COFFEE TALK
Just Gotta Hav-A ‘Nother Cuppa Java?
• What Does Research Reveal About Coffee And Health?
• How Does Coffee Affect Diabetes?
• What Do You Know About Coffee
– And Easy Weight Loss?
Not The Same Old Grind,
See Coffee In A New Way. Look Inside….
TOPIC: COFFEE
Is coffee good for you?
According to the Mayo Clinic, the surprising answer is yes.
They state, “for most people the health benefits outweigh the risks”.
To quote Michael Downey, writing for Life Extension,
“research suggests that far from being a guilty pleasure that should be limited, coffee is an all natural and inexpensive elixir”.
Coffee Talk
According to coffeeresearch.org/market, the average American coffee drinker imbibes a little over 3 cups of coffee every day.
However, among both coffee drinkers and nondrinkers, many assume coffee intake should be limited.
That attitude is changing. A growing body of research shows that, compared to nondrinkers, coffee drinkers are less likely to have type 2 diabetes, heart problems, strokes, certain cancers, Parkinson’s disease, dementia (including Alzheimer’s), or obesity.
Not only does coffee confer amazing and totally unexpected health benefits, research suggests that these benefits increase with intake.
For example, drinking just one cup of caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee daily can decrease the risk of developing diabetes by 13 percent while the real coffee addicts, 12 cups per day, slash their risk by as much as 67 percent!
Another Cup Of Java?
In 2012, the National Institutes of Health and AARP cosponsored a study analyzing the relationship between coffee drinking and mortality.
They found that people who drank any coffee lived longer than those who drank no coffee.
Similar results were revealed by a 22 year study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health. Those researchers stated,
“the overall balance of risks and benefits [of coffee consumption] are on the side of benefits”.
Coffee & Diabetes
Among coffee’s many health perks, curtailing the development of type 2 diabetes is paramount.
This disease is becoming a worldwide epidemic. In 2011, the International Diabetes Federation announced the estimated number of people afflicted is approaching 366 million!
The real news is that heavy coffee drinkers may be half as likely to develop diabetes as light or nondrinkers.
According to Frank Hu, MD, MPH, PhD, at the Harvard School of Public Health, coffee may contain ingredients that lower blood sugar.1
Further, a coffee habit may increase your resting metabolism rate, also helping to keep diabetes at bay. His comments are based on 15 published studies, most of which show an association between coffee and the prevention of diabetes.
A meta-analysis in the Annals of Internal Medicine combined data from over 450,000 people. Resulting statistics showed that every additional cup of caf or decaf per day lowered the risk of diabetes by 5-10%.
Meanwhile, “The Strong Heart Study” showed that those drinking 12 cups per day slashed their risk by 67%. (
Not to worry, read on….)2
Coffee & Diabetes
Footnotes
1 Dr. Hu reported on the known and possible benefits of coffee in an interview with WebMD.
2 Zhang Y, Lee ET, Cowan LD, Fabsitz RR, Howard BV. Coffee consumption and the incidence of type 2 diabetes in men and women with normal glucose tolerance:
The Strong Heart Study. Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases, 2011, June 21(6):418-23.
Coffee & Heart Disease
Coffee drinking is no longer thought to be a risk factor for the heart, according to a 2008 article in the International Journal of Cardiology.
Even blood pressure is not affected as thought. Compounds in coffee actually lower blood pressure over the long term, while decreasing the risk of CVD and possibly stroke as well.
Although coffee raises blood pressure right after it is consumed, the body habituates over time so that this no longer happens.
In fact, readings decreased after 8 weeks of daily consumption. This is thought to be the result of a beneficial affect of coffee on the arteries.
Just a cup of coffee inhibits blood thickening within an hour (regardless of caffeine content); decreases coronary calcification; reduces inflammation; and raises HDL (good cholesterol) levels.
On the other hand, the Harvard health site reports that unless brewed coffee passes through a paper filter, it can raise total cholesterol levels; plus researchers have found a link between cholesterol and decaffeinated coffee.
Lastly, statistics from the famous Nurses’ Health Study indicate that for women several cups of coffee daily result in a 20% lower risk of stroke.
There are 83,700 nurses enrolled in this study. The results are based on reported coffee intake and hold true whether women had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s, or Alzheimer’s.
Coffee and Cognitive Decline
The fear of losing of one’s mind outranks both heart disease and cancer as the primary health fear of older Americans.
