What is healthier: instant coffee or chicory? What to drink – coffee or chicory? Harm from consuming chicory and coffee made from it

Chicory has long been known as a coffee substitute. But again: if previously they drank it mainly because there was no normal coffee in our stores, now they drink it with pleasure and out of love. From the section of diabetic and dietary products coffee from chicory migrated to shelves with a “status” assortment.

Drink selection based on chicory is great, and in order to improve and enrich the taste, manufacturers produce instant chicory with various additives - sea buckthorn, lingonberries, blueberries, cinnamon, rose hips. There is packaged chicory - it can be brewed as tea, and there is chicory ground.

Polina Vlasova, build editor website: “I drink chicory because it has no caffeine. And together with cream and sugar, it tastes like coffee or cocoa, which I love, but due to my poor tolerance to caffeine, I can’t drink.”

Elena Ilyina, head of the company's naming department Lexica: “I drank chicory before because everyone around me was talking about the benefits of the drink. I even tried to give it to my child. But chicory coffee didn’t catch on with me; it doesn’t have the same richness of taste as coffee, it doesn’t invigorate and doesn’t create a soulful atmosphere. When they started making chicory coffee with various additives, my confidence in it diminished and, sacrificing the benefits, I returned to natural coffee.”

What is chicory and chicory coffee

First of all, coffee from chicory made from dried roots common chicory (not to be confused with chicory salad- this is a different biological species, and its culinary use is completely different). Chicory- a wild plant with pale blue flowers. Chicory tastes like coffee, but does not contain caffeine. That's why chicory drink those for whom coffee is contraindicated - those whose blood pressure increases from coffee.

Ekaterina Gurova, project coordinator website: “I like the taste of chicory. They write that it invigorates and helps with many diseases. That’s why I drink to find this cheerfulness and recover from all illnesses. They also write that it contains vitamins and microelements that are indicated for my illness.”

Chicory: benefits and harm

Plant chicory- a treasure trove of useful things. Roots chicory contain chicorin, inulin, choline, proteins, fats, pectin, vitamins C, B1, E, fat, gum, essential oil, resin, tannins, mineral salts and a large number of trace elements. To some extent, and coffee from chicory can be considered as a medicinal drink.

Natalia Balynina, editor of the “Health” section of the site website: “Chicory contains the polysaccharide inulin; complex-action drugs are produced on its basis. Among the stated effects is the normalization of intestinal microflora: inulin is able to increase the number of lacto- and bifidobacteria necessary for healthy digestion, that is, it is a prebiotic. In addition, dietary supplements with inulin are recommended as absorbents for the body’s detoxification course.”

Sometimes they talk about harm of chicory. The fact is that if you use it immoderately and every day, after a while you can get overly swollen blood vessels.

In addition, do not forget about time to eat chicory. In the morning, in small doses, it will be a tonic and invigorating remedy. And in the evening, chicory can help calm a nervous system that has been overexcited during the day.

Chicory: how to use

In Europe chicory drinks popular for a long time, there is crushed roasted root chicory added to coffee. Cooking for children chicory root drink with the addition of milk or cream. They cook in Estonia egg coffee and put chicory in fruit tea. And in Latvia they cook cold drink made from chicory root with the addition of honey, lemon and apple juice.

Chicory It is useful to drink with milk, as it improves the absorption of milk four times.

However, that's not all. Ground chicory can be added to baked goods, especially in cake batter. A few teaspoons chicory you need to dilute it in a small amount of water or milk, or better yet, sift it with flour, or add it to the butter-egg mixture. Ground chicory adds a nutty flavor to baked goods..

Marianna Orlinkova, deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine Gastronom: “I once drank instant coffee, like everyone else. When my beloved man told me: “Why are you drinking this rubbish? Let me make you some normal coffee,” I always refused. Because I wanted “normal” real coffee - in cezve or espresso - at a different time. And from instant coffee I got hot black bitterness, which for some reason my body needed. I have never added sugar or milk to it. And then a couple of years ago, nice and not too expensive French jars of chicory appeared in our show-off supermarkets. A beautiful jar is half the battle for selling. I bought it and tried it. A perfectly dissolving drink with a nice aroma - nothing to do with coffee, but that’s great. Hot. Black. Bitter. No more instant coffee any more."

