Do Apples Give You More Energy Than Coffee?

Only inexperienced coffee drinkers will likely read this article. The idea that apples give you more energy is one of those claims that teach us that the questions matter as much as the answers. Do apples provide more energy fuel than coffee? Yes. Can you compare apples to coffee sensibly? No. Apples will not wake you up in the morning like coffee but coffee does not, itself, provide energy to the body.

See also: Is Coffee Dehydrating?

Apples Give You Energy, Coffee Does Not

To say that apples give you energy the same as coffee seems like comparing apples to, well, coffee. It is a technically true but misleading claim.

Apples are not a nervous system stimulant. They provide carbohydrates that provide fuel for your body to produce energy, and micronutrients that can contribute to energy-producing pathways. They are, in effect, as valuable as any such food source. Still, I’ve seen some fairly creative claims, like this one from a blog on the Cornell University website:

“Apples contain no caffeine but instead have about 13 grams of natural sugar. These sugars provoke a similar response to caffeine because vitamins from the apple are released slowly throughout the body, making you feel more awake. Unlike caffeine, there are no jolts, mood swings, anxiety, jitters or the dreaded crash.” ¹

Caffeine Is a Nervous System Stumlant, Apples Are Not

The response to eating an apple bears no resemblance to ingesting 100 mg of caffeine in a cup of coffee. Notice that the statement glides from sugars to vitamins. Is it the sugar that is similar to caffeine or is it the vitamins? Either way, these are not direct central nervous system stimulants.

Caffeine has the ability to bind the adenosine receptors in the brain, thus blocking adenosine from binding. This frees up excitatory substances which leads to more alertness. The vitamins in an apple do not mimic adenosine in this way. Thus, to claim that the two are similar is simply incorrect.

See Also: Is Sugar Addictive?

While eating an apple in the morning may certainly enhance your overall well-being and provide your body with caloric fuel and micronutrient value, it will not ‘wake you up’ like a cup of coffee. Only someone who doesn’t drink coffee could have written something like that. Or perhaps someone who does drink coffee but has never eaten an apple.

Apples cannot be realistically compared to coffee in their effects on the body. There is little relation between the feeling you get from a cup of coffee and the feeling you get from eating an apple.

Unfortunately, if you feel a dependence on coffee, apples will never be a viable replacement. But don’t worry too much, a few cups of coffee a day are considered generally healthful unless you are particularly sensitive to caffeine.