“The Mediterranean diet is primarily a plant-based diet, and coffee is a plant-based drink,” Stephen Unthreatening, a cancer prevention researcher, said in a telephone interview.
“If you compare the benefits of coffee to the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, it’s challenging to tell the difference,” said Unthreatening, a distinguished professor of biochemistry and biophysics at Texas A&M University in College Station.
In a review of peer-reviewed studies on the beverage, Unthreatening and colleagues found that coffee consumption may lend a hand reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer, as well as type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia.
“Drinking coffee has also been proven to lend a hand people live longer,” Unthreatening said.
“I’m a gigantic fan and I drink a lot of it,” he said, adding that he drinks “five or six double espressos” a day.
Unthreatening describes coffee as a “miracle” drink, much like “aspirin is a miracle drug.”
This is why.
“Contrary to popular belief,” Unthreatening said, the immense majority of research indicates that coffee consumption is associated with a number of significant health benefits.
What the research says
For example, in 2019 test Coffee consumption has been shown to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by 22%.
Additionally, according to a 2021 study, people who drank more than 60 cups of coffee per month — or more than two per day — had an almost 70% lower risk of liver cancer, an almost 50% lower risk of colon and breast cancer, and an almost 30% lower risk of thyroid cancer. test.
While more research is needed to determine the cause of this phenomenon, coffee contains many of the same chemicals as those in the Mediterranean diet, which have also been shown to reduce the risk of cancer, Unthreatening said.
In addition to potential benefits in terms of cancer treatment, compared to non-coffee drinkers, coffee drinkers have a 30% lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to results test published in 2002.
According to research, a diet containing coffee reduces the risk of certain neurological diseases, including dementia. test published last year by longtime coffee researcher Marilyn Cornelis and her colleagues.
Cornelis, an assistant professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said that while the reasons for the phenomenon are not clear, research suggests that the caffeine in coffee has neuroprotective effects and helps the brain produce dopamine neurons, brain cells responsible for movement and other functions.
Many current treatments for Parkinson’s disease aim to stimulate the production of these neurons, she added.
“For many years, coffee was considered an unhealthy drink, but over time, research has actually been supporting more benefits than negative effects,” Cornelis, who has studied the health effects of coffee and caffeine for more than 20 years, said in a telephone interview.
“Considering other beverages, coffee is probably one of the better ones,” she said.
She agreed with Unthreatening that more research is needed to understand why coffee is so beneficial, but suggested that polyphenols found naturally in coffee, as in other plant foods, most likely have antioxidant effects that may lend a hand reduce inflammation, a common cause of disease.
Caffeine also increases fat metabolism in the body, which may further enhance the health benefits of this drink, she added.
In addition, “coffee may also lead to improved mood and reduced risk of depression,” Dr. Donald D. Hensrud, a general practitioner and associate professor of preventive medicine and nutrition at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, said in a telephone interview.
Possible side effects
Caffeine doesn’t necessarily lead to worsening anxiety or an increased risk of heart disease, including irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure, contrary to the image of “someone who’s stressed and drinks a lot of coffee,” Cornelis said.
Some analysis data from 32 studies published in 2023 found no “significant association” between coffee consumption and heart disease.
However, drinking too much coffee can cause heart palpitations and insomnia or difficulty falling asleep, Hensrud said.
Coffee may also worsen symptoms like excessive urination, especially in older men with an enlarged prostate, according to Hensrud.
Some coffee lovers may suffer from acid reflux or heartburn, and the drink may also reduce the body’s ability to absorb key minerals such as calcium and iron, which are crucial for bone health, he added.
Hensrud also found that coffee was associated with difficulty conceiving and an increased risk of miscarriage in women who drank more than two cups a day.
“I divide coffee into health effects and side effects. The first ones are really significant, while the side effects are relatively minor, except for pregnant women,” he said.
The way you do it matters
Indeed, the oft-heard two-cup-a-day limit applies only to women who are pregnant or trying to conceive. On the other hand, there is no challenging and rapid rule about how much coffee to drink to maximize these health benefits, Hensrud said.
But how a person takes it matters, he said. In other words, the less milk, cream, sugar and other additives, the better.
For this reason, many coffee drinks available in retail chains do not have the same health benefits as regular, black coffee, he added.
In addition, boiled but unfiltered coffee can raise the level of LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol in the blood, Hensrud said.
Since 2015, black coffee has been covered by the Department of Health and Human Services program Dietary Guidelineswhich suggest it is safe and sound to drink up to five cups of coffee a day.
Cornelis, however, said that this was “not a recommendation.”
“It just means that if you are already consuming this amount and you are well, there is no need to limit your intake,” she said.
According to Cornelis, research suggests that some people may be “genetically predisposed to metabolize caffeine more quickly.”
This means they are less likely to experience side effects, such as difficulty sleeping, and can eat larger amounts of food, she added.
Hensrud said he typically tells his patients that as long as they don’t experience the typical “side effects” of drinking coffee — especially heart palpitations and difficulty sleeping — they don’t need to stop drinking coffee.
Still, “if they’re drinking six or more cups a day, I might tell them to consider cutting back, if only because they might start having issues like reflux,” he said.
Cornelis says the good news is that most people “are sensitive to the effects of caffeine” and know when they’ve had too much based on the signals their body sends them.
What’s more, while cutting back on caffeinated coffee can cause withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, the substance is not considered addictive, she added.
“I tell people to consider the side effects when deciding how much coffee to drink,” Hensrud said.
“If you don’t experience side effects, there’s no reason to limit your intake,” he said.
