Chris Kresser: All About Coffee

The bulk of the research suggests that coffee consumption is beneficial, but as always, whether it works for you depends on a whole bunch of different individual factors. Find out what considerations you should keep in mind.

I can say I drink coffee for three reasons: One, because it’s delicious and I love the smell and the ritual of it. The whole preparation that I go through is a ritual, and I really believe in the importance of those kinds of rituals, and I think we lack them in our culture. Number two, coffee is associated with numerous health benefits in the scientific literature, and that may come as a surprise to some people listening. And number three, when I drink it, it doesn’t interfere with my sleep or HPA axis function.

In this episode, we cover:

2:00  What Chris ate today
6:52  The research on coffee
16:50  Coffee intake considerations

Links we discuss

• Prostate cancer: lower risk of prostate cancer, inverse association with advanced prostate cancer.
• Breast cancer: caffeinated coffee intake may be associated with lower risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.
• Liver cancer: habitual coffee drinking is associated with a significantly lower risk of liver cancer in Japanese population.
• Other cancers (gastric, colorectal): varied results; but often complicated by higher rates of smoking in coffee drinkers.
• Cirrhosis of the liver: 1-2 cups of coffee per day protects against cirrhosis.
• Parkinson’s: higher coffee/caffeine intake is associated with a significantly lower incidence of Parkinson’s.
• Weight management: coffee consumption reduces weight gain and improves blood sugar control.
• Type 2 diabetes: increasing coffee consumption by 1.5 cups a day reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes.
• Metabolic syndrome: coffee consumption is negatively associated with metabolic syndrome.
• Periodontitis: coffee consumption is inversely associated with severe periodontitis.
• Inflammation: coffee consumption has beneficial effects on inflammation and HDL cholesterol.
• Oxidative damage: coffee consumption is associated with lower oxidative damage of DNA, in part by decreasing body iron storage.
• CVD and all-cause mortality: drinking coffee is a significant benefit, especially in women. Women who drank more than 3 cups per day had a 55% lower risk of death from CVD and 25% lower risk of death from all causes. Other studies found similar, though less dramatic results, ranging from 12-20%: http://1.usa.gov/1B1oNqS and http://1.usa.gov/1zJFT7D.
• Depression: depression decreases with increasing caffeine consumption.

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