Are turmeric or maca healthier alternatives to caffeine-free coffee?

Coffee may not be an obvious loser in the race to eat healthier, especially since it has been linked to a lower risk of certain diseases, including heart disease and some cancers.

But as we become more aware of the relationship between diet and health, caffeine is often blamed for anxiety and sleep problems.

As a result, coffee companies have seen an increasing interest in the decaf type from those who love the taste or ritual of having a good cup of coffee.

Customers at Decadent Decaf Coffee Co in the UK opt for decaf for health reasons, says co-founder Laura Smith. And, she says, her once-bad reputation is improving.

But in recent years, there has been an increase in the supply of decaffeinated beverages as alternatives to coffee that claim to offer a more “natural” boost of energy without getting us jittery, using ingredients such as ancient medicinal herbs and so-called “superfoods”.

In some coffee shops today, in addition to traditional coffee lattes, you can find beetroot, turmeric and maca lattes. Ginseng and moringa are some other ingredients that are being marketed as healthy alternatives to coffee that also provide an energy boost.

Many of these ingredients contain plant bioactive compounds that, when consumed, can influence our health. But does switching from decaf coffee to a coffee alternative really boost your energy and improve your health?

One of the most ubiquitous caffeine-free alternatives to coffee is maca, prepared from the eponymous root, which is often added as a powder to milk.

But maca won’t give you a coffee-like energy boost, says Michael Heinrich, professor of ethnopharmacology and pharmacognosy at University College London (UCL) in the UK.

“Maca is not a stimulant like coffee,” he says. “Doesn’t increase attention.” Nor can a maca latte be expected to be healthier than a coffee latte, he says.

In a 2017 article, Heinrich argues that after maca was used as a food and medicine by the Andean people for over 2,000 years in Peru, local knowledge about the health benefits of this root was “taken out of context to meet to the demands of an expanding market for herbal remedies”.

“The health benefits of maca have not been well studied and not all studies are as solid and reliable as they should be,” he notes.

Ginseng, another plant traditionally used as a medicine, has also become a popular ingredient for coffee substitutes.

But while Heinrich says ginseng does not provide an energy boost comparable to coffee, “some research suggests it may have preventive effects, especially in the case of infectious diseases, and, as others claim, also in the prevention of some types of cancer.”

Likewise, some studies show health benefits linked to turmeric. But you won’t see any of these benefits from drinking a turmeric latte, says Charlotte Mills, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Reading in the UK.

“You can only digest turmeric to a certain extent, so to get the effects shown in some research, the dose you’d need is incredibly high. I’m not sure you’d get that through a coffee alternative,” she says.

“We’ve been researching coffee for a long time,” notes Gunter Kuhnle, professor of food and nutritional sciences at the University of Reading.

“We know how caffeine works. Turmeric is used as a spice and coloring in small amounts, but in large amounts in beverages we don’t know.”

Kuhnle agrees and says you’re more likely to see adverse effects if you consume a large enough amount of turmeric.

“No research has been done on the potential toxicity of taking large amounts of turmeric or other plant bioactives, which is worrying,” he says.

But there is some research suggesting that consuming turmeric while pregnant, breastfeeding or with specific medications like insulin may pose certain health risks.

And if a turmeric latte makes you feel more awake, that’s probably due to another property, suggests Kirsten Brandt, a professor at the Institute of Population Health Sciences at the University of Newcastle in the UK.

“It’s impossible to say because it hasn’t been properly investigated, but there seems to be little evidence that turmeric offers an energy boost. It can make you feel good because that’s what you’d expect; turmeric has a strong placebo effect because of its color. and strong flavor.”

Another alternative ingredient to coffee is moringa, a plant native to India, which is also mixed in powder with milk.

“Moringa is rich in protein and fiber, vitamins and minerals, and has a wide variety of bioactive phytochemicals, some of which have been linked to helping prevent type 2 diabetes and heart disease,” says Wendy Russell, professor of molecular nutrition at University of Aberdeen, UK.

But, she said, a moringa latte is unlikely to offer any of these benefits.

“Moringa tastes awful,” says Russell.

“I’ve seen its popularity and sales of moringa drinks increase dramatically, but I’m worried that people are being tricked into thinking it’s good for them,” she says.

A standard moringa drink won’t give you that coffee gas either, adds Russell. “Caffeine is a very important compound for providing energy stimulation,” she says.

But seeking that coffee boost in caffeine-free alternatives can be a fruitless mission anyway.

Some scientists believe that coffee just resolves withdrawal symptoms from the last coffee you had, rather than improving your performance, says Brandt.

In the absence of any proven energy boost among any caffeine-free alternative, researchers wonder why people who want to forgo caffeine don’t simply opt for regular decaf.

Many of the compounds in turmeric and moringa are polyphenols — micronutrients found in plants — which are often credited with many of the health benefits found in these beverages, says Mills. But they are also found in large quantities in coffee.

“Many of the health benefits of coffee are overlooked, but it is full of bioactive compounds. There is much more to coffee than just caffeine.”

Traditionally, caffeine-free alternatives were consumed because they were cheaper than coffee. People used to add, for example, chicory to coffee to make it last longer, says Kuhnle.

“Old cookbooks tend to suggest many ways to make coffee last longer, often using homemade ingredients, because coffee beans were expensive,” he adds.

How times have changed. Today, a beet or turmeric latte from a coffee shop will likely cost as much as a coffee.

But, according to Mills, the reason people may turn away from coffee could be the confusion over whether or not it’s good for their health.

“Coffee is a very complex subject. This confusion could be directing people towards things that are more one-dimensional, like so-called ‘superfoods,’ for example, which are easier for people to embrace without understanding the details.”

But it turns out that there is no simple answer. Turmeric, maca and moringa lattes contain very small doses of these ingredients for them to have beneficial health effects – and they can cause adverse side effects we don’t yet know about.

“A lot more research needs to be done on these things before taking them as healthy drinks,” concludes Mills.

“If you want coffee without caffeine, I suggest a decaf.”

Kuhnle agrees and says the richest area of ​​research focuses on caffeine.

While it might not be as innovative or as colorful as beets or turmeric, a good old-fashioned decaf might be the safest bet for now.