Coffee Health Benefits
Coffee has many health benefits, and helps prevent some chronic and neurodegenerative diseases.
Coffee is one of the most popularly consumed beverages in the world and a high proportion of adults drink coffee daily. It is estimated that around 2.25 billion cups of coffee are drunk worldwide per day.
Coffee Active Compounds
Coffee contains hundreds of bioactive compounds, including caffeine, chlorogenic acid, polyphenols, and small amounts of minerals and vitamins, some of which have positive effects on health. In particular, coffee contains riboflavin (vitamin B-2), niacin (vitamin B-3), magnesium, potassium, and various phenolic compounds, or antioxidants. Antioxidants help reduce free radicals, a type of waste product, produced by the body as a result of certain processes. Free radicals are toxic and cause inflammation. Scientists have found links between inflammation and chronic diseases as well as various aspects of metabolic syndrome.
Coffee Health Benefits
Epidemiological studies suggest that coffee has beneficial effects on various medical conditions, including:
- Parkinson's disease
- Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia
- Stroke
- Heart failure
- Cancers
- Diabetes
- Suicide
- Liver disease
- Overall mortality
Coffee Risks
The quality of coffee is very important. Commercial low grade coffee contains mycotoxins including acrymalide.
Drinking too much coffee can have adverse effects, including:
- Bone fractures
- Pregnancy loss
- Low birth weight
- Preterm birth
- Gasteoesophageal reflux disease
- Anxiety
- Mental health
How Much Coffee?
A meta-analysis from 2017 concluded that it is generally safe for most people to consume three to four cups of coffee per day, and that doing so may actually reduce the risk of certain health conditions.
As we begin to unravel the polypharmacology of the micronutrients in coffee, it seems likely that it will be possible to optimize their composition to enhance efficacy so as to provide widely available, inexpensive, and effective therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases.
