Is Coffee Good for You?

Disclaimer: Not Medical Advice. Opinions are my own.

In partnership with ​IM8

Today's newsletter at a glance:

• More than a Morning Ritual

• Is Coffee Good For You?

• Optimal Coffee Routine

• Evidence-Based Benefits from Coffee

• Coffee Pitfalls: What to Avoid

I look forward to brewing coffee in the morning.

It's a morning ritual for me.

With my day starting around 4:30 AM, coffee is a non-negotiable for me.

Approximately 66% of adults consume coffee daily, making it one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world.

Coffee, more specifically, caffeine, is praised for its productivity and alertness effects.

However, there is controversy over the question: Is coffee healthy for you?

In today's newsletter, we will review the data, discuss the benefits of consuming coffee, and outline what to avoid if maximizing longevity is a priority for you.

Is Coffee Good For You?

Despite what many might think, when consumed in optimal amounts and brewed properly, coffee can be beneficial for your health.

Drinking 3-4 cups of coffee daily has been shown to reduce all-cause mortality, risk for cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Hopefully, this provides some relief for coffee lovers reading this.

I want to emphasize that optimizing your coffee routine is minor in comparison to exercise, proper nutrition, and sleep hygiene.

That being said, many of us drink coffee every day, and it's worth knowing how and why it can be beneficial.

Optimal Coffee Routine

When looking at the significant burden of evidence, here is my proposed optimal coffee routine:

Dosage: 3-4 cups of coffee per day

• The most convincing evidence regarding dosage comes from an ​umbrella review of meta-analyses​. Many studies suggest 1-4 cups per day is the ideal amount, but 5+ cups or 400mg+ of caffeine can lead to adverse effects and a decrease in health benefits.

Timing: Early in the day is best. Stop consumption 10 hours before bedtime.

• Morning coffee drinkers experience significantly more benefit than all-day coffee drinkers. ​This observational study looked at 41,000 adults​ and found that drinking coffee in the morning may be more strongly associated with a lower risk of mortality than drinking coffee later in the day.

Brewing Style: Paper Filtered Brew

• One of the more surprising findings is the outcomes of filtered vs. unfiltered coffee. Unfiltered coffee (Turkish boiled coffee, French press, and espresso) retains diterpenes, ​which have been shown to raise LDL and ApoB levels.​ A simple solution is to brew your coffee with a paper filter.

Type of Coffee Bean: Robusta Beans & Medium Roast

• Robusta coffee beans generally have more antioxidant potency and a higher caffeine content. In addition, maximum antioxidants peak in medium roasts.

Evidence-Based Benefits from Coffee

Coffee consumption has shown compelling evidence that it can improve our overall health.

Most of the data are large cohort and population studies. Further meta-analysis, randomized control trials, and Mendelian randomization are necesarry to better prove causation.

The primary bioactive compounds responsible for the benefits are chlorogenic acid and related polyphenols.

Chlorogenic acids exert antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, insulin-sensitizing, and lipid-modulating effects.

All-Cause Mortality

When looking at all-cause mortality, filtered coffee consumption is associated with a ​15–20% reduction​ in all-cause mortality compared to no coffee consumption.

Cardiovascular Disease

​In this population cohort study​, 172,000 women from the Norwegian Women and Cancer study observed a 20% decrease in cardiovascular disease in filtered coffee drinkers.

Type-2 Diabetes

​This meta-analysis​, which included 1,000,000+ participants, found an inverse relationship between coffee consumption (both caffeinated and decaffeinated) and type 2 diabetes.

Cancer

In the 90s, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) deemed coffee "possibly carcinogenic to humans". The claims were revoked in 2016, and the data looks promising in coffee's favor to decrease the risks of multiple cancers. ​Substituting coffee and tea was associated with a 1-5% reduction in cancer incidence,​ and ​this randomized controlled trial ​emphasized coffee's protective effect on DNA in both men and women.

Neurodegenerative Diseases

​204,847 participants in this observational study were divided into five groups.​ They found a 25% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, a 29% lower risk of Parkinson’s disease, and a 33% lower risk of neurodegenerative-related mortality compared to non-coffee consumers. However, this association was not observed with sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened coffee.

Coffee Pitfalls: What to Avoid

You may feel optimistic after reading this newsletter if you are an avid coffee drinker; however, there are some pitfalls to be aware of.

The majority of the studies we have discussed today, which highlight the benefits of coffee, focus on filtered black coffee (specifically, unsweetened, caffeinated coffee).

Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks seasonal specialty with a high concentration of sweetener and milk is not the coffee category we are praising in this newsletter.

Drinking coffee late in the day can interfere with your natural circadian rhythm. The general guideline is to keep caffeine intake below 400mg per day.

Finally, avoid extremely hot coffee. The American Cancer Society claims it may increase the risk of esophageal cancer.

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Coffee is a way of life for many of us.

The morning ritual we can depend on to get us through the day.

When sourced, timed, and brewed properly, it can become a daily habit that boosts overall healthspan and longevity, while lowering our risks for the major killers.

Share this email with another coffee enthusiast.

I'm sure they'll appreciate it.

Only the best,

Jeremy London, MD

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