Coffee Lovers Rejoice: Scientists Uncover New Health Discoveries In Your Daily Brew
Within health-conscious circles, there's a great deal of debate about how good coffee is for the body. Caffeine can be a concerning stimulant when it's consumed in excess, as is shown in the cardiovascular problems that are sometimes linked to energy drink consumption. However, it's not so cut-and-dry in the case of coffee.
Part of that has to do with the unanswered question of how much coffee a person can consume in a day before it starts to affect them negatively. Yet, there's more to it than that. Indeed, some research has suggested that coffee could actually help the body more than harm it.
It could help prevent cancer cells from forming and growing
According to the Harvard School of Public Health, the caffeine in coffee has been shown to have the potential to interfere with the spread and growth of cancer cells. It's also possible that it can accelerate bile acid production and speed digestion in the colon, which can make it harder for carcinogens to affect colon tissue.
Certain polyphenols in coffee have also been shown to prevent cancer cell growth. However, these findings have only occurred in animal studies so far. But if coffee has any effect at all on the likelihood of a cancer diagnosis, it seems to be a positive one.
Coffee could lower the risk of Type 2 diabetes
According to the Cleveland Clinic, multiple studies have suggested that regular coffee consumption could limit the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. It's worth noting, however, that these studies have largely been small so far.
Indeed, a cited 2009 study in the Archives Of Internal Medicine warned that the size of the study had the risk of overrating coffee's benefits in this area. Still, that study also found that if coffee does have a positive effect on the risk of diabetes, it doesn't matter whether it's regular or decaf.
Coffee could boost mood, memory, and cognitive function
Among coffee drinkers, it's a cliche that it's a bad idea to talk to them before they've had their morning joe. Otherwise, chances are good that they'll either be irritable or scatterbrained as they try to listen to what others are saying.
Well, a 2008 study published by the British Nutrition Foundation suggests that this isn't all in their heads. Those who drink between one to four coffees per day were found to score better on memory and cognitive tests without having any of the jittery drawbacks of excessive consumption. Mood changes followed a similar trend.
Caffeine could be a surprisingly great pre-workout booster
Although the caffeine in coffee can help make people more alert and ready to face the day at the office, that's not the only place it might come in handy. According to a 2004 study in the International Journal Of Sport Nutrition And Exercise Metabolism, it can be useful when people are about to work out as well.
That's because it was found to increase the amount of time people could exercise before they came exhausted and proved particularly effective during endurance training. Specifically, caffeine was credited for a 12.3% increase in performance on endurance tests when compared to placebos.
Coffee could reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease
According to the American Academy of Neurology, research has shown that the consumption of caffeine has been positively linked to a lower likelihood of developing Parkinson's disease. There's also some evidence to suggest it can reduce the severity of symptoms in existing patients.
However, the academy also noted that in the early stages of living with the disease, no amount of coffee will show miraculous results. As Ronald Postuma from McGill University put it, "Studies of the progression of Parkinson's symptoms early in the disease suggest that a five-point reduction would delay diagnosis by only six months."
Coffee can help improve movement in Parkinson's patients
Although Michael Schwarzschild from Massachusetts General Hospital mentioned to the American Academy of Neurology that caffeine shouldn't be considered a primary treatment for Parkinson's disease, it nonetheless appears to block a malfunctioning brain signal influenced by the condition. That could be why coffee seemed to encourage greater ease of movement among studied patients.
Specifically, researchers found that the use of caffeine improved both the movement speed and the severity of stiffness of patients who used it. That said, it didn't seem to have any noticeable effect on their daytime fatigue, sleep quality, depression symptoms, or other quality-of-life factors.
Coffee appears to lower the risk of heart disease
According to the Harvard School of Public Health, multiple studies examining tens of thousands of men and women have consistently found that moderate coffee consumption of between two and three cups a day could significantly lower the risk of developing heart disease.
Interestingly, the caffeine in that coffee was not found to be the active agent, which suggests that another component in coffee is responsible for this effect. Nonetheless, the results of these studies have shown a 15% to 21% decrease in risk among coffee drinkers who commit to this moderate consumption.
Coffee lowers the risk of strokes
In research compiled by the Harvard School of Public Health, coffee has been shown to decrease the risk of experiencing a stroke among those who drink four or more cups a day. By the same token, decaffeinated coffee was shown to decrease strokes by 11% when two or more cups are consumed a day.
Interestingly, this effect was not noticeable when coffee was replaced by teas or sodas. That and the decaf effect suggest that the caffeine in coffee does not affect the likelihood of developing a stroke. Instead, another component is likely responsible.
Coffee is loaded with nutrients
Since coffee is derived from beans, the drink can have many of the same nutrients as other, more famously, healthy members of this family. As Medical News Today suggested, if a given benefit of coffee doesn't involve caffeine, it's likely influenced by one of these other components.
Coffee is known to contain vitamin B2 (also called riboflavin), vitamin B3 (also called niacin), magnesium, potassium, and various antioxidants. Compounds known as polyphenols are also present in coffee, which can have their own unexpected benefits.
It can help keep the liver healthy
According to a 2016 study in the Journal Of Clinical And Experimental Hepatology, the consumption of at least two cups of coffee a day was found to protect the liver against developing various diseases and slow their progression in existing cases.
