Welcome to this post where we are going to share very important information, we will talk about the benefits of coffee and it is that many people have doubts about whether or not it is bad for our health, we are afraid of it, well, I had a certain reservation about it, because it is that It is said that it alters the nervous system and that if some do not tolerate it for another reason, others say that if gastritis, or etcetera, and many think that it can harm in some way, in short, there are many myths about it.
But recently at a cultural fair I bought a book that talks about doctors giving real answers to real issues, and one of those topics they cover is coffee and it is very interesting because the author clarifies with fundamentals if coffee is bad for the health or not and what are the benefits of drinking coffee that can be considered reliable, as a result I took the task of investigating more thoroughly consulting various studies and here I am going to quote literally with their sources everything I found about how the Coffee can have substantial benefits, the studies that have been done in this regard and also in which cases there may be exceptions or ambiguities in these.
PS Remember that if you have a health diagnosis, consult your doctor.
25 Proven Benefits of Coffee:
1. Protection Against Heart Disease
There are several studies that have tried to find a relationship between coffee consumption and heart disease, even the oldest studies indicated a risk, however with the advancement in study methodologies, the most recent scientific studies point to a favorable relationship.
For example, a recent study concludes that coffee consumption (from 3 cups of filtered coffee a day) was associated with a reduction in total mortality, CV and coronary heart disease. de la Figuera von Wichmann M. Coffee and cardiovascular diseases. Aten Primary. 2009; 41 (11): 633-636. doi: 10.1016 / j.aprim.2009.09.002
Likewise, it has been found that the consumption of coffee after a cardiac event such as a myocardial infarction may have an inverse relationship with mortality, that is, it reduces the risk of dying after that event. Coffee consumption and mortality after acute myocardial infarction: the Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program. Mukamal KJ, Hallqvist J, Hammar N, Ljung R, Gémes K, Ahlbom A, Ahnve S, Janszky I Am Heart J. 2009 Mar; 157 (3): 495-501.
However, it is important to mention that this cannot be generalized since it has been found that there are people who for genetic reasons do not have a favorable relationship with coffee, it may be their ability to process caffeine or other components of coffee, but there are cases in which this benefit may not be present.
2. Benefits in Blood Pressure
Generally, hypertensive patients receive certain indications from their family doctor about the special care they should have regarding their diet, avoiding foods with excess sodium, exercise habits, and even relaxation and reduction of stress, But what What about coffee?
In long-term studies, chronic coffee consumption has been ruled out as a risk of developing hypertension, unlike Cola soft drinks that do have that risk ratio. In that sense, you can remove the fear that coffee consumption could make you hypertensive. Habitual caffeine intake and the risk of hypertension in women. Winkelmayer WC, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, Curhan GC JAMA. 2005 Nov 9; 294 (18): 2330-5.
Likewise, there is an extra data for alcohol consumers since apart from the protection that coffee offers the liver, it has also been observed that habitual consumers of alcoholic beverages and who have hypertension problems are benefited in their Blood Pressure figures with moderate coffee consumption of about three cups a day on average. Effect of coffee intake on blood pressure in male habitual alcohol drinkers. Funatsu K, Yamashita T, Nakamura H Hypertens Res. 2005 Jun; 28 (6): 521-7.
It has also been found that “chlorogenic acid, obtained from coffee bean extracts, reduces blood pressure figures in patients with mild arterial hypertension”. Which may be a probable indication that it is preferable for hypertensive people to consume coffee beans (or even freshly ground) and not soluble so that they can receive the benefit of this substance (chlorogenic acid). The blood pressure-lowering effect and safety of chlorogenic acid from green coffee bean extract in essential hypertension. Watanabe T, Arai Y, Mitsui Y, Kusaura T, Okawa W, Kajihara Y, Saito I Clin Exp Hypertens. 2006 Jul; 28 (5): 439-49.
3. Protection against type 2 diabetes
A Harvard University study was conducted with 25,000 people observed through time from 1980 to 1998, the people had neither diabetes nor cancer nor previous cardiovascular diseases. In this study, impressive results were found in terms of the benefits of coffee: It was found that if coffee is consumed regularly with an average of 6 cups a day, the risk of type II diabetes can be reduced, up to 50% for men and a 30% for women. Coffee Consumption and Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Some studies have even tried to identify whether it is the consumption of black or decaffeinated coffee that contributes the most in terms of this benefit against diabetes, however no significant differences have been found for what is thought to be another component other than caffeine the one that provides this antidiabetic protection. Coffee, Caffeine, and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes A prospective cohort study in younger and middle-aged U.S. women
4. Protection against Hepatic Fibrosis
Coffee strengthens the ability of our liver to defend itself against liver fibrosis because it causes liver enzymes to be reduced and that reduces the possibility that later the tissue in this organ becomes fibrous, that is, it is very good, and it is part of the benefits of coffee.
