For a long time, health professionals considered coffee to be somewhat dangerous. Along with tea, it contains relatively unhealthy caffeine, thought to have all sorts of unsavoury effects on the body.
But further research over the years has turned that perception around. Now, many people consider coffee to be one of the healthiest substances in the diet.
It all comes down to the polyphenol content of the coffee beans. Researchers are discovering that they’re little nutritional powerhouses, able to deliver multiple health-enhancing effects to those consuming them regularly (similar to fruits and vegetables).
In the past, people were worried about the link between coffee and addiction or cancer. However, those issues are now largely in the rearview mirror and there’s been a profound shift in focus. Coffee is a healthy drink with numerous mechanisms of action. No wonder bean to cup coffee machines are everywhere these days!
Shifting Perspectives On Coffee
Much maligned in the past, shifting perspectives on the brown brew are entering the mainstream. Now more people than ever before believe in the value of coffee for health.
Of course, it took a long time for this evidence to emerge. That’s because the studies themselves require years to conduct and hundreds of millions of dollars in funding.
The best evidence of coffee’s benefits comes from longitudinal studies. These follow cohorts of individuals over time and look at outcome differences between those consuming coffee routinely, and those avoiding the drink.
Interestingly, research seems to indicate that coffee has multiple positive health impacts on individuals, and these are extensive.
Further controlled studies also seem to show a positive health effect of coffee. When researchers control for confounding factors (like cigarette smoking and exercise habits), the brown bean still seems to confer benefits to drinkers beyond conventional healthy lifestyle measures.
For example, people who drink coffee seem to have better antioxidant status. Their bodies can better control the production of damaging free radicals. Consumers of the beverage also seem to have reduced risk of chronic disease and better heart health, two of the biggest causes of disease and disability in the country.
So, with all these health benefits in sight, how does coffee actually work? What’s it doing in the body to produce these positive health effects?
Various theories surround the use of coffee. One is that the caffeine it contains can enhance cognitive function and alertness, which may protect against neurodegenerative diseases, like dementia.
Another theory is that coffee works just like fruits and vegetables by blocking the harmful activity of free radicals in cells. It acts like a shield, protecting cells and tissues from oxidation and other issues when consumed regularly for years on end.
The presence of specific molecules, like diterpenes, could also be beneficial. These compounds may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties that keep disease states at bay.
Today, most health professionals believe that coffee is harmless or beneficial. As more research gets done and the evidence mounts, drinking coffee may become an official government recommendation.
