Is Coffee A Health Food?

Coffee bean artwork Two biologically active compounds found in coffee, caffeine and phenolic acids, have potent antioxidants properties that can effect glucose metabolism and sex hormone levels.

Six Cups of Coffee Per Day Limits Prostate Cancer

47,911 men participated in a 20 year follow-up study of health professionals, that tracked regular and decaffeinated coffee consumption every 4 years from 1986 to 2006. At the end of the study, 5035 patients were identified to as having prostate cancer, where 642 of those patients had lethal prostate cancers. The average coffee intake in 1986 was 1.9 cups per day, however, men who consumed six or more cups per day had a lower risk for overall prostate cancer compared with nondrinkers by 40 percent. Lethal prostate cancer rates where similar for regular and decaffeinated coffee, which suggests that coffee's health effects are related to non-caffeine components. PMID:21586702

Green coffee beans increased neuron survival by 78%, compared to 203% by roasted coffee beans.

Roasted Coffees Are More Neuroprotective than Green Coffees

Coffee is one the most popular beverages in the world, have been consumed for thousands of years for it's alluring flavors and health benefits. This widely consumed beverage, is rich in many bioactive components, including polyphenols that have antioxidant properties. Oxidative stress, that cause many neurodegenerative diseases, which leads to age-related cognitive decline, are neutralized by antioxidants. A 2009 study published in Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, researchers documented regular and decaffeinated samples of both roasted and green coffee, all showing high hydrophilic antioxidant activity when taken internally. This lipophilic antioxidant activity on average is 30 times higher in roasted coffee more than in green coffee samples.In primary neuronal cell culture, pretreatment with green and roasted coffees (regular and decaffeinated) protected against subsequent H2O2-induced oxidative stress and improved neuronal cell survival.

All coffee bean extracts inhibited ERK1/2 activation, indicating a potential attenuating effect in stress-induced neuronal cell death. Interestingly, only roasted coffee extracts inhibited JNK activation, evidencing a distinctive neuroprotective benefit. Analysis of coffee phenolic compounds revealed that roasted coffees contained high levels of chlorogenic acid lactones (CGLs); a significant correlation between CGLs and neuroprotective efficacy was observed. In conclusion, this study showed that roasted coffees are high in lipophilic antioxidants and CGLs, can protect neuronal cells against oxidative stress, and may do so by modulation of the ERK1/2 and JNK signaling pathways.

Coffee Fact: Lowering the Risk of Gout

Coffee and vitamin C supplementation could be considered as preventive measures, lowering urate levels, reducing the risk of gout. PMID:20035225

Coffee Lowers Cholesterol

Chlorogenic substances are responsible a decrease in plasma LDL cholesterol observed in some populations, notably Scandinavia and Italy (Urgert et al., 1996,1997; Urgert and Katan, 1997) www.scielo.br

In another more recent 2004 study, it was found that regular coffee ingestion may favorably affect cardiovascular risk status by modestly reducing LDL oxidation susceptibility and decreasing LDL-cholesterol PMID:14972021

Coffee Fact: High in Polyphenolic Antioxidants

Polyphenols, particularly flavonoids and phenolic acids, are of great abundance in tea and coffee and greatly contribute to their flavor and health properties. Researchers at the Department of Food Science at Rutgers University, reviewed the polyphenol chemistry of tea and coffee, specifically their stability, and scavenging (antioxidant) ability of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive carbonyl species (RCS). Both ROS and RCS are considered toxic to human cells. Chlorogenic acids are the main polyphenols in coffee, where the second "B" ring is the preferred site for antioxidation.

What About Caffeine?

A study from Germany's, University of Tübingen, published in the journal Cell Physiology Biochemisty, 2008, shows how caffeine inhibits red blood (erythrocyte) cell death.

Eryptosis, the death of red blood cells, is characterized by cell shrinkage and by cell membrane scrambling with weakened phosphatidylserine exposure at the cells surface. Eryptosis is triggered by several stress conditions including isotonic cell shrinkage (Cl(-) removal) and energy depletion (glucose removal). Both dehydration and glucose depletion effectively increase in calcium concentration in blood cells. Phosphatidylserine-exposing blood cells are cleared from circulating blood. Enhanced blood cell loss thus leads to anemia. Under control conditions, eryptosis affected less than 5% of the blood cells and was not significantly modified by the presence of caffeine (50-500 microM). In conclusion, it was found that caffeine inhibits calcium entry following glucose depletion and thus counteracts blood cell loss during isotonic cell shrinkage and energy depletion.

Coffee's Conflicting Evidence For Heart Health

A Netherlands study found that drinking four or more cups of coffee a day can raise homocysteine levels in blood. Chlorogenic acid appears to increase homocysteine levels. High homocysteine levels are a known risk factor for heart disease. Researchers found that people who drank 4 or more cups of coffee a day had 11 percent higher levels of homocysteine than non coffee drinkers. Unlike caffeine, chlorogenic acid can not be readily filtered.

Coffee Shown Not To Increase Heart Disease or Diabetes

Regular coffee consumption is often viewed as unhealthy. However, habitual coffee drinking is not associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases or premature mortality among diabetic women. PMID: 19266179