Margarita

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Chicory drink is a natural coffee substitute. Many people have to give up this delicious invigorating drink for various health reasons. And here everyone’s favorite infusion of chicory roots comes to the rescue. Today we will find out the composition, beneficial properties of the plant, whether it is possible to drink chicory instead of coffee.

This brewed strong natural infusion gives vigor, strength and energy. It is useful because it can raise blood pressure, increase performance and concentrate attention. If you drink it regularly and in large quantities, heart and digestive problems will begin to appear.

But in small doses it is even useful:

Drinking one or two cups in the first half of the day will not hurt;
For people who smoke or work in hazardous industries, coffee helps remove harmful toxins and also prevents the development of oncology;
A coffee drink with milk has a positive effect on the nervous system, it calms, relieves nervous tension and fatigue;
Has a beneficial effect on people with low blood pressure.

Soluble product

This drink does not invigorate the body as much as a natural one, but it has a negative effect on the functioning of the digestive system. Some manufacturers make the product from low-quality raw materials, so many prefer it in grain. But, if you buy an expensive natural product, it will bring greater health benefits than coffee beans. The taste of an instant drink is certainly worse than that of a natural drink. But the instant one can be drunk in large quantities, because it has a lower degree of action.

The instant drink is useful because:

You can drink it up to four times a day without much harm;
The prepared drink with milk has a gentle effect on the body and allows you to normalize blood pressure;
You can use it at any time of the day. Some people take instant coffee to stay awake;
Promotes weight loss, is part of various diets, contains a minimum of calories.

A coffee substitute like chicory is a natural medicinal plant that is beneficial to the body and has virtually no contraindications. It is a real source of vitamins and microelements. The composition of chicory coffee includes vitamins C, B, organic acids, magnesium, potassium, pectin and others. This is an excellent alternative for people who are prohibited from drinking coffee. For example, patients with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, heart or hypertension are not recommended to drink the drink. Everyone can drink coffee with chicory, even during pregnancy and breastfeeding mothers, with prior consultation with a doctor. What are the benefits of chicory:

You can drink up to five cups a day;
Restores the functioning of the digestive system and pancreas;
The inulin content of the plant helps strengthen the immune system, restore microflora in the intestines and reduce blood sugar, which makes its intake very useful for diabetics;
Regular consumption of the drink helps lower cholesterol, improve metabolism and increase appetite.
It is beneficial for skin diseases, helps with rashes, ulcers, dermatitis.

How to drink chicory

We sell chicory coffee in various forms. Pharmacies sell dried roots of the plant. But they are not roasted, so the resulting drink will not taste like coffee. It is better to brew such roots for medicinal purposes. Also on sale is a ground product or liquid concentrate. You can brew chicory like coffee, put it in a cup and pour boiling water, let it brew a little. There are many recipes for making the drink; you can add milk, cream and sugar. Chicory should be drunk in moderation; three to four cups per day will be enough.

A coffee and chicory plant such as Aronal produces coffee drinks and groceries in Russia. The plant occupies a leading position among other manufacturers; the company employs about three hundred workers. The goal of the Aronap chicory plant is to produce natural, high-quality food products.

Contraindications

We know what benefits chicory has and now we will also determine the harm. The drink does not contain caffeine, but its intake has restrictions. Caution should be taken when drinking the drink if you have low blood pressure. People prone to varicose veins also need to drink chicory in limited quantities. Taking the infusion is prohibited for people with individual intolerance.

Chicory recipes

You can buy dry roots of the plant and fry them, and then chop them. Place one or two cups of powder in a cup and pour boiling water over it. If desired, you can add milk or sugar to the finished aromatic drink.

You can make healthy coffee or chicory with honey. To do this, place a teaspoon of ground root in a container and pour two hundred and fifty milliliters of water. Boil the mixture over low heat for several minutes, add honey to the warm broth.

Among coffee substitutes, chicory ranks first in popularity and usefulness. This unpretentious plant with blue flowers grows in almost any soil, thanks to its high adaptability. Its dried roots are crushed and drinks are prepared that are slightly reminiscent of natural coffee in taste and color. How is this plant useful and can it replace coffee?