This is important because if fibrosis can be prevented in chronic liver diseases, morbidity can be avoided as well as the development of more serious pathologies such as cirrhosis or cancer. (Association of coffee and caffeine consumption with fatty liver disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, and degree of hepatic fibrosis)
Likewise, another cross-sectional study and meta-analysis found that there was a protective effect against liver fibrosis and cirrhosis for patients with alcoholism problems and chronic hepatitis.
5. Decreased Risk of Liver Cirrhosis
As part of the benefits of drinking coffee, it is important to mention a study carried out through the meta-analysis technique where it was found that coffee consumers were less likely to develop cirrhosis than those who did not drink coffee.
Coffee Consumption Decreases Risks for Hepatic Fibrosis and Cirrhosis: A Meta-Analysis
6. Reduces the Risk of Liver Cancer
Individuals who drink coffee have a significantly lower risk of developing liver cancer as the odds are reduced by 23% for every cup you drink per day, statistically speaking.
This result is derived from a study carried out by the journal Hepatology in 2007, where, as part of a meta-analysis, information from 10 other studies was gathered, finding a strong inverse correlation between coffee consumption and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Coffee drinking and hepatocellular carcinoma risk: A meta ‐ analysis
7. Insulin-Sensitizer
Another very interesting thing for those of us who have ancestry or relatives with diabetes is that coffee is insulin sensitizing, that is, it helps the insulin that your body generates to really be heard by your body and do the function it has to do.
This is super interesting and is very good news for those of us who may have a risk of genetic tendency to develop diabetes or insulin resistance, although of course, the greater reduction in risk depends a lot on the diet we eat, coffee can help us get away of those unwanted effects of insulin problems.
For example, a 2010 study assessed the association between coffee consumption and indicators of insulin sensitivity and the function of beta cells in the pancreas and found that the relationship was positive, that is, coffee consumption supported this. pancreatic sensitivity and function. (Loopstra-Masters, R.C., Liese, A.D., Haffner, S.M. et al. Associations between the intake of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and measures of insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function)
As a curious fact, in this study black coffee was mostly related to insulin-sensitivity and decaffeinated with a better function of beta cells, so within the benefits of coffee, this must be taken into account.
8. Gout Risk Reduction
Also, another interesting thing, drinking four cups of coffee a day reduces the risk of gout up to 50%, this is very much the truth and for how terribly insidious gout is and its symptoms that many times can not be easily alleviated by consuming Coffee could be an interesting thing to consider as a supportive alternative in your treatment.
In a study called “Nurse Health Studio” 896 cases of gout were identified in women within a sample that was followed for 26 years and it was found that there was an inverse relationship between higher consumption of coffee and the risks associated with gout, In other words, the study suggests that long-term high consumption of coffee would be associated with a lower risk of gout in women, another of the benefits of coffee. https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/92/4/922/4597590
Likewise, in 2007, the results of a similar study were published, but focused on men, where for 12 years men who initially did not have gout were evaluated and in that time of 45,689 participants there were 757 cases of gout that developed over time and given Since data had also been collected on their coffee consumption, it was concluded that the statistics also suggested an inverse relationship between gout and coffee, that is, the higher the coffee consumption, the lower the risk of gout. Which is very relevant since gout is the most common arthritic disease in adult men. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/art.22712
It is important to mention that in this last study, although coffee helped reduce the risk of gout, alcohol and the consumption of meat and fat increased it, so we must remember that good nutrition is crucial, in addition to this relationship between coffee and this disease was found to be relevant only in the long term, so consuming only one day does not seem to have a great impact as continued consumption for years.
9. Reduced Risk of Prostate Cancer
Another benefit of coffee, according to a study by the National Institutes of Health is that those who drink six or more cups of coffee a day have statistically less likely to suffer from advanced prostate cancer, up to 60% less incidence of advanced prostate cancer for people who consume 6 or more cups of coffee a day, so watch out guys, surely no one wants an affected prostate so go preparing those cups of coffee well loaded.
Likewise, in a 2012 study, the inverse relationship between coffee consumption and the development of aggressive prostate cancer was reaffirmed, however, there was no protection when there was a high body mass index, high cholesterol, alcohol consumption or smoking. again the basis is good habits. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1475-2891-11-42
10. Reduction of Risk of Heart Attacks
It is also said that women who drink coffee in a proportion of two or more cups a day reduce our risk of heart attack by up to 19%, which is also very good, and like those who drink more than 5 cups in general a day can reduce your risk of heart attack by up to 44%, that is, the percentages are really helpful or preventive against heart diseases, diabetes, and some others as we have already mentioned, these percentages are quite interesting and quite high. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2729465/
However, it is important to mention that the controversy continues and that in the end the effect of coffee on a person depends on their particular state of health.
