Why coffee could be good
for your health
29 October 2020
By Jessica Brown
In the past, coffee was associated with increased
health risks. But research from the last decade finds that
drinking coffee may actually benefit your health.
Caffeine is the most popular psychoactive drug in the
world. Humans have been drinking coffee, a natural
source of caffeine, for centuries, but there have been
mixed messages around its effect on human health for
decades.
"Traditionally, coffee has been seen as a bad thing,"
says Marc Gunter, head of the section of nutrition and
metabolism at the International Agency for Research on
Cancer (IARC). "Research from the 1980s and 90s
concluded that people who drank coffee had a higher
risk of cardiovascular disease – but it's evolved since
then."
With more, larger-scale population studies emerging
over the last decade, Gunter says, scientists now have
data from hundreds of thousands of coffee-drinkers. But
what does the research tell us – and is coffee
consumption providing health benefits, or risks?
Coffee has been associated with an increased risk of
cancer because it contains acrylamide, a carcinogenic
substance found in foods including toast, cakes and
chips. However, the IARC concluded in 2016
that coffee is not carcinogenic, unless it's drunk very
hot – above 65C (149F).
Not only that, but more research has found that coffee
may actually have a protective effect. Some studies
have shown an association between coffee drinking
and lower severity, and recurrence, of colon cancer in
patients, for example.
In 2017, Gunter published the results of a study that
looked at the coffee-drinking habits of half a million
people across Europe over a period of 16 years. Those
who drank more coffee had a lower risk of dying from
heart disease, stroke and cancer. These findings are
consistent with research from other parts of the world,
including the US.
Gunter says there's enough consensus across
observational studies to confirm that people who drink
up to four cups of coffee a day have fewer diseases
compared to those who don't drink any.
The potential benefit of coffee could go further. Coffee-
drinkers in Gunter's study were more likely to smoke
and had unhealthier diets than non-coffee drinkers. This
would suggest that if coffee does lower the risk of heart
disease and cancer, it might be more powerful than we
think – it's overriding the effects of unhealthy
behaviours.
That's true whether it's a cup of decaffeinated or
caffeinated coffee. Decaf coffee has similar amounts
of antioxidants as normal coffee , research has found.
Gunter didn't find differences between the health of
people who drank caffeinated versus decaf, which led
him to conclude that the health benefits associated
with coffee are due to something other than caffeine.
Cause and effect
However, all of this research was based on population
data – which doesn't confirm cause and effect.
People who consume coffee may simply have better
underlying health than people who choose not to
People who consume coffee may simply have better
underlying health than people who choose not to, says
Peter Rogers, who studies the effects of caffeine on
behaviour, mood, alertness and attention at the
University of Bristol. That's in spite of their unhealthier
lifestyle habits, as found in Gunter's research.
"Some people suggested there might be protective
effect, which is somewhat controversial as it's based
on population evidence," he says.
Meanwhile, people who consume coffee regularly often
have higher blood pressure, which should increase the
risk of cardiovascular disease. But, Rogers says, there
isn't evidence that higher blood pressure from drinking
coffee is associated with higher risk of cardiovascular
disease.
Clinical trials looking into coffee – which could better
determine its benefits and risks – are rarer than
population studies. But a group of researchers recently
conducted a trial in which they observed the effects
of drinking caffeinated coffee on blood sugar .
The small study, conducted by the Centre for Nutrition
Exercise and Metabolism at England's University of
Bath, looked at how coffee affects the body's response
to breakfast after a fragmented night's sleep. They
found that participants who drank coffee, followed by a
sugary drink that stood in for breakfast, had a 50%
increase in blood sugar, compared to when they didn't
consume coffee before 'breakfast'.
Still, this kind of behaviour would have to happen
repeatedly over time for the risk to accumulate.
Putting people into lab settings also brings up the
question of how relevant the findings are to real life –
indicating that neither population, or lab research can
provide definitive answers on how coffee affects our
health.
Caffeine jitters
Aside from coffee's potential effects on heart health,
cancer and miscarriage, there is how it influences the
brain and nervous system. Caffeine is a psychoactive
drug, which means it affects our cognition.
Within the general population, some people can drink
caffeinated coffee all day long, while others become
anxious after one cup. Studies have found that
differences in our genes can affect how differently two
people metabolise caffeine . But, Myers says, "we don't
understand why one person is perfectly fine with a level
of caffeine and another person is not".
"As the body gets used to receiving caffeine on a daily
basis, there are physiological changes that adapt the
body to live with caffeine and maintain normal
function," says Rogers. "Consuming coffee produces no
net benefit to our ability to work efficiently because we
become tolerant to that effect, but as long as you keep
consuming it, you're probably not worse off."
The only people who stand to use caffeine to their
advantage, he says, are those who don't drink it
regularly.
At the other end of the spectrum, many people joke
about being addicted to coffee. But in most cases,
they're just dependent, says Rogers.
