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Coffee Carcinogens

That morning cup o’ Jo that helps open your eyes and sharpen your brain may also be giving your body a jolt of something less desirable: the cancer-causing chemical acrylamide.

Researchers at the United Nations, who have been looking into the potential dangers of acrylamide in food for several years, recently found that as much as one-third of people’s daily consumption of this chemical comes from coffee. About the only food that gives you a bigger shot of acrylamide, they found, is the potato (either French fried or in chips).

Acrylamide is produced when cooking foods at high temperatures, particularly when frying or roasting. Plant-based foods that are rich in carbohydrates and low in protein seem to produce the greatest amount acrylamide, researchers found. Roasting coffee beans appears to produce significant amounts, but how much you get depends upon how strong a cup you like and what type of roast you prefer. Darker roasts contain less acrylamide, while levels peak in medium-roasted coffees. Whether you drink instant or ground makes no difference.

Studies show acrylamide causes cancer and reproductive problems in laboratory animals. Much of what is known about its neurotoxicity in humans comes from high occupational and accidental exposures that occurred while using acrylamide to produce plastics and other materials. Acrylamide exposure has been linked to decreased coordination, peripheral neuropathy and other problems.

Using data from 17 different countries, scientists are continuing to investigate the acrylamide content in foods and how it affects human health. In the meantime, they advise people to limit their consumption of fried foods and coffee. That’s the kind of advice people would do well to take anyway.

To learn more about acrylamide in foods, go to www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2005/np06/en/index.html, www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/100102/index.html or www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1986413,00.html.