Coffee is a drink that is centuries old. Its darkness and exoticism derived from a strange seed aroused the curiosity of the whole world. When coffee shops began to pop up in Europe, some said it was an attractive drink that would get us addicted to gambling. He was treated like a drug. And despite its popularity, in the 70s and 80s, coffee was still viewed with suspicion as a “hazardous substance”. This fear also comes from research that links it to heart problems, although other factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, or smoking are not considered in those studies.
Luckily, science has advanced enormously and the view we now have of coffee is totally different. This drink, according to the latest studies, can provide many health benefits and could even promote longevity.
Today we will talk in detail about the 5 best benefits that coffee brings us. It is interesting, especially if you are as loving as I am and want to know how much good it does in your body. Although it must be borne in mind that all abuse or excess is bad.
Coffee can be healthy for your heart
En a review of 36 studies, the scientists found a correlation between coffee consumption and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, with those who drank three to five cups a day having the lowest risk. In this case, excessive consumption of coffee It was not associated with a high risk of suffering any cardiovascular disease.
It can help prevent a cerebrovascular accident, specifically. In regular coffee drinkers (those who drink at least one cup a day) it can be observed that they have a 20% lower risk of suffering a stroke compared to those who rarely drink coffee.
Coffee also protects us against individual risk factors for certain cardiovascular diseases. Its use has been linked to a higher HDL ("good") and lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol, as well as a lower risk of metabolic syndrome y type II diabetes.
Could help us live longer
Not long ago, I read that coffee drinkers can live longer. Most of us know that this drink is linked to a lower risk of death, but I found the new findings from that study quite interesting.
The investigation, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that drinking coffee is linked to a longer life and lower risk of death, especially from cardiovascular disease and cancer (two of the five leading causes of death).
The researchers studied demographic and health data on more than 498.000 British people, including information about their coffee consumption and whether they had genetic variants that affect caffeine metabolism.
Ten years later, researchers found that people who drank one cup of coffee a day had a 6% lower risk of dying than those who drank less than that amount. And, those who consumed eight or more cups a day had a 14% lower risk.
This research was only based on observation, so it is not proven that coffee consumption caused a lower risk of death; it only shows a relationship between consumption and longer life.
This research is not the first to be interested in the impact of coffee on mortality risk. In 2017, A study surveyed a diverse group in Hawaii and Los Angeles. They found a link between daily coffee intake and decreased risk of death overall, as well as death from:
- Heart disease
- Cancer
- Cerebral stroke
- Diabetes
- kidney disease
- Respiratory disease
Compared with people who never or rarely drank coffee, those who drank one cup a day were found to have a 12% less fatal risk. And those who drank three cups of coffee daily had a 18% less of chances of dying. The results were the same for both caffeinated and decaf coffee, and age, gender, or alcohol consumption did not matter either.
Antioxidants and anti-inflammatory
Although all these studies do not explicitly explain why coffee has such a positive impact on health, we can analyze some substances that can give us a slight idea. For example, its largest component is the polyphenols, which are compounds that act as antioxidants. Also, it seems that coffee is also anti-inflammatory. So here we have two of the reasons why it seems to be so healthy. In the end, most modern diseases are caused by oxidative damage and inflammation.
May reduce the risk of cancer
As we mentioned earlier, coffee contains hundreds of biologically active and protective substances, including flavonoids, lignans and other polyphenols; which inhibit metastasis, control the genes involved in DNA repair, block cell damage and slow down inflammation. exist thousands of studies who have been interested in the relationship between coffee and different types of cancer.
Mama
Higher coffee consumption has been linked to a lower risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. Was A study which showed that drinking coffee reduced the risk of breast cancer by 57%, although it had no impact on the risk of developing an estrogen receptor-positive tumor.
Prostate
En a meta-analysis Of 13 studies, this drink was associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer.
Liver
In 2005 it was carried out A study in which men and women who drank coffee regularly had a lower risk of hepatocellular carcinoma than those who rarely drank coffee. Also, last year, researchers found that just a cup a day could reduce the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in an 20%.
protects us from depression
A few years ago it was carried out A study study of more than 50.000 women, which found that the risk of depression decreases with the consumption of (caffeinated) coffee. Decaf did not have a strong association with decreased depression. Women who drank more than 4 cups a day had the greatest decrease in risk. In other investigation, habitual coffee drinkers (two or more cups per day) were found to have a 32% lower depression rate than those who do not drink this drink.
Could stop Parkinson's disease
A higher intake of coffee (with caffeine) has been linked to a significant decrease in Parkinson's. they are not few the studies which put the risk of reduction between 32 and 60%. Science believes that it may be because coffee increases intestinal motility, thus creating an intestinal environment that resists the pathology associated with Parkinson's disease.
Precautions you should take when using it
We have seen all the best benefits that we can obtain from coffee (with caffeine, especially). Even so, we have to take certain precautions, depending on our consumption conditions and tolerances.
You have a dysfunction of the HPA axis
If your hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is dysfunctional, drinking this drink could be a terrible idea, as it can cause a lot of jitters. How do you know if you have some kind of dysfunction?
- You feel tired in the morning or have energy spikes in the afternoon.
- You are not sleeping well: you have trouble falling asleep or you suffer from insomnia.
- It takes a long time to recover from training.
- Drinking coffee makes you feel more tired.
You do not metabolize caffeine quickly
Caffeine is metabolized by an enzyme that we have in the liver and that is encoded by the CYP1A2 gene. Almost 50% of the population has a variant in this gene, which causes a slower metabolism of caffeine.
If you have a hard time breaking down caffeine and it stays in your circulation longer, it can be linked to:
- Increased risk of heart disease
- Increased risk of hypertension
- Impaired fasting glucose
- worse sleep quality
You are pregnant
Consuming large amounts of this drink seems to increase the risk of danger in women, causing premature birth or low birth weight babies. It is recommended to opt for decaffeinated to avoid this type of risk.