Coffee with 2% milk

[Margolia]

Hello Everyone! I had a quick question about coffee consumption. I've never been a fan of coffee, however, after being diagnosed with F3-4 fibrosis/cirrhosis last year, I have started to drink it. I take it more easily with milk (2%) and sugar (limiting to 1 tea spoon for 1/2 liter). My concern is milk - I have read that drinking green (or any) tea with milk lowers it's antioxidant potential. Has anyone maybe asked their dietician or hepatologist about adding milk to coffee and how could this potentially change it's beneficial effect on the liver? Thank you!

[ps1lon]

not come across any research or analysis which delves into that level, just coffee drinker / non coffee drinkers.

bmcpublichealth.biomedcentr...

[Margolia in reply to ps1lon]

Thank you! This is a very interesting article, quite informative. 🤝

[Aotea2012]

Well it’s an interesting question, but given the small volumes involved, I can’t think it would make much difference. When I was first diagnosed with cirrhosis I had lost a lot of weight and my diet was all about calories and protein. I drank whole milk by the lorry load! I actually got quite a taste for coffee and milk. Together and on their own! I still drink both and both are very good for you. There’s research to show that coffee is good for liver health. Milk is great for you too. I’m much better these days and gain weight if I take on too many calories so have shifted away from full fat to semi skimmed. I still drink about a pint or two every day. It’s especially good at night as it contains naturally occurring chemicals which aid sleep. So a warm cup of milk is my go to just before I go to bed. It’s high in calcium and vitamin B12 and protein and is a great way to get all the nutrients the body needs. I suppose when you think about it...that’s what it’s main aim is! So to answer your question....I don’t know! I’d carry on drinking both though as any loss of coffee effect will be more than made up for by the nutrient content of milk.

[Margolia in reply to Aotea2012]

Thank you! I love my milk. I am so glad I don't have intolerance because I am addicted to it. 🙂 I do drink at least half a litre a day. It looks like adding it to coffee lowers coffee benefit, I need to try to minimize it in coffee and see if I can tolerate the taste.

[Hidden]

Found this:

"Coffee should be taken without sugar. If sugar is added, it decreases the effects of caffeine. Also, go for less milk or preferably without milk," Dr Wadhawan suggested.

So a bit of milk seems to be fine.

[Margolia in reply to Hidden]

It is my least preferable outcome - no milk, no sugar 😂 But it looks like it is the most beneficial. 😢🙂

[Hidden in reply to Margolia]

I have mine with a bit of milk - no idea if it works though.😆

[pushthrough in reply to Margolia]

I have coffee with non sweetened almond milk. No sugar. I save sugar intake for a sweet treat. 😂 I have 2% milk with alpen every day. Danny got me hooked on the Alpen. I buy 6 boxes at a time.

[Anthonysmate]

As a former tea drinker I have also developed a liking for coffee after exactly the same diagnosis as yours (with bridging) I tend to go for the cost rican bean or Arabic bean as the taste is much better, it's more expensive, but I have cut back on so much in my diet etc so the extra expense is ok budget wise.

[Margolia in reply to Anthonysmate]

I mostly use instant coffee, though expensive one in granules so I am not sure which beans do they use. But I do use coffee machine from time to time as well. Just went to look what type of beans is in there - it just says 100% ground coffee. My husband buys it so my level of awareness in this matter is explainable. 🤣 I'd assume it's robusta? Next time I'm in store, I'll look for arabica beans to give it a try. Thank you for the hint! 👍

[deanw41]

I love Lattes!! Or milky coffee at home. Semi skimmed milk at home and FULL FAT when I’m dining out ‘el fresco 😊👍⭐️

[Margolia in reply to deanw41]

I love my iced capp! My husband always buys it from Tim Hortons and he got me addicted as well But it is made with cream and lots of sugar so I consider it as a treat which I get from time to time. 👍🙂

[Margolia]

Thank you for sharing. Sorry for the late response! I am from Ontario and we've had a 4 day power outage after a major storm, I am still catching up!

I have also found the following "Coffee was also found to be associated with less fibrosis, lower hospitalization rates, and lower mortality rates in alcoholic liver diseases (8).

The addition of milk or creamers decreased or delayed the beneficial absorption of polyphenols found in coffee. Polyphenols are thought to be responsible for some of the beneficial effects seen in coffee drinkers."

I took it from liversupport.com/high-liver...

It talks about ways of lowering liver enzymes but I have copied the coffee part here.

[Margolia]

Haha. It's so funny. Not the first time happening to me. I was very concerned about my milk in the coffee so I went ahead and asked for "collective" opinion here. I did get some great responses thank you all but also today without even looking specufically for any more information on this topic I found 2 articles in my inbox which exactly answer my question as well. I will give the sourses below but basically it is stated that according to research findings neither milk nor sugar had any negative effect on coffee flavonoids absorption rates by the body. As I understand flavonoids are the main antioxidants found in coffee. I think it is a good news? 👍🙂🙏

coffeescience.org/impact-mi...

webmd.com/diet/news/2022053...