11 Protection against Parkinson’s Disease
Since 2000, studies such as this one have been carried out on the relationship between coffee consumption and Parkinson’s disease, and in a particular way this relationship seems to be very marked for men and could be another of the benefits of coffee.
For example, in this study with men it was found that from the consumption of 3 cups of coffee a day (28 ounces) the incidence of Parkinson’s decreased by 80%, approx (from 10.4 cases out of 10,000 to only 1.9), and Something curious is that these benefits were not diminished by smoking or the consumption of milk and sugar with coffee. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/192731
Another interesting fact of this study is that in terms of other benefits of coffee, it is often said that they do not come from caffeine but from some other nutrient or component of coffee, but in the case of its inverse relationship with the risk of Parkinson’s, it is found that the main relationship was due to caffeine.
12 Protection against cavities
There are several studies that indicate this benefit of coffee and even a very recent one in 2020 indicates that coffee has antibacterial capacities against S. mutans, but as long as coffee is taken alone, of course this benefit is greatly reduced if it is consumed with milk and sugar. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7269317/
13 Protection against periodontal disease
Among the benefits of coffee, this effect has been controversial since it is known that where there is cavities there is no gingivitis and vice versa, and since coffee is more strongly associated with protection against cavities, it could be that it was the opposite with periodontal problems, and even for The case of a study in a Korean male population was like that.
However, more recent studies indicate that in reality there is no evidence of risks of periodontal disease and the consumption of coffee, and it was even found that the number of teeth affected with periodontal problems and bone loss decreased with greater consumption of coffee, although it was very small impact, if found to be significant. https://aap.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1902/jop.2013.130179
14 Decreased probability of developing Colo-Rectal cancer
This relationship has always been suspected because antioxidants and other substances have anticancer properties, however there has been much debate because on the other hand it can be considered an irritant agent, and others find a lot of difference between the effects that it could have for men and women, between cancer colon only or colorectal and in coffee types.
A study in 2020 indicated that a lower risk of colorectal cancer, colon only and rectal cancer is identified only in the consumption of two or more daily cups of coffee but decaffeinated. When this is changed to the case of coffee with its full caffeine load, this benefit is practically nil and is even reversed for rectal cancer. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1877782120300643
15 Reduction of Suicidal Tendencies
Finding a positive relationship between coffee consumption and the reduction of suicidal tendencies is not easy since multiple factors are crossed such as age groups, or whether people have diagnosed clinical depression or whether or not they have trouble sleeping. However, a recent study from 2019 found that by making adjustments for all these types of variables, they could find that in the case of women, a significant relationship could be found, being this way: that women who drank 1 to 4 cups a day of coffee they had a lower risk of committing suicide, whereas for men no relationship was found. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032719301442
16 Increases our ability to concentrate
Another of the benefits of coffee has been found, particularly in green coffee beans, where research indicates that some products derived from it increase focus and concentration, so they could be used as a complement to improve syndromes such as of attention deficit or hyperactivity, even they already have a patent as we see in the following link https://patents.google.com/patent/US10086031B2/en
17 Improves the absorption of some medications
Many studies have found different relationships of coffee with the absorption and excretion dynamics of drugs, and even with some it may not be appropriate (such as with thyroxine, iron or escitalopram oxalate) or a separate time must be allowed for the consumption of the drug. coffee and medications, however for some medications the therapeutic effect can be enhanced with coffee consumption.
Such is the case of aspirin where if it is consumed with two cups of coffee its bioavailability is increased without affecting the processes for its subsequent elimination in the body, this occurs due to the interaction that coffee has with the stomach PH which allows a better absorption of aspirin. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2020/7909703/
The same happens with halofantrine, one of the main drugs used in the treatment of malaria, or with ergotamine, as a drug used against migraine headaches.
In addition, for Parkinson’s patients who consume Levo-Dopa, the motor response to this drug has also been found to improve if consumed with coffee.
However, it is important to emphasize that there may even be toxic reactions with some other medications, so it is important to consult your doctor about whether or not it is convenient to take your treatment with that delicious cup of coffee that we like so much.
18 Protection Against Melanoma
Meta-analysis studies suggest that coffee consumption has protective effects against Malignant Melanoma, however this is not the same in terms of decaffeinated coffee consumption, in which no evidence of any protective benefit was found.
Higher Caffeinated Coffee Intake Is Associated with Reduced Malignant Melanoma Risk: A Meta-Analysis Study
19 Helps in burning fat
Some research indicates that the consumption of coffee and some types of tea such as green tea help to reduce the accumulation of lipids at the cellular level via the regulation of the cell cycle during adipogenesis, which would be linked to a lower weight and lower visceral fat in humans, and although the mechanism still needs more studies, coffee can be considered as another option against obesity.