The benefits and harms of chicory

It is possible to determine what to drink – chicory or coffee – only after a detailed breakdown of all the properties of these drinks. Their benefits and harms are controversial and are still being studied in many scientific laboratories. Chicory drinks have been on sale for decades, but if previously they were considered a cheap substitute for coffee or even tea, today they are positioned as healthy products and are located on healthy food shelves.

Chicory roots are used as a substitute for coffee beans, although in fact their taste and smell are only slightly reminiscent of this noble drink. How are they useful? They consist of 60% water and the rest of the dry matter is represented by inulin, vitamins B, PP, C, A. It contains manganese, phosphorus, iron, potassium and sodium. Bitterness, tannins, organic acids, essential oil, proteins and fats are present.

This is what a chicory plant looks like

Chicory stimulates the flow of bile and helps cleanse the kidneys and liver of waste and toxins. It is useful to drink after long-term drug therapy. B vitamins stimulate the functioning of the nervous system, speed up the transmission of nerve impulses, charge you with energy, and give vigor.

The root is especially useful for diabetes. In the initial stages, it allows you to reduce blood sugar levels, and in more serious stages, it helps prevent strong surges. A drink made from chicory gives energy without stimulating the nervous system, as it does not contain caffeine. This is one of the most important advantages in favor of a coffee substitute.

This is what the dried and crushed root looks like, ground in a coffee grinder

The benefits of the plant for weight loss have been noticed. Inulin normalizes blood sugar levels, which is important for those who cannot give up sweets. Pectin dulls appetite and prolongs the feeling of fullness. Triterpenes, also present in the root, help speed up metabolic processes, and vitamin B2 helps to effectively break down fats.
The plant can cause harm only in case of allergies and too active use. The risk group includes people with urolithiasis, asthma and stomach ulcers.

The benefits and harms of coffee

Coffee, like tea, is one of the most controversial products for human health. Every year, admirers and opponents of these drinks replenish the knowledge base with both positive and negative research results. The benefits of coffee are as follows:

stimulates the nervous system due to caffeine content;
helps remove fluid from the body;
improves smooth muscle tone;
helps in the fight against atherosclerosis;
relieves swelling;
eliminates headaches;
helps to concentrate attention;
increases blood pressure;
accelerates blood flow, stimulates the work of the heart muscle.

The positive aspects of coffee can turn negative for people suffering from hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and stomach ulcers. It is these patients who most often drink chicory instead of coffee or add it to beans to reduce the concentration of caffeine. The drink can cause harm even to a healthy person if you drink coffee too often.

What's better

A healthy person can afford to drink 1-2 cups of ground coffee a day without thinking about its negative impact on the body. Natural ground grains have a smell that most half of the world's population cannot resist. When the love for coffee turns into a pathological craving, it is better and healthier to make drinks from chicory with the addition of 1/3 coffee, and both ground and instant drinks are suitable here. This way you can preserve the aroma and taste of coffee without straining your nervous system and heart.

Unlike coffee, adults, children, and the elderly can drink chicory without harm to their health. This is another plus in his favor. Here it is considered not just as a grain substitute, but as a raw material with a medicinal effect. The difference between these two products is that the boost of energy received from a cup of coffee lasts longer than from a drink with chicory. That's why people love to drink it in the morning.

People suffering from low blood pressure and vegetative-vascular dystonia prefer to drink coffee rather than medicine, considering it less harmful to health and more effective for headaches. Many reviews confirm this fact.

Coffee, chicory and cereals - a healthy combination for a coffee drink

It is possible to determine which product is better only by the individual reaction of the body. Many hypertensive patients do not deny themselves the joy of drinking a cup of drink made from natural grains, since they do not notice any significant changes in the behavior of the cardiovascular system. Others, on the contrary, make drinks from chicory because they feel too much excitement and rapid heartbeat. Both products are good if consumed in moderation and only of proven quality.

How to make coffee from chicory

You can move slowly from coffee to chicory. First, take 1 part soluble or ground root and 3 parts beans, so the taste is not much different from the original 100% coffee. Later, their volumes are balanced, and then coffee is completely eliminated.

How to make a delicious coffee drink? Experts recommend using dried and crushed chicory roots for this. They need to be ground in a coffee grinder, pour boiling water at the rate of 1-2 tsp. for 200 ml of water, simmer for 10 minutes, leave for another 5 minutes, strain and drink. You can add sugar and milk.

