Drinks and nickel: 49 foods rated

Coconut water carries the mineral load the palm draws up, nickel included. It is drunk by the glass rather than the spoonful, which is what puts it here. Coconut is one of the few plant foods measured for this axis in its own right: the level follows a survey of essential and non-essential metals across COCONUT PRODUCTS, which is why the water, the flesh and the milk do not all read the same here.

• Ahmed M. et al., J Food Compos Anal 127 (2024) 105943, essential and non-essential metals in coconut products

Soy drink is the highest-nickel plant milk measured. The French Total Diet Study put soy products at the top of every food group it surveyed, and an Italian market survey of four plant beverages found soy above oat, rice and almond. Unsweetened or barista makes no difference - the nickel is in the bean.

• Noel L et al., Food Chemistry 132 (2012) 1502-1513, second French Total Diet Study, nickel among nine trace elements

Cashews are high in nickel and the drink carries what the blending puts in - these beverages are ground thick rather than strained, so less is left behind than with a filtered nut milk. No measurement of the drink itself was available, so this level is derived from the nut.

• Flyvholm M-A et al., Z Lebensm Unters Forsch 179 (1984) 427-431, nickel content of food and estimates of dietary intake

Coconut milk is pressed from the flesh, and the palm draws its nickel from sandy coastal soil. Measured directly, it sits between the low plant beverages and the nut-based ones - the fat carries little, the solids carry the rest. Coconut is one of the few plant foods measured for this axis in its own right: the level follows a survey of essential and non-essential metals across COCONUT PRODUCTS, which is why the water, the flesh and the milk do not all read the same here.

• Ahmed M. et al., J Food Compos Anal 127 (2024) 105943, essential and non-essential metals in coconut products

Hazelnut milk is made from hazelnut, the highest-nickel nut there is, and a drink is a small percentage of nut in water. The dilution is what puts its nickel a step below the nut's - but these beverages are blended rather than strained, so less is left behind than you might expect.

• Flyvholm M-A et al., Z Lebensm Unters Forsch 179 (1984) 427-431, nickel content of food and estimates of dietary intake

Oats themselves are high in nickel, but the drink is oats in water and the dilution shows: measured against soy, rice and almond beverages, oat sits in the middle. It is drunk in larger volumes than porridge is eaten, so the daily total is worth watching even at this level. The comparison is measured: across the plant drinks tested on the Italian market, oat's nickel sits below soy.

• Food Control (2024), plant-based milk alternatives on the Italian market - nickel measured in soy, oat, rice and almond beverages

Pistachio milk is made from pistachio, and a drink is a small percentage of nut in water. The dilution is what puts its nickel a step below the nut's - but these beverages are blended rather than strained, so less is left behind than you might expect.

• Flyvholm M-A et al., Z Lebensm Unters Forsch 179 (1984) 427-431, nickel content of food and estimates of dietary intake

Walnut milk is made from walnut, which is eaten with its skin and carries more than most, and a drink is a small percentage of nut in water. The dilution is what puts its nickel a step below the nut's - but these beverages are blended rather than strained, so less is left behind than you might expect.

• Flyvholm M-A et al., Z Lebensm Unters Forsch 179 (1984) 427-431, nickel content of food and estimates of dietary intake

Alcohol-free beer goes through the same brewing and the same filtration, then has the alcohol removed. Taking the ethanol out changes nothing about a metal. The nickel here follows a national survey covering four decades - the kind of series that shows whether a level is drifting, which a single study never can.

• Jorhem L. et al., Livsmedelsverket rapport 28/2017, metals in Swedish foods over four decades

Low, and the lowest of the plant milks - worth knowing, because the almond it is made from is high. A drink is a few percent almond in water, and the dilution is the whole story. On a low-nickel diet this is the plant beverage that measures best. The ranking is measured, from the same Italian market survey: almond beverage's nickel came out below soy, among the lowest of the four.

• Food Control (2024), plant-based milk alternatives on the Italian market - nickel measured in soy, oat, rice and almond beverages

Beer is brewed from barley and hops, both low, and then filtered. What little nickel the grain carried mostly stays in the spent malt rather than reaching the glass. The nickel here follows a national survey covering four decades - the kind of series that shows whether a level is drifting, which a single study never can.

