, primarily through its caffeine content and bioactive compounds.
Reduced Oxidative Stress: The antioxidants in coffee help protect against cellular damage by neutralizing free radicals. Coffee is one of the richest sources of antioxidants in the average diet, including chlorogenic acid and other polyphenols. These compounds combat oxidative stress and inflammation by neutralizing free radicals.
Reduced Risk of Some Chronic Diseases: Population studies have found coffee consumption to be associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular and digestive disease, liver cancer and cirrhosis, type 2 diabetes, and depression.
Improved Weight Management and Blood Sugar Regulation
Supports Brain Health
Enhances Physical and Mental Energy: Caffeine stimulates the nervous system, increasing adrenaline levels, which prepares the body for physical exertion. It can enhance endurance and reduce perceived effort during workouts, making exercise feel easier.
Lower Incidence of Cancer and Decreased Risk of Mortality: There has been extensive research confirming an association between high coffee consumption and a decreased cancer risk, including colon, rectal, liver, breast, and endometrial cancer. Coffee supports the liver’s ability to detoxify harmful substances by increasing the activity of liver enzymes that break down toxins and carcinogens.
Supports Gut Health: Coffee acts as a natural stimulant for the digestive system, promoting bowel movements by increasing the contractions of the intestinal muscles (peristalsis). The polyphenols in coffee have prebiotic-like properties, meaning they can feed beneficial gut bacteria, such as Bifidobacteria.
Elevates Mood: The bioactive compounds in coffee, including polyphenols, can reduce oxidative stress in the brain and increase the production of serotonin, which helps improve mood and combat symptoms of depression or stress.

Caffeine from coffee has been shown to increase glucose metabolism and muscle glycogen re-synthesis post-exercise. For these reasons, coffee may enhance athletic performance if consumed prior to a high-intensity workout.

Potential Downfalls and Risks of Coffee Consumption

For certain population groups, coffee consumption can come with consequences, requiring consideration on an individual basis regarding the quantity and timing of consumption.

Reduced Iron Absorption: Coffee naturally contains polyphenols, compounds found in plant-based foods, which can inhibit iron absorption. Coffee contains compounds called tannins, which can inhibit the absorption of calcium and iron. To maximise absorption of these minerals, try consuming your coffee at least 1-hour either side of meals.
Anxiety and Nervousness: Common side effects matched by physical symptoms of jitteriness and rapid breathing.
Caffeine Sensitivity: Slow metabolisers might find they are jittery or anxious relatively soon following a coffee, or struggle to fall asleep even if their last coffee was in the morning.
Increased Stress Hormones: Being a stimulant, caffeine increases our stress hormones and kickstarts many of our bodily functions, including our digestive and nervous system. If you suffer with diarrhoea-predominant IBS or anxiety, some people, especially slow caffeine metabolisers, may find caffeinated coffee triggers or worsens their symptoms.
Sleep Disruption: Sleep is extremely important for our health, and coffee has an average half-life of 5 hours (meaning the caffeine will still be in your system up to 5 hours after consumption).
Heartburn: Coffee may trigger heartburn.
Increased Eye Pressure and Risk of Seizures: Caffeine can increase eye pressure and the risk of seizures.
Dehydration: As a diuretic, caffeine increases the production of urine and so, whilst 1-2 cups of coffee will likely not have negative effects on your overall hydration status, exceeding this amount without adequate hydration might do.
Medication Interactions: Coffee’s effects can either be enhanced with some of these medications (such as birth control, antibiotics) or coffee can interfere with the absorption of some of these medications (thyroid medication).

Special Considerations

Pregnancy: For pregnant women, a maximum consumption of 200mg of caffeine is the national consensus, however, there is some research which suggests caffeine should be avoided entirely.
Menopause: There have been conflicting studies looking at the association of coffee intake with increased menopausal symptoms. Caffeine may exacerbate hot flashes in some women by increasing body temperature and stimulating the nervous system. Excessive caffeine intake can interfere with calcium absorption, potentially impacting bone density-a concern for menopausal women already at risk for osteoporosis.

Caffeine Metabolism

The caffeine found in coffee varies considerably, especially between countries. Evidence suggests that adrenaline levels in the blood only spike for slow metabolisers, and that slow metabolisers who exceed 3 cups of caffeinated coffee a day may have an increased risk of hypertension and heart attacks. Fast metabolisers, on the other hand can break down caffeine so fast that they experience no increase in adrenaline or risk of hypertension, even at 4+ cups of coffee a day.

Genetic testing can determine if you are a fast or slow caffeine metaboliser. However, an easier and cheaper way of determining this is by simply monitoring your symptoms following coffee consumption.

Caffeine and Adenosine

Caffeine’s primary effect on the body is blocking the action of adenosine. Through blocking adenosine, the brain is unable to detect adenosine’s presence and thus it continues to release chemicals that keep us awake.

Caffeine Withdrawal

Should you decide that reducing or eliminating your consumption of caffeine is the right thing for you and your health, be mindful that you may experience withdrawal symptoms. These can include headaches, decreased energy levels or fatigue, drowsiness, depressed mood, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and irritability.

Go slow and steady: eliminating caffeine cold turkey can shock the body and heighten the effects of withdrawal symptoms. Reduce the quantity or strength of caffeine: if you typically consume full-strength caffeinated coffee or drinks that contain double shots of espresso, try opting for half-decaf, half-regular coffee, or ask for just one shot of espresso in your coffee if purchasing from a cafe. Prioritise sleep: should you experience increased fatigue, invest in good sleep hygiene. Aim to sleep for 7 to 9 hours per night, dim the lights 1 hour to 30 minutes before sleeping, reducing blue light exposure from technology prior to sleep, and ensure your room is dark and slightly cool whilst sleeping.