The best taste and aroma is obtained from a drink made from freshly roasted chicory root with the addition of green coffee in a 2:1 ratio. The whole root is cut into small cubes with a knife, combined with green coffee and fried in a dry frying pan until they give up all the moisture and acquire a dark brown color. Later, the mixture is allowed to cool for 24 hours, ground in a coffee grinder and a delicious invigorating drink is prepared. It is better to fry as much raw material as is needed for a week to prepare the drink.

The chicory drink foams well and is similar to coffee

In the store, chicory can be purchased in different forms. This is an instant drink, crushed root, liquid chicory, a mixture of chicory powder, oats and natural coffee. Before consuming any of them, it is recommended to read the instructions and prepare the drink based on the indicated dosage. You should not drink more than 2 cups of any of them per day.

Chicory packaged in packs has increasingly begun to appear on supermarket shelves: instant and ground, in special disposable bags and loose. We often pass by all the variety of this drink, and completely in vain. Many consider chicory an alternative to coffee, while others are skeptical about its taste, not even close to comparing it with a natural drink. The pressing question: whether chicory or coffee is healthier, cannot be answered unequivocally. In order not to downplay the benefits of both, let's look at the properties and features of both drinks.

Chicory has long been a famous coffee substitute. It is recommended and allowed to drink for those for whom invigorating and tonic coffee is contraindicated. Chicory has a lot of beneficial properties. It helps lower blood pressure, dilates blood vessels and has a slightly tonic effect, which is beneficial for the health of hypertensive patients and diabetics. With regular consumption of a chicory drink, you can thoroughly cleanse the body of toxins and harmful substances that usually enter it through inhaled air and food.

Chicory or coffee?

A pressing issue for diabetics. In fact, coffee is contraindicated for those who suffer from diabetes. Chicory, on the contrary, improves the activity of the pancreas, activates metabolic processes occurring in the liver, and also lowers blood sugar several times. Chicory contains a substance called inulin. This is a polysaccharide of plant origin, thanks to which beneficial microflora multiply in the intestines. The same substance prevents inflammatory processes, infectious diseases and gastrointestinal disorders. If you answer the question of what strengthens the immune system better - chicory or coffee, then chicory will definitely be the winner.

A drink made from chicory is recommended as a replacement for natural coffee for older people. They shouldn't have caffeine, so chicory is a great way to start the day. It is useful for hypertensive patients to drink a drink made from chicory with the addition of honey and lemon. In the early stages of the development of hypertension, this will slow down its development.

Chicory or coffee, what is recommended for the fair sex to consume to maintain beauty, youth and health? In fact, coffee abuse is undesirable at any age and for neither women nor men. Chicory itself is considered a natural component that maintains the necessary level of vitamins and minerals in the female body. Thanks to it, the skin remains youthful and the condition of the hair improves.

Those who love milk but do not drink it for health reasons should also pay attention to chicory. If you add a spoonful of chicory to a glass of milk, it will increase its digestibility several times. As is known, milk in its pure form is poorly tolerated by people with intestinal and stomach diseases, as well as by the elderly. In this case, chicory will become a worthy alternative to dairy drinks.

Chicory actually has a lot of medicinal properties. It is both a diuretic and a choleretic agent, as well as a means of effectively fighting worms. Thanks to it, the breakdown of stones in the gallbladder is accelerated and their formation is prevented. Eating chicory is much healthier for those who have skin diseases, for example, seborrhea, furunculosis, chicken pox, eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis. In addition, chicory tinctures can be taken not only internally; it is also useful for wiping problem areas of the skin.

For those who love coffee too much, let's say the following. The importance and health benefits of this drink should not be underestimated. It has its own beneficial properties and can also bring great benefits to the body. Natural coffee is an excellent invigorating drink that will allow you to wake up faster in the morning and start a new day. In case of poisoning, it is useful to drink a cup of coffee without sugar, because the tannins contained in it disinfect and cleanse the stomach well. Thanks to coffee, toxins are neutralized and stop entering the blood, causing poisoning.

Natural coffee is healthier for smokers than chicory. Caffeine prevents the development of lung cancer in those who smoke a lot.

