The food database - coffee is weird

99tyvwprdz463
99tyvwprdz463 Posts: 1 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I’m trying to add coffee with half and half to my food diary.

When I search for “coffee with half and half” you will see many options - where the calorie count vs quantity of coffee doesn’t make sense.

40 cal for 10oz of coffee with 1/2 & 1/2
60 cal for 20oz of coffee with 1/2 & 1/2
42 cal for 1cup of coffee with 1/2 & 1/2
24 cal for 16oz of coffee with 1/2 & 1/2

That doesn’t math.
How can a 10oz coffee have more calories than a 16oz?
Or 1 cup (8oz) have more calories than 10oz?

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Answers

  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,364 Member
    One person's coffee may be half coffee, half half-and-half, another person may just have a dash. For accuracy, as Ann says, measure how much half-and-half you use, and add that as a separate component.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,877 Member
    Is it even worth logging the black coffee? At 2 cals per 8 oz it's a rounding error amidst all the other daily estimates of food label accuracy and calories burned.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,670 Member
    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    Is it even worth logging the black coffee? At 2 cals per 8 oz it's a rounding error amidst all the other daily estimates of food label accuracy and calories burned.

    Calorie-wise, probably not a big deal to track or not. Personally, I like to track it to have a more complete record of non-water fluids and caffeine intake.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,258 Member
    Just log the half and half
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,415 Member
    What if you wean yourself from the cream and just drink black coffee? I never thought I'd do it; now I can't imagine adding cream to anything but gas station coffee. Get good beans and you might find you don't need to pollute the coffee.

    If you do use some kind of cream or creamer, log it separately. That also means you actually measure it on your food scale (ideally) or a spoon (less ideal).
  • Elphaba1313
    Elphaba1313 Posts: 205 Member
    when you say adding cream to coffee, is it actual cream, or just milk? And what is half and half? Just curious as I see this all the time.
  • anxietyfairy
    anxietyfairy Posts: 68 Member
    Look up the brand that you are using and look at the nutritional information on the container. There should be threads that will tell you how to track something.
  • txnbwm2gpk313
    txnbwm2gpk313 Posts: 1 Member
    Really not as simple as anxietyfairy makes it sound!! Ann seems to get it but doesn’t answer the big question here... Since coffee is a diuretic, does it put you in any danger of offsetting water you consume?? Do you have to adjust recommended water intake???

    This community is such an invaluable place to come to, hoping you can point me in the right direction here!!! :)))
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,899 Member
    txnbwm2gpk313 wrote: »
    Really not as simple as anxietyfairy makes it sound!! Ann seems to get it but doesn’t answer the big question here... Since coffee is a diuretic, does it put you in any danger of offsetting water you consume?? Do you have to adjust recommended water intake???

    This community is such an invaluable place to come to, hoping you can point me in the right direction here!!! :)))

    It seems you don't need to worry too much about it:
    https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/caffeinated-drinks/faq-20057965#:~:text=As a chemical, caffeine increases,of urine the body makes.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,670 Member
    edited December 2024
    txnbwm2gpk313 wrote: »
    Really not as simple as anxietyfairy makes it sound!! Ann seems to get it but doesn’t answer the big question here... Since coffee is a diuretic, does it put you in any danger of offsetting water you consume?? Do you have to adjust recommended water intake???

    This community is such an invaluable place to come to, hoping you can point me in the right direction here!!! :)))

    Good answer from Lietchi. These days, many experts say coffee's fluids even count as hydrating.

    I'm one of those who believes thirst is a reasonable guide to hydration needs for many people, even though it doesn't work great for me personally.

    Urine color is generally a good guide, according to reputable sources. This article from Cleveland Clinic is pretty typical:

    https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-urine-color-means

    Too much caffeine has potential negative effects, but moderate coffee intake should be OK for the average reasonably healthy person - overall, and as it affects hydration specifically.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,415 Member
    Elphaba1313 wrote: »
    when you say adding cream to coffee, is it actual cream, or just milk? And what is half and half? Just curious as I see this all the time.

    Around here, "cream" usually means heavy cream - the kind you can whip. Some people use that in coffee. It has a lot of dairy fat. Most people who use "cream" in coffee use half-and-half. It's half cream and half whole milk so it has less fat.

    Some people use "milk" in coffee. That can mean skim milk (no fat) low-fat milk (typically 1% fat), 2% milk (obviously 2% milk fat), 3%, or whole milk. Whole milk can even vary in fat content.

    Then there's "creamers." For a while I was using one made from coconut. It was pretty low fat and low calorie and it still made my coffee taste like I wanted. Over time I got rid of it entirely. I moved from half-and-half (and usually some honey or a little sugar) to just half-and-half, then to that coconut creamer, then nothing. A long time ago I used soy milk. My dentist appreciates that I don't use any of that anymore.

    And as to coffee being a diuretic:
    txnbwm2gpk313 wrote: »
    Since coffee is a diuretic, does it put you in any danger of offsetting water you consume?? Do you have to adjust recommended water intake???

    Yes - caffeine is a diuretic. Coffee still absolutely counts as fluid for your body. I recently read something that suggested after you've been drinking coffee for a while (days, not months), your body adapts and your urine production actually stabilizes. Beer also counts towards your fluids, and it brings along a lot of calories. Even non-alcoholic beer still has some alcohol. So do ripe bananas, and oddly enough, apparently a store-bought hamburger bun has more alcohol than a N/A beer.

    Bottom line is that you DO have adjust your water intake if you drink coffee. You count the coffee towards your fluid needs! You also count the water in that banana that has ethanol in it as well as the apples, pineapples, and even macaroni that are part of your diet.


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