The health benefits of coffee for men

Explore the many health benefits of coffee

In a world where you are apt to discover that the things you love to eat and drink are bad for you, it’s refreshing to discover that the latest research is showing a positive bent on coffee.

Over the past few decades literally, thousands of studies have been conducted into the health benefits of coffee, looking at everything from the effects on colon cancer to cavities.

Coffee preparation is an important consideration to the specific benefit derived from coffee and something to note carefully particularly if you drink much more than average and have a higher cholesterol level than normal. Also, coffee has an acidifying effect on the body which can cause problems, especially in women.

As ever, moderation is key and a thoughtful approach to one’s overall diet should be taken id one is to enjoy the full benefits coffee can yield.

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A Younger Brain?

Can Coffee keep your brain young? That’s a claim made by Ori Hofmekler, a self-proclaimed coffee enthusiast and author of the “Warrior Diet.” His research shows that coffee can trigger a process called glutamate re-uptake inhibition. This in itself is not a good thing as when caffeine intake is too high, it can cause glutamate excitotoxicity which accelerates brain cell death, where brain cell literally excite themselves to death. However, as with all things, balance is key, as caffeine also triggers a mechanism in the brain that releases ‘Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor’ (BDNF), a growth factor.

Basically, BDNF stimulates brain stem cells into action where they convert to new neurons. Not surprisingly, BDNF is the focus of some intense industry research. Some of that research suggests that the body is smarter than we believe and has the ability to slow or stop ageing. BDNF appears to turn on the mechanism to activate stem cell tissue reconstruction, a process that stops quite early in life.

Exciting stuff?

Parkinson's Disease

Findings reported in The Journal of the American Medical Association suggest possible protection against Parkinson’s disease. This conclusion stemmed from a study involving over 8000 Japanese – American men after a 30-year follow-up. Ranging in age from 45 to 68, 102 of the men developed Parkinson’s. The study showed that age-adjusted incidents of PD declined consistently with increased coffee intake. They noted that similar relationships were observed with total caffeine intake from non-coffee sources.

The appears to be some conflicting studies for women though. This appears related specifically to postmenopausal women taking hormone replacement therapy and who drink more than five cups of coffee a day. These women are one and a half times more likely to develop PD. This may be due to estrogen interfering with the way caffeine metabolizes in the body, with one cancelling out the protective effect of the other.

Dementia

What is dementia? Dementia is the gradual deterioration of mental functioning, such as concentration, memory, and judgment, which affects a person’s ability to perform normal daily activities. Dementia is a symptom that may signify the beginnings of disease, such as Alzheimer’s.

A long term study of over 1400 people conducted in Finland and Sweden gave some interesting insights in to coffee consumption and dementia in later life. 15.9% were low coffee drinkers, 45.6% were moderate coffee drinkers, and 38.5% were high coffee drinkers.

The researchers re-examined the participants of the study 21 years after the study period of between 1971 and 1987, the age of the participants was between 65 and 79.

The results showed that people drinking coffee during midlife enjoyed a lower risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s in later life than those individuals who did not drink coffee at that time in their life. Indeed, moderate coffee drinkers showed a 65% to 70% decreased risk of dementia and a slightly lower figure for Alzheimer’s.

The researchers noted other aspects of coffee lowering the associated risk of Parkinson’s, type 2 diabetes. However, their speculation focused on coffee’s antioxidant qualities.

Stroke

The risk of stroke in women from coffee was assumed to be related to coffee’s side effects such as increased blood pressure, although data was sparse. However, two studies shed new light on this issue.

One study out of Spain involving over 83,000 nurses from 1980 through 2004, showed that both caffeinated and non-caffeinated coffee consumption not only showed not increases in incidents of stroke but actually suggested a reduction amongst the study group.

A more recent study from Sweden comprising over 34,000 women began in 1997 and was reviewed in 2007. This study took a slightly different view point and concluded that low or no coffee consumption is associated with an increase risk of stroke.

Two separate studies, each with a different perspective essentially concluding the same thing – coffee consumption lowers the risk of stroke in women.