As for the vitamin composition, thanks to a cup of coffee per day, the body receives 1/5 of the required minimum of vitamin P, which the body needs to strengthen blood vessels. In a word, if you drink coffee in reasonable quantities, then you shouldn’t even think about its harm. If you are faced with a choice - chicory or coffee, do not rack your brains. Both drinks can bring both invaluable benefits to your body and irreparable harm.

If coffee is categorically contraindicated for you, don’t worry. There is one small trick that will allow you to “deceive” the body. It is no secret that chicory has far from the same aroma as coffee, and its taste is different. Therefore, when brewing chicory, try adding half a teaspoon of natural coffee to the cup. This will give the drink more flavor. If, on the contrary, you add a little chicory to your coffee, you will get an excellent result: the drink will become thicker and richer. Sometimes coffee lovers resort to such secrets.

To minimize health risks for those who drink large quantities of coffee and make this drink healthier, switch to varieties that contain less caffeine. This is Arabica. It contains one third less caffeine than robusta.

Drink your favorite drinks with pleasure, observing moderation! Each of them will benefit if consumed in moderation.

There are people who, for one reason or another, do not drink coffee, but they like the taste of this drink. I can drink coffee and I really love this drink, but I try not to drink it every day. But chicory instead of coffee - please. This, as it is called, coffee drink, or coffee substitute, coffee surrogate is not only tasty, but also healthy, and also very cheap.

For me, chicory and coffee are completely different drinks, and chicory only vaguely reminds me of coffee. In my opinion, they are very different in taste and aroma, although some consider them very similar.

After reading the article, you will find out why chicory is useful and which drink is better to choose.

What is chicory made from?

Common chicory is a plant of the Asteraceae family and is considered a weed. Chicory flowers have probably been seen by everyone who has at least once been in a forest or field where wildflowers grow. The upper part of the plant consists of long stems with blue or light lilac flowers. Blooms all summer from June to August.

Many people mistakenly call chicory cornflower. In fact, their flowers are very similar and the plants belong to the same family. However, it is chicory that is edible.

Freeze-dried chicory

The drink is obtained from the roots of this plant, which are ground and roasted.

Chicory, unlike coffee, does not contain caffeine and does not increase blood pressure.

Chemical composition and calorie content

Calorie content/energy value of chicory – 280 kcal/100 grams of product (dry)
Proteins – 4 g/100 grams
Fats – 0.2 g/100 grams
Carbohydrates – 81.7/100 grams

Chicory contains a certain amount of potassium and vitamin B6, but it is impossible to cover the daily dosage with these substances, since it is consumed in small quantities. Therefore, the benefit and value of this product lies in something completely different.

What are the benefits of chicory for the body?

The main value of chicory is that it contains a large amount of inulin. A quality drink should contain at least 30%.

Inulin is a polysaccharide, a carbohydrate that is not digested in the human digestive tract, and is a prebiotic.

Inulin has the following main beneficial properties for the human body:

Firstly, inulin is a natural anticoagulant, that is, it prevents blood thickening, thus preventing the formation of blood clots in blood vessels, thins the blood, and reduces cholesterol levels in the blood. That is, it is good for the heart and blood vessels. This means that people with hypertension can safely use this product.
Secondly, inulin is food for bacteria that live in the human intestine and form its normal microflora. Thus, by consuming chicory, we form normal intestinal flora, and immunity increases.

In addition, chicory lowers blood sugar levels, which is useful for people suffering from type 2 diabetes.

Contraindications for use

Chicory root is rich in oxalic acid salts (oxalates), and is therefore contraindicated for people with kidney disease (prone to the formation of oxalate stones).

Types of chicory

In the store you can find chicory:

powdered or ground;
sublimated;
liquid extract;
soluble.

Chicory powder soluble

Powdered or ground Chicory is obtained by grinding chicory root without heat treatment. This product is useful, but does not have a distinct taste and aroma.

Sublimated chicory is an instant product. It is obtained from frozen extract by dehydration.

Instant chicory– the most common product on the shelves of our stores. It is obtained by drying the root of the plant, after which it is roasted (heat treated) and crushed. The product is then treated with water, that is, extraction occurs, after which the resulting extract is boiled to obtain a dry powder.

Liquid extract– obtained by evaporating the liquid from chicory root.