• Jorhem L. et al., Livsmedelsverket rapport 28/2017, metals in Swedish foods over four decades

Black tea is the fully oxidised leaf, and oxidation changes the polyphenols without touching the mineral content. Steeping longer pulls out a little more; a strong brew is the only version that moves the needle. What matters for a leaf you steep rather than eat was measured directly: the study behind this level analysed the herb AND its water infusion, and most of the nickel stays in the leaf. The cup is not the plant.

• Ababneh F. et al., Int J Anal Chem 6971916 (2017) 1-8, trace elements in herbs and in their water infusions

Green tea is the same plant unoxidised, brewed cooler and shorter than black tea - which extracts slightly less. Matcha is the exception in this family: there the leaf is drunk whole. What matters for a leaf you steep rather than eat was measured directly: the study behind this level analysed the herb AND its water infusion, and most of the nickel stays in the leaf. The cup is not the plant.

• Ababneh F. et al., Int J Anal Chem 6971916 (2017) 1-8, trace elements in herbs and in their water infusions

Herbal teas are dried leaves, flowers and roots, and the roots carry more than the leaves. Even so, an infusion transfers only part of it to the water, which is what keeps the cup low. What matters for a leaf you steep rather than eat was measured directly: the study behind this level analysed the herb AND its water infusion, and most of the nickel stays in the leaf. The cup is not the plant.

• Ababneh F. et al., Int J Anal Chem 6971916 (2017) 1-8, trace elements in herbs and in their water infusions

Kvass is fermented from rye bread, so it starts with a whole grain - but it is mostly water, and the bread is strained out. The fermentation adds nothing to the mineral side. The nickel here follows a national survey covering four decades - the kind of series that shows whether a level is drifting, which a single study never can.

• Jorhem L. et al., Livsmedelsverket rapport 28/2017, metals in Swedish foods over four decades

Macadamia milk is made from the gentlest of the tree nuts for nickel, and then diluted. Both steps push it down: a low nut in water is as low as a plant beverage gets, short of rice.

• Flyvholm M-A et al., Z Lebensm Unters Forsch 179 (1984) 427-431, nickel content of food and estimates of dietary intake

Pea milk is made from pea protein isolate, and isolating the protein already left most of the legume's nickel behind with the starch. What reaches the carton is diluted again.

• Flyvholm M-A et al., Z Lebensm Unters Forsch 179 (1984) 427-431, nickel content of food and estimates of dietary intake

Quinoa milk is a grain drink, and quinoa is a moderate grain heavily diluted. The saponin rinse that quinoa needs before cooking washes off part of the seed coat, and some of the nickel with it.

• Flyvholm M-A et al., Z Lebensm Unters Forsch 179 (1984) 427-431, nickel content of food and estimates of dietary intake

Rosé wine is grape juice fermented briefly on the skins. Grapes are among the lower-nickel fruits, and the fining agents used to clarify wine bind metals rather than adding them. The nickel here follows a national survey covering four decades - the kind of series that shows whether a level is drifting, which a single study never can.

• Jorhem L. et al., Livsmedelsverket rapport 28/2017, metals in Swedish foods over four decades

The tea plant accumulates metals from acidic soil, but the cup does not: brewing extracts only part of what the leaf holds, and the leaf is thrown away. What ends up in the water is a fraction of what was in the plant. What matters for a leaf you steep rather than eat was measured directly: the study behind this level analysed the herb AND its water infusion, and most of the nickel stays in the leaf. The cup is not the plant.

• Ababneh F. et al., Int J Anal Chem 6971916 (2017) 1-8, trace elements in herbs and in their water infusions

Tonic water is carbonated water, sugar and a trace of quinine. None of the three carries nickel; what is measurable comes from the water supply, which varies by region more than by brand. The nickel here follows a national survey covering four decades - the kind of series that shows whether a level is drifting, which a single study never can.

• Jorhem L. et al., Livsmedelsverket rapport 28/2017, metals in Swedish foods over four decades