Several recent studies on long term coffee consumption confirm what many of us would like to hear and what other studies have indicated… coffee is good for one’s health. This applies to cardiovascular health and physical robustness (in elderly Singaporeans) as well as evidence for combating diabetes. (See studies at bottom of page)
Most recently, a Singapore study showed that drinking coffee, black or green tea at midlife were independently associated with a significantly reduced likelihood of physical frailty in late life.
How much for health benefits? 2 to 3 cups per day, of your favourite grind or instant mix will provide maximum benefit for your heart and blood vessels. Some studies have shown that more than 4 cups per day may harm the cardiovascular system and also negatively affect cognitive health.
At The Whole Health Practice we love beans and we love fermented products. Coffee (being both) has a host of over 100 biologically active chemicals including caffeine and chlorogenic acid - a powerful antioxidant polyphenol. A few things to note for the health conscious:
Coffee is a stimulant, good if you need to be alert – not so good if you need to sleep. The half-life of caffeine is 3 to 5 hours, so beware the afternoon or evening coffee if you want to ensure a good night's sleep.
Habitual coffee consumption does not affect blood pressure, for better or worse.
Be sure to enjoy coffee that is filtered, as coffee particles appear to raise cholesterol.
The addition of milk to coffee has also be shown to partially reduce its antioxidant, health promoting, effects.
For the weight or calorie conscious, be aware of added sugars that can turn the drink into a dessert. A straight espresso can come in at 05 calories but a large size Frappuccino type coffee 500 calories or more. (that's equivalent to an 8km run)
So, for maximum health effect - if we can be conscious of when and how we enjoy our coffee - we can gain the most from its health promoting benefits. Otherwise, just breath in and smell or better... drink the kopi as we like to say in Singapore!
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Stay Healthy,
Alastair
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Related Studies
Lopes CR, Cunha RA. Impact of coffee intake on human aging: Epidemiology and cellular mechanisms. Ageing Res Rev. 2024 Dec;102:102581. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2024.102581. Epub 2024 Nov 16. PMID: 39557300.
Trevano FQ, Vela-Bernal S, Facchetti R, Cuspidi C, Mancia G, Grassi G. Habitual coffee consumption and office, home, and ambulatory blood pressure: results of a 10-year prospective study. J Hypertens. 2024 Jun 1;42(6):1094-1100. doi: 10.1097/HJH.0000000000003709. Epub 2024 Apr 22. PMID: 38646971; PMCID: PMC11064901.
Antonio J, Newmire DE, Stout JR, Antonio B, Gibbons M, Lowery LM, Harper J, Willoughby D, Evans C, Anderson D, Goldstein E, Rojas J, Monsalves-Álvarez M, Forbes SC, Gomez Lopez J, Ziegenfuss T, Moulding BD, Candow D, Sagner M, Arent SM. Common questions and misconceptions about caffeine supplementation: what does the scientific evidence really show? J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2024 Dec;21(1):2323919. doi: 10.1080/15502783.2024.2323919. Epub 2024 Mar 11. PMID: 38466174; PMCID: PMC10930107.
Nila IS, Villagra Moran VM, Khan ZA, Hong Y. Effect of Daily Coffee Consumption on the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Lifestyle Med. 2023 Aug 31;13(2):83-89. doi: 10.15280/jlm.2023.13.2.83. PMID: 37970326; PMCID: PMC10630722.
Wu E, Bao YY, Wei GF, Wang W, Xu HQ, Chen JY, Xu YN, Han D, Tao L, Ni JT. Association of tea and coffee consumption with the risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality among individuals with metabolic syndrome: a prospective cohort study. Diabetol Metab Syndr. 2023 Nov 23;15(1):241. doi: 10.1186/s13098-023-01222-7. PMID: 37993869; PMCID: PMC10666405.
Chua KY, Li H, Lim WS, Koh WP. Consumption of Coffee, Tea, and Caffeine at Midlife, and the Risk of Physical Frailty in Late Life. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2023 Nov;24(11):1655-1662.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2023.06.015. Epub 2023 Jul 21. PMID: 37488031.
Haghighatdoost F, Hajihashemi P, de Sousa Romeiro AM, Mohammadifard N, Sarrafzadegan N, de Oliveira C, Silveira EA. Coffee Consumption and Risk of Hypertension in Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2023 Jul 7;15(13):3060. doi: 10.3390/nu15133060. PMID: 37447390; PMCID: PMC10347253.
