Coffee's Impact on Health

By Bonnie Jenkins, Advanced Natural Medicine

Coffee lovers may be raising their cups at the recent news that your morning cuppa joe contains soluble fiber, the type that can help lower cholesterol. Before you get too excited you need to know that, with about one gram per cup, coffee’s fiber impact is pretty modest. But the report is the latest in a growing stream of positive news about coffee.

In recent decades, some 19,000 studies have been done examining coffee's impact on health. And for the most part, their results are as pleasing as a gulp of freshly brewed java for the 108 million Americans who routinely enjoy this traditionally morning ritual.

Sweet Heart

Some of the most promising findings come from studies of diabetes. When Harvard researchers combined data from nine studies involving more than 193,000 people, they found that regular coffee drinkers had a significantly lower risk of type 2 diabetes than those who abstained. In fact, the more they drank, the lower their risk.

And, despite coffee’s reputation for being bad for the heart, recent epidemiologic studies haven’t found a connection – and some even suggest coffee can be protective. A study in February’s American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that healthy people age 65 and older who drank four or more cups of caffeinated beverages daily (primarily coffee) had a 53 percent lower risk of heart disease than non-coffee-drinkers.

It’s even more amazing when you consider that the immediate effects of drinking coffee tend to go in the opposite direction, raising heart rate and blood pressure, and temporarily making cells more resistant to insulin. But those effects are short-lived as people develop a tolerance. In the long term, the beneficial components in coffee may have stronger, more lasting effects.

More Good News

At least six studies indicate that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are up to 80 percent less likely to develop Parkinson's disease, with three studies showing that the more people drink, the lower the risk. Other research shows that drinking at least two cups of coffee daily can translate to a 25 percent lower risk of colon cancer, an 80 percent drop in liver cirrhosis risk, and nearly half the risk of gallstones.

Coffee even offsets some of the damage caused by other vices. According to some studies, people who smoke and are heavy alcohol drinkers have less heart disease and liver damage when they regularly consume large amounts of coffee compared to those who don't – although they are still considerably less healthy than their non-smoking, non-drinking contemporaries.

There's also some evidence that coffee may help manage asthma and even control attacks when medication is unavailable. Other research suggests that a cup of coffee can stop a headache, boost mood and even prevent cavities.

Use Your Bean

Is it the caffeine? Or the oodles of antioxidants in coffee beans, some of which become especially potent during the roasting process? How coffee might work isn’t terribly clear; but the studies weren’t designed to identify cause-and-effect relationships. Antioxidants, such as chlorogenic acid (related to polyphenols in grapes), are likely players: coffee has more of them per serving than blueberries do, making it the top source of antioxidants in our diets.

Antioxidants help quell inflammation, which might explain coffee’s effect in inflammation-related diseases like diabetes and heart disease. The magnesium in coffee might help make cells more sensitive to insulin. And caffeine seems to have its own beneficial effects; the diabetes studies found that those who drank regular coffee had lower risks of the disease than decaf drinkers. Caffeinated-coffee drinking has also been linked with reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease, gallstones, cirrhosis and liver cancer. So what’s the bottom line? For healthy adults, having two or three cups of coffee daily generally isn’t harmful – and, according to the growing mountain of scientific data, it just might keep you healthy!

One Last Thing ...

How you brew your coffee can enhance its benefits or make it an unhealthy habit. According to scientists at the University of Toronto, drinking boiled or unfiltered coffee can significantly raise cholesterol levels – especially if you overindulge. And some researchers speculate that the boiled brew can boost two other markers of heart disease, fibrinogen and C-reactive protein.

On the flip side, drip brewing using a filter helps to eliminate the bad, leaving just the healthy antioxidants behind. So go ahead and fire up that Mr. Coffee. Just don’t overdo it. Exceeding your caffeine threshold can cause irritability, headache and insomnia. (Signs you might be consuming too much: Yelling at co-workers or watching infomercials at 2 a.m.) The temporary rise in heart rate and blood pressure could cause problems for people with heart disease. And new moms should be aware that caffeine passes into breast milk. But, for most people who enjoy coffee, there’s no reason to forgo your daily wakeup call.

This Just In ...

Here’s a startling statistic: According to the American Heart Association, 550,000 new cases of heart failure are diagnosed every year. And those with high blood pressure are at the most risk. But the news isn’t all bad. A study at the University of Arizona shows that Pyncnogenol, a natural extract derived from the French maritime pine tree, can help reduce that number by preventing heart damage caused by hypertension.

It’s not the first time that Pyncnogenol has been linked to better heart health. Earlier studies show that the extract reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, high cholesterol and hypertension. This new study, however, demonstrates that Pyncnogenol counteracts the deterioration of the heart muscle due to a lower rate of collagen collective tissue in the heart’s chamber walls – a condition known as cardiac remodeling that can cause heart failure. The researchers found that cardiac tissue treated with Pyncnogenol had significantly more collagen than untreated tissue.

You don’t have to have high blood pressure to benefit from Pyncnogenol. It has been shown to benefit everything from diabetes to erectile dysfunction. Even healthy people can use this natural combination of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds to protect against future disease by taking 25 to 50 mg. with breakfast once or twice a week.

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References:

Benedetti MD, Bower JH, Maraganore DM, et al. “Smoking, alcohol, and coffee consumption preceding Parkinson’s disease.” Neurology. 2000;55:1350-1358.

Rodrigues IM, Klein LC. “Boiled or filtered coffee? Effects of coffee and caffeine on cholesterol, fibrinogen and C-reactive protein.” Toxicology Review. 2006;25:55-69.

Salazar-Martinez E, Willett WC, Ascherio A, et al. “Coffee Consumption and Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.” Nutrition Reviews. 2004;140:1-8.

van Dam RM. “Coffee and type 2 diabetes: from beans to beta-cells.” Nutrrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease. 2006;16:69-77.

Zibadi S, YU Q, Rohdewald PJ, et al. “Impact of Pycnogenol on Cardiac Extracellular Matrix Remodeling Induced by L-NAME Administration to Old Mice.” Cardiovascular Toxicology. 2007;7:10-18.