What are the health benefits of a cup of coffee?
1000 SUBSTANCES IN A CUP OF COFFEE FOR A HEALTHY LIFE
People have come to love drinking coffee for its taste, aroma and stimulating effects. All of these qualities we perceive in coffee come from specific substances in coffee. Coffee is known tocontain more than a thousand of these different chemicals. These include carbohydrates, lipids, nitrogen compounds, vitamins, minerals, alkaloids and phenolic compounds.
In the past, there have been concerns about the negative effects of coffee on human health. However, the health complications that could be wrongly attributed to coffee were more likely to be caused by an unhealthy lifestyle, smoking or improper preparation of coffee.
SCIENCE REVEALS THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF COFFEE
Current information on the effects of coffee on our health is backed bystudies and provides plenty of evidence of the health benefits of coffee. Modern research focuses on uncovering the effects on our health of the individual chemical compounds that coffee contains.
The most well-known substance contained in coffee is, of course, caffeine. This purine alkaloid has been linked to anincrease in our productivity and energy. Because of this property, coffee is one of our very favorite helpers in a busy workday.
CAFFEINATED COFFEE
Its biological effects act as an antagonist of adenosine (a substance with the opposite function), a naturally occurring substance in our body that makes us feel tired. We feel fatigue because large amounts of adenosine are trapped in cellular receptors. Specifically, adenosine receptors A1 and A2.
These same receptors can also trap our favorite caffeine. Thus, the receptors block for adenosine and prevent the feeling of drowsiness. The amount of caffeine in each coffee drink varies. However, the average is about 100mg of caffeine per 200ml cup of coffee. For a single espresso, it is around 60mg.
CAFESTOL AND KAHWEOL
Other interesting substances in coffee are the diterpenes Cafestol and Kahweol. These substances are found incoffee oil. Their amount in a cup of coffee thus influences the way it is prepared. The oils and thus these diterpenes are trapped on the paper filter. Therefore, the amount of diterpenes in the coffee is higher if you prepare it, for example, in the form of a French press.
In this alternative method of coffee preparation, only a metal filter is used. Similarly, a larger amount of Cafestol and Kahweol is contained in the coffee that is poured, for example, incupping. In espresso, the amount of these diterpenes is also influenced by the small size of the drink, so the content is somehow in the middle between French Press and coffee filtered through a paper filter.
CHOLESTEROL AND ANTICARCINOGENIC EFFECTS
Cafestol and Kahweol have been linked to higher LDL cholesterol concentrations by affecting the activity of cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP). Which may contribute to an increase in the known "bad" LDL cholesterol.
On the other hand,these two diterpenes act as protection against certain malignant cells and reduce mutagenesis. Not only Cafestol and Kahweol have anticancer effects, other substances in coffee support them in this respect.
COFFEE AGAINST CANCER
Caffeineitself has a positive effect on the cell cycle, cell division and apoptosis, i.e. programmed cell death. Thechlorogenic and caffeic acids in coffee have proven antioxidant effects. Each 200ml cup of coffee contains between 70 and 350mg of chlorogenic acid.
MICRONUTRIENTS IN COFFEE
There are then many micronutrients in a cup of coffee. Specifically ,magnesium, which is around 24mg per espresso. There is alsopotassium, niacin and a small amount of vitamin E. These and the aforementioned substances contained in coffee have been linked to a positive effect on certain diseases.
Studies to date have shown thatmoderate coffee consumption has a positive effect on certain diseases, especially on their onset. It therefore acts primarily as a preventive measure, as protection against the onset of disease. But they can also mitigate their course and even halt or reverse some degenerative processes.
PREVENTION OF DIABETES
Coffee is associated with type 2 diabetes. Several studies have been carried out in this regard. Six of them found a significant association between coffee and the development of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, such that therisk of developing the disease was up to 50% lower in study participants who consumed coffee daily.
At the same time, the researchers observed that there was not much difference between caffeinated and decaffeinatedcoffeeconsumption in this regard. This means that theprotection against type 2 diabetes is due to chemicals in coffee other than caffeine.
A FUTURE CURE FOR NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES?
We are constantly striving to extend and improve our lives. Unfortunately , aswe age, the likelihood of developing Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease increases. A promising finding for delaying and mitigating these degenerative diseases is the newly studied effects of caffeine.
It is not only the antioxidant effects of caffeine that help with this disease. Caffeine as an adenosine antagonist has neuroprotective properties. Adenosine trapped in receptors also slows dopamine binding.
CAFFEINE AND PARKINSON'S DISEASE
Dopamine is known as the happiness hormone and is responsible for motor function in addition to motivation and good mood. Dopamine deficiency leads to the development of Parkinson's disease. Because caffeine can block adenosine, it gives normal dopamine function a chance. With this finding that caffeine could be the cure for "Parkinson's", drinking coffee will bring us even more joy.
A large study in Japan and the US found people who don't drink coffee are up to 5 times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease. The effect of coffee on the development of Parkinson's disease has also been studiedin participants of the Harvard Biomarkers Study. Frequent coffee drinkers were up to 70% less likely to develop the disease.
CAFFEINE AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
Like Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease is classified as a neurodegenerative brain disease. Coffee may therefore also be helpful in mitigating the development of Alzheimer's disease or at least in preventing it.
Firstly, in terms of speeding up neurotransmitters by blocking adenosine, then by its antioxidant properties and also bycorrecting the feedback of the HPA axis overactivated due to chronic stress, which is manifested by the overproduction of cortisol.
PSYCHOSIS, DEPRESSION, SUICIDE VS COFFEE
The blocking of adenosine by caffeine and thus affecting dopamine function in the body is also associated with psychotic disorders. Low dopamine levels lead to the development of depression. People who suffer from depression are prone to suicide.
A ten-year study of more than 86,000 participants, including both women and men, found that those who drank at least two cups of coffee a day had a 50% lower risk of suicide than those who did not drink coffee.
THE EFFECT OF COFFEE ON THE BODY'S ORGANS
Coffee consumption was also associated with a lower risk of colon cancer. It has been observed that people who drink 4 cups of coffee a day have a 24% lower chance of getting colon cancer as opposed to non-coffee drinkers.
An American study published the results of their research where they found thatpeople who consumed 2 or more cups of coffee daily had a 48% lower risk of colorectal cancer than those research participants who did not drink coffee. Substances in coffee may promote the elimination of carcinogens.
Coffee also has beneficial effects in the liver. According to an eight-year study of more than 120,000 men and women, coffee drinkers werefound to have a22% lower risk of death from non-alcoholic cirrhosis and a 48% lower risk of cirrhosis due to hepatitis C, as opposed to people who do not drink coffee daily .
SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION OF COFFEE AS A FUTURE HOPE
The multitude of health effects for essentially the whole body motivates scientists around the world to further investigate coffee and its constituents. With the increasing number of studies being conducted across continents, the details of these investigations are becoming more ambiguous. For example, differences in the type of coffee (espresso, filtered, soluble), the strength or percentage of extraction in a single serving, and the size of a single serving itself.
In addition to the differences in the definition of a standard cup of coffee, the results of the effect of caffeine vary from person to person. In general, there are two known genotypes of response to caffeine, or more precisely, two types of caffeine metabolisers. People who metabolize caffeine quickly can easily afford more coffee during the day than "slow metabolizers".
Also, the volume of coffee affects its effects. Moderate coffee intake has many health benefits. If coffee intake is high during the day, these positive effects can turn into negatives. Excessive coffee intake turns it into a dangerous substance that can cause health complications, especially cardiovascular problems.