The negative influence of cow's milk

. New findings now show a possible influence of cow's milk on the positive properties of coffee mentioned above, according to NutritionFacts.org. When cow's milk was added to coffee in a test tube, the antioxidant activity was reduced by more than half with just a splash of milk and by up to 95 percent in a latte or other preparation with a lot of cow's milk. What happens in a test tube, however, does not necessarily happen in a human. But again, according to NutritionFacts.org, research shows that significantly fewer chlorogenic acids entered people's bloodstreams over the course of a day when they drank their coffee with cow's milk than with black coffee. The added milk reduced the absorption of chlorogenic acids by more than half.

In the test tube, coffee phytonutrients appear to bind to egg and soy proteins as well as milk proteins. Computer models show how these coffee compounds can dock into the nooks and crannies of milk, egg and soy proteins. Soy milk, on the other hand, has some inherent advantages over cow's milk, according to NutritionFacts.org. There is no significant difference in the absorption of coffee phytonutrients when we drink our coffee black or with soy milk. Soy proteins do appear to initially dock to coffee compounds in the small intestine, but bacteria subsequently appear to release them, allowing them to be absorbed in the lower intestine.

Almond, rice and coconut-based milks have not been tested, according to NutritionFacts.org. However, these products would have so little protein that it would be reasonable to assume that, like soy milk, they would not have a blocking effect.