By preventing fibrosis, blunting the effectiveness of carcinogens, and through coffee's antioxidant effects, coffee was found to bolster the health and production of liver enzymes. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, this is true of both regular coffee and decaf.
Coffee could keep bowel cancer in remission
As ScienceAlert reported, a study from the Netherlands that examined coffee consumption in 1,719 colorectal cancer patients found that drinking about five cups of coffee a day could keep bowel cancer in remission for longer after treatment. This is a potentially major discovery since up to 30% of bowel cancer patients see it return.
However, those who had those five cups of Joe daily saw their chances of this sad outcome decrease by 32% compared to patients who drank fewer than two cups a day. At the very least, it decreased the chances of the cancer returning within six years.
Coffee may keep people living longer, in general
According to ScienceAlert, a study from The Netherlands that examined the effects of coffee consumption on the resurgence of bowel cancer in 1,719 colorectal patients yielded some promising results. However, they weren't simply related to coffee's potential to keep that resurgence at bay.
Indeed, the researchers also found evidence to suggest that a certain level of coffee consumption may reduce the risk of early death for any medical reason. Those who drank three to five cups a day were found to be 29% less likely to face early mortality compared to those who drank less than two cups a day. The effect seemed to taper off after five cups, though.
Coffee may prevent and help treat some hepatitis strains
According to the Cleveland Clinic, research has shown that coffee can have a protective effect against Hepatitis C. This is particularly true in the liver, where this disease can also influence the development of cirrhosis and liver cancer.
A 2009 study in the Viruses journal credited the polyphenols in coffee for reducing the viral presence and antigen production of Hepatitis B, which further prevents this virus from influencing the contraction of other serious diseases. For both forms of Hepatitis, three or four (or more) cups of coffee per day were shown to have the most significant effects.
It could even be good for our DNA
In a 2019 study published in the European Journal Of Nutrition, participants were either given about 17 ounces of water or 17 ounces of dark roast coffee for two four-week periods. Researchers found that those who were given the coffee experienced less breakage in their DNA strands than the control group.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, these breakages occur naturally but can lead to cancers and other tumors if the body's cells don't repair them in time. The fewer of these breakages occur, the less likely these tumors are to form.
Coffee lowers the risk of Alzheimer's disease
Citing a study published in Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging And Dementia, the Harvard School of Public Health explained that drinking three to five cups of coffee a day resulted in a significantly decreased risk of contracting Alzheimer's disease.
The study's participants had an average age of 50, and the results were tabulated after researchers had followed up with them 21 years later. However, the Harvard School of Public Health also cautioned that research into this potential health benefit remains limited.
Coffee could lower the risk of dementia
According to a 2021 study in PLOS Medicine that included 365,682 participants between the ages of 50 and 74 years of age, coffee and tea consumption were associated with a decreased risk of strokes, dementia, and post-stroke dementia. This was true whether participants drank both coffee and tea or just coffee.
A study in the 2020 edition of the Journal Of Alzheimer's Disease yielded similar results but also found that moderate coffee and green tea consumption also had a protective effect against the risk of general cognitive decline. Moreover, it could even help improve the circumstances of those already experiencing cognitive decline.
Coffee could prevent gallstones from forming
Although the Harvard School of Public Health explained that it remains to be seen whether the caffeine in coffee or another component has the effect, research has shown that coffee could have a preventative effect on the formation of gallstones.
This is because it may stimulate the gallbladder, which allows bile to flow more freely through it. This prevents a buildup of cholesterol that would otherwise crystallize into the most common type of gallstone. Multiple studies have noted this effect in both men and women.
Coffee has the potential to prevent and help depression
According to the Harvard School of Public Health, coffee's polyphenols' antioxidant effect could have similar promise for neurological benefits as it does in soothing inflamed cells. Add this effect to caffeine's tendency to reduce anxiety when consumed moderately (less than six cups of coffee a day), and it becomes a promising candidate to help prevent and treat depression.
This has been corroborated by research that found consumption of at least four cups a day led to a decreased risk of experiencing depression that ranged from 10% to 24%. Research also found that it reduced the likelihood of the worst-case scenario for depression patients by 45%. However, some people may find their anxiety increases due to caffeine sensitivity.
Coffee could even help with weight loss
A 2021 study in Physiological Research posited that coffee's effects on fat storage and overall gut health had promising implications as a tool for weight management. This study built on previous research from Nutrients (2019) and The Journal Of Nutrition (2020), where coffee was respectively associated with decreased body fat in men and women.
In addition to its effects on gut health, coffee's caffeine content was found to make it easier to meet physical activity thresholds sufficient for promoting good health in a 2018 study from the International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health.
Of course, coffee is also a big energy booster
Considering the reason that most people have coffee in the morning, it seems obvious that its caffeine would result in increased energy levels among coffee drinkers. However, that doesn't make it any less fascinating to hear how this actually works.
According to Healthline, caffeine blocks the receptors for a neurotransmitter in the brain called adenosine. In so doing, caffeine unleashes the activity of other neurotransmitters that regulate the body's energy levels. One of the most well-known of these affected neurotransmitters is dopamine.