Vegan Coffee Additions

Coffee in its purest form is plant-based, but it's essential to ensure that what we add to our coffee is also vegan. Fortunately, there are plenty of plant-based milk alternatives for both vegans and vegetarians! Some examples of alternative milk options include:

Soy
Almond
Oat
Cashew
Coconut
Hemp

If you prefer a creamier taste, vegan coffee creamers are also typically readily available at your local grocery store, such as the ones offered by Silk.

Is Coffee Mate Vegan?

Coffee Mate is a brand of coffee creamers that offers a wide range of flavours available in powdered, liquid, and concentrated forms. Unfortunately, not all Coffee Mate creamers are vegan. Many Coffee Mate creamers contain a milk derivative, sodium caseinate, making them not suitable for vegans.

Is Starbucks’ Coffee Vegan?

Yes, Starbucks’ coffee itself is vegan! But when choosing a drink at Starbucks’, it is important to double-check that the other ingredients added are also vegan. Remember to always choose a plant-based milk!

Moreover, you may have noticed that Starbucks uses coffee syrups in many of their signature drinks. Which flavours of coffee syrup are vegan-friendly can change depending on the brand they use so it’s always safest to ask your barista which syrups are truly plant-based!

Coffee and Heart Health

Two separate studies find that plant-based diets and coffee consumption are good for your heart. One study finds that eating a mostly plant-based diet is associated with less risk of developing heart failure among people without previously diagnosed heart disease or heart failure. The researchers found that people who eat a plant-based diet most of the time have a 42 percent decreased risk of developing heart failure over the four years of the study, compared to people who eat fewer plant-based foods.

The second study presented at the AHA’s Scientific Sessions 2017 found that drinking coffee may be associated with a decreased risk of developing heart failure or stroke. Compared with no coffee consumption, every additional cup of coffee consumed per week was associated with a 7 percent decrease in the risk of heart failure and an 8 percent decrease in the risk of stroke. The study demonstrates an observed association but does not prove cause and effect.

Plant-Based Diets and Overall Health

Plant-based diets have become much more popular recently, and for good reason. The number of published scientific reports on plant-based diets tripled in the last decade showing the many health benefits of this approach to eating. A plant-based diet is one that includes foods from plants, meaning vegetable sources. This includes abundant amounts of dark-colored fruits and vegetables, whole grains, plant proteins like beans, legumes, lentils, nuts and seeds, and other polyphenolic-rich compounds found in green and black tea and coffee.

Types of Plant-Based Diets

There are different types of plant-based diets, but in this review, we will focus our attention primarily on vegan (100% plant-based), lacto-ovo vegetarian (i.e. plant-based except for dairy products and/or eggs), and pesco-vegetarian or pescatarian (i.e. plant-based except for fish and seafood with or without eggs and dairy) diets.

Benefits of Plant-Based Diets

Prospective studies suggest that consuming vegetarian diets is associated with a reduced risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, hypertension, dementia, and cancer.

Multiple nutritional effectors of a healthy vegetarian diet modulate important metabolic, hormonal, and immune factors associated with the development of cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases.

Vegetarians do not consume meat, and vegans also avoid milk, butter, and dairy. Beef, lamb, and pork contain high levels of saturated fat and cholesterol and minimal amounts of polyunsaturated fats; even lean cuts of beef may contain up to 4.5 g of saturated fat per 100 g serving. In contrast, one tablespoon of olive oil contains 119 kcal and only 1.9 g of saturated fatty acids.

Vegetarians, and especially vegans, tend to have lower body weights than omnivores.

Well-designed vegetarian diets rich in vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and fruits provide a wide range of vitamins (vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene), minerals (selenium), and phytochemicals (tannins, phenols, alkaloids, and flavonoids) with xenohormetic effects.

Potential Risks of Plant-Based Diets

Moreover, not all plant-based foods are equally healthy. Unhealthy vegetarian diets poor in specific nutrients (vitamin B12, iron, zinc, and calcium) and/or rich in highly processed and refined foods increase morbidity and mortality.

In one large study, eating less healthy, processed plant-based foods, such as potato chips, cookies and soda, was associated with increased heart disease risk.

Key Nutrients for Plant-Based Diets

Protein: Each gram contains 4 calories: 55 grams of protein multiplied by 4 (calories per gram) = 220 calories, which is 11% of calories in a 2,000 calorie/day dietary pattern for most individuals.
Fat: The AIs for linoleic acid (LA, an omega-6 fatty acid) is only 12 grams per day for adult women under 70 years and 17 grams for men under 51 or 14 grams for those 51-70 years.
Calcium: Plant sources of calcium are adequate to meet needs. Plant-based sources of calcium include bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, collard greens, tofu, winter squash, and almonds.
Potassium: The AI for adults 19-70 is 2,600 mg/day for women and 3,400 mg/day for men.
Dietary Fiber: The AI for fiber is 14 g per 1,000 calories per day,3 which translates to 25 g per day for women <50 yrs and 21 g for those >50 yrs. For men, it is 38 g <50 yrs and 30 g for >50 yrs.
Vitamin D: Sunlight is a better source of vitamin D than dietary sources as ultraviolet (UV) B radiation transforms the precursor of vitamin D in the skin into vitamin D3.
Vitamin B12: Vegetarians and the elderly have a high risk of vitamin B12 deficiency due to low consumption, as well as lower absorption.

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