In his WebMD interview, Hu (above) also addressed findings that indicate a lower risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, among drinkers of caffeinated coffee.
A 2009 study from Finland and Sweden covered 1400 people for 20 years. Of these, those who reported drinking 3-5 cups of coffee daily were 65% less likely to develop dementia than occasional or nondrinkers.
In addition, longterm coffee intake has a dose-dependent association with improved cognitive function and memory; plus, it protects primary neuronal cells.
Perhaps the most promising study to date involves mice and the reversal of Alzheimer’s disease.
In the 2010 study, published in the Journal of Alzheimers Disease, mice fed the equivalent of 5 cups of coffee per day showed that brain damage began to reverse after only 5 weeks.
An earlier study (2009) showed that caffeine decreases both blood and brain levels of amyloid-beta, a substance involved in the development of the disease.
As yet the mechanism for this decrease in Alzheimer’s damage is not known. However, it is supposed that the caffeine in coffee works synergistically with other compounds.
Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s. Caffeinated coffee has also been associated with protection against Parkinson’s disease. The journal Movement Disorders reported that 1-4 cups daily decreased risk by 47% while more than 5 cups lowered that risk to 60%.
Coffee & Cancer
It follows that coffee might have anti-cancer properties. However, the evidence for a cancer protective effect is much weaker than that for type 2 diabetes.
The effects appears to be related to the protection of DNA. A 2011 study published by BMC Cancer (BiomedCentral.com) found that regular coffee drinkers enjoyed a 13% lower risk of cancers generally while for those drinking high levels the risk was reduced by 18%.3
This was an aggregate protection for prostate, breast, colorectal, pharyngeal, esophageal, pancreatic, bladder, endometrial, and liver cancers.4
Liver cancer is one area where coffee drinking shows strong protective results. This is particularly important because liver cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, and is on the rise among Americans.
From his research, Hu comments,
“All of the studies have shown that high coffee consumption is associated with a decreased risk of liver cancer and liver cirrhosis.”
Although it is not understood how this may work, both caf and decaf have a salutary effect on liver metabolism.
According to a study in the Annals of Epidemiology, those drinking 4 cups of coffee daily showed an 84% lower risk of cirrhosis.
In addition, patients with hepatitis B or C are less likely to develop nonalcoholic cirrhosis if they are also coffee drinkers.
Possibly connected to reduced cholesterol produced by the coffee-deluged liver, coffee drinkers are also less likely to suffer symptomatic gallstone disease.
Coffee & Cancer
Footnotes
3 BMC Cancer is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of cancer research.
4 Breast Cancer Research has reported that postmenopausal women consuming 5 cups of coffee per day showed a 57% decrease in their risk of developing a specific type of cancer called ER-negative, non-hormone responsive. (May 14, 2011)
Coffee’s Miscellaneous Perks
If you are a coffee drinker some of these may be familiar.
1. Works as an antidepressant. A study of over 50,000 women who drank 4 cups of coffee daily had a 20% lower risk of depression. Coffee drinkers are also less likely to suicide.
2. Has antibacterial effects that inhibit dental decay and plaque formation.
3. Has been shown to lower the occurrence of kidney stones in women by about 10% (caf and decaf).
4. Reduces pain and increases energy and endurance in athletes.
5. Curtails exercise-induced asthma when taken 2 hours before exercise.
6. Encourages regularity.
7. Increases the numbers and metabolic activity of bifidobacteria when 3 cups are drunk daily. These important intestinal bacteria, which are sometimes found in yogurt, can boost immunity, lower blood pressure, and increase mineral absorption.
Grounds For Refusal
Not everybody drinks or wants to drink coffee.
In fact, about 15% of Americans who once imbibed report having stopped drinking it altogether. The Mayo Clinic states that the research bears out some risks.
For one, high consumption of unfiltered coffee is associated with mild elevations of cholesterol levels.
And, more importantly, some persons have a fairly common genetic defect that slows the breakdown of caffeine, putting them at greater risk of heart disease.
Coffee can be aggravating. First, it is slightly acidic (pH 5.0-5.1). Those who have acid reflux know that coffee may aggravate their condition, plus coffee can increase the risk developing it.
Coffee can also aggravate migraines and arrhythmias. No surprise, it can both aggravate and cause sleep disturbances, and it can aggravate anxiety.
Some elderly people do not do well with either caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee. In the former instance, this is because a depleted enzyme system doesn’t breakdown caffeine, and in the latter, because decaf can initiate heartburn. One or two cups per day are usually tolerated.