Molecular mechanisms of the anti-obesity effect of bioactive compounds in tea and coffee
20 It gives us energy (improves our alertness)
The consumption of coffee with its caffeine has been found to improve alertness and help to perform various activities both during the day and at night and that its effects can last several hours, however this effect does not work if it is decaffeinated coffee.
Investigation of the Effects of Coffee on Alertness and Performance during the Day and Night
21 Protection of Consumers of Alcoholic Beverages
We had already seen in point 5 that coffee can have protective effects against cirrhosis, however this is usually especially marked in the case of cirrhosis due to alcoholism. Protective effect of coffee on alcohol cirrhosis
Coffee protects against cirrhosis, particularly alcoholic cirrhosis
22 The Green Grain & Anxiety and Depression
We already saw in point 17 how supplements derived from the Green Coffee Bean are now being investigated as an aid to increase the level of concentration, and to this is added a recent study where a 6-week program was implemented to increase aerobic endurance in women with obesity, anxiety and depression who are supplemented with these same derivatives of the green coffee bean.
In the results it was found that these people actually improved in terms of their anxiety and depression levels: http://eprints.kaums.ac.ir/3085/
23 The green coffee bean and fat absorption and oxidation
It all started with studies in mice, and with the inspiration that the World Health Organization declares that obesity is a global epidemic, some researchers began their studies to determine what effects the green coffee bean extract had on the weight of mice that they were fed high-fat diets and if this could be another benefit of coffee.
In the study, the mice were divided into 5 groups, one without a high-fat diet (control group), another with a high-fat diet but without coffee extract, and the other three groups took the extracts but in different doses, less to more. The results were surprising, all the rats that took the extract had results in losing weight even with the high fat diet and it was stated that it was due to the fact that the extract contains chlorogenic acid which increases the activity of a special enzyme called AMPK. which under normal conditions is only activated when we exercise. In general, the metabolism of these mice changed their way of metabolizing fats, increasing their ability to oxidize them and decrease their accumulation, favoring their burning versus accumulation in adipose tissue. The effect of Green Coffee bean Extract on the weight rats with high fat diet
But have human studies been done? The answer is yes and they are also favorable! A study analyzed the data of 16 individuals with pre-obesity for 22 weeks who were supplemented with extract of green coffee bean high in chlorogenic acid, also having a placebo control group and two study groups, one with a lower dose than the other. The results indicated loss of weight, loss of body mass index and even improvement in heart rate and 37% of the participants changed from being pre-obese to having normal weight, for which the study suggests that this extract could be an alternative effective and inexpensive nutraceutical to prevent overweight people from transitioning to obesity. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, linear dose, crossover study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a green coffee bean extract in overweight subjects
On the other hand, another Korean study carried out only with women with a body mass index greater than 23kg / m2 and who did not have declared diseases were studied with a placebo control group and another with administration of the supplement, during 8 weeks the I experimented with measurements even with CT scans and blood studies and in the end there was a significant reduction (like -5%) in weight, visceral fat and body mass index. The Effect of Green Coffee Bean Extract Supplementation on Body Fat Reduction in Overweight / Obese Women
24 Coffee and Cognitive Activity
I am going to mention here another of the benefits of coffee, which leaves its mark through a study that analyzed the data of 676 subjects who were followed for 10 years and who were undergoing the “mini mental state exam” which is often used to determine the presence of Alzheimer’s, or what would be its equivalent, the decrease in cognitive activity.
The results were very interesting since for those who drank 3 cups of coffee a day, the decrease in cognitive activity in the study period was 4.3 times less than that of non-coffee consumers! Yet another clue that could tell us how neuroprotective coffee can be. Coffee consumption is inversely associated with cognitive decline in elderly European men: the FINE Study
25 Coffee benefits the intestinal microbiota
This last benefit I love and closes this article with a flourish, and it is very curious because the study that I mention here was even conducted with instant coffee, where the study subjects drank 3 cups of coffee a day for three weeks, and they were they took stool samples before and after drinking coffee (I don’t know if I would sign up for those studies hahaha) … well the point is that although at the beginning there was not much difference, at the end of the 3 weeks there was a clear increase in the population of Bifidobaterium spp. which has a reputation for being beneficial to the entire gut microbiota. Impact of coffee consumption on the gut microbiota: A human volunteer study
Conclusion Benefits of coffee
Whether you are a fan of coffee or if you are just considering consuming it, I wanted to share this with you and take away your fears about coffee and if it is suitable for your current state of health that you are encouraged to try that little coffee of the day, especially a good coffee grain, maybe have a little espresso machine to get it more pure and concentrated and well, I think it is a gift of nature that gives us many benefits. I hope this article has inspired you not as an absolute truth but as an invitation to continue researching and learning about coffee.