Han M, Oh Y, Myung SK. Coffee Intake and Risk of Hypertension: A Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies. J Korean Med Sci. 2022 Nov 21;37(45):e332. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2022.37.e332. PMID: 36413800; PMCID: PMC9678658.
David Chieng, Rodrigo Canovas, Louise Segan, Hariharan Sugumar, Aleksandr Voskoboinik, Sandeep Prabhu, Liang Han Ling, Geoffrey Lee, Joseph B Morton, David M Kaye, Jonathan M Kalman, Peter M Kistler, The impact of coffee subtypes on incident cardiovascular disease, arrhythmias, and mortality: long-term outcomes from the UK Biobank, European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 2022; zwac189, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwac189
Shin S, Lee JE, Loftfield E, Shu XO, Abe SK, Rahman MS, Saito E, Islam MR, Tsugane S, Sawada N, Tsuji I, Kanemura S, Sugawara Y, Tomata Y, Sadakane A, Ozasa K, Oze I, Ito H, Shin MH, Ahn YO, Park SK, Shin A, Xiang YB, Cai H, Koh WP, Yuan JM, Yoo KY, Chia KS, Boffetta P, Ahsan H, Zheng W, Inoue M, Kang D, Potter JD, Matsuo K, Qiao YL, Rothman N, Sinha R. Coffee and tea consumption and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease and cancer: a pooled analysis of prospective studies from the Asia Cohort Consortium. Int J Epidemiol. 2022 May 9;51(2):626-640. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyab161. PMID: 34468722; PMCID: PMC9308394.
Kolb H, Martin S, Kempf K. Coffee and Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Arguments for a Causal Relationship. Nutrients. 2021 Mar 31;13(4):1144. doi: 10.3390/nu13041144. PMID: 33807132; PMCID: PMC8066601.
Hayat U, Siddiqui AA, Okut H, Afroz S, Tasleem S, Haris A. The effect of coffee consumption on the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and liver fibrosis: A meta-analysis of 11 epidemiological studies. Ann Hepatol. 2021 Jan-Feb;20:100254. doi: 10.1016/j.aohep.2020.08.071. Epub 2020 Sep 10. PMID: 32920163.
Lee A, Lim W, Kim S, Khil H, Cheon E, An S, Hong S, Lee DH, Kang SS, Oh H, Keum N, Hsieh CC. Coffee Intake and Obesity: A Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2019 Jun 5;11(6):1274. doi: 10.3390/nu11061274. PMID: 31195610; PMCID: PMC6628169.
Carlström M, Larsson SC. Coffee consumption and reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Nutr Rev. 2018 Jun 1;76(6):395-417. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuy014. PMID: 29590460.
Poole R, Kennedy OJ, Roderick P, Fallowfield JA, Hayes PC, Parkes J. Coffee consumption and health: umbrella review of meta-analyses of multiple health outcomes. BMJ. 2017 Nov 22;359:j5024. doi: 10.1136/bmj.j5024. Erratum in: BMJ. 2018 Jan 12;360:k194. doi: 10.1136/bmj.k194. PMID: 29167102; PMCID: PMC5696634.
Tajik N, Tajik M, Mack I, Enck P. The potential effects of chlorogenic acid, the main phenolic components in coffee, on health: a comprehensive review of the literature. Eur J Nutr. 2017 Oct;56(7):2215-2244. doi: 10.1007/s00394-017-1379-1. Epub 2017 Apr 8. PMID: 28391515.
Niseteo T, Komes D, Belščak-Cvitanović A, Horžić D, Budeč M. Bioactive composition and antioxidant potential of different commonly consumed coffee brews affected by their preparation technique and milk addition. Food Chem. 2012 Oct 15;134(4):1870-7. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.03.095. Epub 2012 Mar 30. PMID: 23442632.
van Dusseldorp M, Katan MB, van Vliet T, Demacker PN, Stalenhoef AF. Cholesterol-raising factor from boiled coffee does not pass a paper filter. Arterioscler Thromb. 1991 May-Jun;11(3):586-93. doi: 10.1161/01.atv.11.3.586. PMID: 2029499.