What about coffee drinking during pregnancy?
In 2010, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists stated that it was safe for pregnant women to drink 200 mg of caffeine, about the amount in 12 ounces of coffee.
The effects of larger amounts of caffeine are unknown although there is an association between miscarriage and drinking many cups daily.
Caffeine is a mild diuretic so coffee drinking can send you to the bathroom more than water or decaf would.
Finally, drinking 4-7 cups of coffee daily can cause restlessness, anxiety, irritability, and sleeplessness in susceptible individuals.
The Way Coffee Works
…is not completely understood.
Including caffeine, coffee contains over 1,000 compounds, only a few of which have been studied. It is known that coffee contains antioxidants, making it the greatest source of antioxidants in the American diet.
One of these antioxidants has been of particular interest to scientists studying coffee beans: chlorogenic acid.
Chlorogenic acid is a type of antioxidant known as a polyphenol. (There are over 4000 different poly-phenols.) It is thought that many of the health benefits delivered by coffee are related to the presence of this plant compound.
Several properties of chlorogenic acid have been distinguished. Perhaps the most important of these is its anti-diabetic affect.
You may remember that drinking large amounts of coffee can lower diabetes risk by up to 67%. This is because chlorogenic acid reduces blood sugar levels. It also increases insulin sensitivity and decreases the storage of both fat and sugar (carbohydrate).
Working with other compounds, possibly including caffeine, chlorogenic acid may lower carbohydrate storage of as much as 35%.
Coffee compounds are also anti-inflammatory and protect human cells that are rich in lipids, especially brain cells. This may explain why coffee is so protective against cognitive decline.
A further effect of the coffee polyphenols on our cells is the modification of enzymes that are involved with intracellular signaling.
This enhances the cellular communication system. Since signaling facilitates tissue repair, immunity, and homeostasis (the ability of the body to remain stable in performing its functions), this important property may underlie all of coffee’s health benefits.
Don’t like coffee? Don’t want to drink it? Can’t drink it? Don’t worry.
Green coffee bean extracts high in chlorogenic acid are available at your natural products store. Learn more in “Green Coffee Beans = New Jeans?”.
Siri Says:
It is important to note that the disease studies cited are associative, not causal.
In other words, these are not controlled studies looking at the effects of coffee drinking on health.
People weren’t instructed to drink or not drink coffee over decades for researchers to observe the results on diabetes or heart disease or cognitive decline.
Rather, in studies where large groups of people reported their coffee drinking patterns, among other lifestyle habits, those patterns were strongly statistically associated with the results you read about here.
Do Green Coffee Beans = New Jeans?
Recently, Science Daily reported striking evidence that unroasted (raw) coffee beans can yield substantial loss of weight in a relatively short time.
Generally referred to as “green coffee extract”, the same mechanisms that can protect from diabetes can help you drop over a pound a week effortlessly.
The reason is the high chlorogenic acid content of green coffee beans. A 400mg dose one-half hour before eating shows a remarkable 24% drop in after meal blood sugar.
In addition, this extract also helps inhibit the absorption of calories from starches and sugars.
A small study in which participants took 350mg of green coffee extract 3x/day before meals resulted in an average weight loss of 17.6 pounds in only 12 weeks. This was over 10% of body weight.
This small study repeats the results of work conducted by Joe Vinson, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.
Vinson’s original work was presented at the prestigious American Chemical Society national meeting in 2012. That study lasted for 22 weeks and tested the effects of different doses of the extract.
Incredulous, Dr. Oz ran his own two week study with 100 women. Half of the women took the green coffee extract while the other half took a placebo. The women on green coffee extract lost two pounds. The women on placebo lost one. All women were asked to keep a food diary. Dr. Oz believed the diary explained the weight loss for the women on placebo.
The important thing to note is that in none of the studies were participants ever placed on any special diet.
They were simply told to follow healthy low-fat eating habits and to continue with their regular exercise.
Coffee is roasted to bring forth its unique, robust flavor and aroma. However, roasting breaks down some of the chlorogenic acid content.
In contrast, green coffee beans have little aroma, a slightly bitter taste, and far more chlorogenic acid.
Related Resources
Each month, Nutrition News features three additional titles to support our main topic.
This issue’s selections are “Nature Calls”, “Supplement Your Heart”, and “A Natural Approach to Defeating Diabetes”.