Which chicory is better to buy and how to choose

Let's find out which chicory is healthier.

From the point of view of usefulness, liquid is the most preferable, since the root of the plant undergoes minimal technological processing and is a very rich concentrate, which means it contains more useful substances, including inulin. It’s not very convenient to brew it; it’s much easier to pour in the powder, but it’s not too annoying.

However, other options are also quite acceptable, although they contain fewer nutrients.

The following tips will help you choose a quality product:

Make sure that the powder is crumbly and there should be no lumps inside the pack. If they are present, it means that the seal of the pack was broken, which could lead to spoilage of the product.
The color of the powder should be moderately dark. A powder that is too dark will have a more pronounced taste, but it will be less beneficial, since a dark color indicates a strong degree of roasting.
The taste of the drink should be slightly bitter, the aroma should be characteristic of the aroma of chicory. A product that is not at all bitter, mild in taste and not aromatic may turn out to be a fake.
The powder must be homogeneous and free of inclusions. If you see whitish or lighter particles, cereals or maltodextrin (molasses) may have been added to the chicory.
The powder should not generate dust when poured. If such an effect is detected, the drink may contain harmful maltodextrin (a fast carbohydrate that leads to an increase in blood sugar levels).
Chicory 3 in 1 is not a healthy product, since in addition to the root itself it contains sugar, cream substitutes, preservatives, anti-caking agents and other substances that do not add any benefit to the drink.
When brewed with boiling water, instant chicory, as a rule, does not foam and is easily stirred. If the drink contains grains, when brewing you will see foam on the surface and such powder will dissolve more slowly, clumping a little.

How to distinguish natural chicory from a fake

I offer a simple home test that will help distinguish a natural product from a counterfeit one. Dilute the drink as usual and add a couple of drops of iodine to it. If the iodine dissolves without changing color, then the chicory is real. If the color of iodine changes to purple, it means that the product contains starch, which means that cereal crops have been added to it - wheat, barley or rye.

However, this test will not detect the presence of maltodectrin in the drink, since its presence will not affect the color of iodine in any way.

By the way, some manufacturers offer chicory-based drinks with added cereals and do not hide this in the composition.

For example, you can find chicory with barley, with rye or with the addition of coffee, or even just barley in its pure form (at the moment in stores I see similar products only from the Staraya Melnitsa brand in cardboard packages, and several years ago I also bought drinks from the brand “Healthy pleasure” in tin cans, but now I don’t see them on store shelves).

Personally, I also buy such drinks and drink them with pleasure, since they are also healthy and have a more delicate taste than chicory in its pure form.

In what form to use

Use chicory as a drink. Brewed according to the instructions specified by the manufacturer. And this is approximately 1.5-2 teaspoons of powder per 200 ml of boiling water. Thus, in one glass we get approximately 15-25 kcal, which is quite a bit. Can be consumed both hot and cold.

Due to its high concentration, liquid chicory should be brewed in an amount of ¼ teaspoon. spoons per glass. The extract is consumed very economically. I bought a 200 ml package for 65 rubles, the two of us drank it for two or three months, and quite actively.

Ready-made chicory drink

You can add sugar and its substitutes, cream, milk, cinnamon and other spices to the drink, then it will taste more like coffee.

Some people like to mix coffee with chicory to improve the taste and aroma.

However, the healthiest drink will be in its pure form without sugar. I use it in different variations depending on my mood.

Answers to frequently asked questions

Is it possible to eat chicory during pregnancy?

— Yes, you can, since the drink does not contain caffeine. Expectant mothers use chicory instead of coffee.

Can children drink chicory and at what age?

- Yes, you can. From about two years old, children can be given one cup of drink per day. Often parents who drink coffee present this drink to their children as a coffee drink, because the child is interested in trying what the parents drink. Since coffee is harmful to children, chicory will serve as a useful substitute.

How much chicory can you drink per day?

Can a nursing mother drink chicory?

- It is possible, but in moderation and if the baby does not have allergies.

Does chicory increase blood pressure?

- No, it doesn’t increase, but it doesn’t decrease either.

Is it possible to drink chicory if you have diabetes?

- It is possible and even necessary, as it lowers blood sugar levels.

Thank you for your attention, dear readers, and be healthy.