Alzheimer's Disease

The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 25(2), June 28, 2011 published a report based on research by University of South Florida. It cited a yet unidentified ingredient in coffee that appeared to boost protection against Alzheimer’s disease. The study, conducted on specially bred mice (don’t we all feel like that?), showed a link between caffeinated coffee and an increase in blood levels of a certain type of growth factor. The growth factor, GCSF is found to be greatly reduced in Alzheimer’s patients. It appears that caffeine interacting with this unidentified component is responsible for the increase in the growth factor.

Recently completed trials at USF focused on using GCSF to prevent full blown Alzheimer’s. The results are expected soon.

The researchers believe that moderate coffee drinking between the ages of 30 and 50 is optimal protection against Alzheimer’s in later life, although even starting in later life appears to afford some protection as well.

The full report on GCSF can be found here. USF study: Mystery ingredient in coffee boosts protection against Alzheimer’s disease.

Antioxidants

Back in 2005 a study by The American Chemical Society made a headline statement that “Coffee is number one source of antioxidants”. This was somewhat misleading as it didn’t account for the average American diet being typically devoid of antioxidants. Given the quantity of coffee drunk by the average American, it’s not surprising that coffee comes out on top.

However, although one should look to get much of their antioxidant intake from fruit and vegetables, coffee does contain beneficial antioxidants. The two of special interest are:

Methylpyridinium, which may help prevent colon cancer and is not found significantly in any other food source. The darker the bean the more Methylpyridinium produced. It also appears to prevent the stomach from producing excess acid, reducing the problems reported by some coffee drinkers.

Glutathione which is your body’s super antioxidant. It aids the activity of other antioxidants as well as providing direct protection against free radicals caused by food metabolization and other environmental factors. It is naturally produced by the body and not absorbed particularly well by the body when taken in supplement form.

The best Glutathione ‘kick’ comes from coffee with ‘cafestrol’ – the oily substance linked to coffee increasing your cholesterol. Dark roasts have more than the light. A cup of unfiltered coffee with 4mg of cafestol can cause your cholesterol level to rise by 1%. So, ensure your normal diet regulates your natural cholesterol levels, so the cafestol impact is mitigated.

Liver Cancer

Several studies have investigated the association of coffee consumption with liver cancer. With the liver being responsible for removing the toxins in our diet, problems with specific food stuffs are likely to show up there.

One study looked at over 60,000 Fins. The residents of Finland drink more coffee per capita than the Japanese, Americans, Italians, and other Europeans. The participants, all initially cancer free and between the ages of 25 to 74 were surveyed between 1972 and 2002, followed up in 2006.

The study showed a significant reduction in the risk of developing primary liver cancer with increasing coffee consumption. It was noted that those drinking 8 or ore cups a day enjoyed the most benefit. The researchers do point out though that they have absolutely no idea what element in coffee provides the benefit.

Several Japanese studies and a study in Italy over similarly long periods of time support these findings. Most finding suggest a reduction of between 30% and 60% in occurrences of liver cancer for those who drink between 1 and 5 cups per day. Again, the researchers have no identified the specific component of coffee responsible.

Breast Cancer

A study from Sweden made headlines in May 2011. Published in ‘Breast Cancer Research’ it suggested that women who drank 5 or more cups of coffee per day were 57% less likely to develop a particular type of breast cancer called ER-negative breast cancer than those who drank less than a cup a day. More modest drinking habits show a typical reduction of 20%.

Again, the researchers have not yet pin pointed the underlying components of coffee responsible.

It is known that Coffee contains many phytoestrogens, plant-based compounds that act like oestrogen’s in the human body. These compounds can have both a positive and negative impact on the risk of breast cancer, depending on the type of breast cancer.

Heart Rhythm Problems

Caffeine has had a negative association with incidences of arrhythmia, heart rhythm problems. Often people suffering from arrhythmia are told to cut back on the coffee. However, a new study by Arthur L. Klatsky, MD from Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in California suggests that moderate coffee drinking may actually reduce the risk.

His study acknowledged that high levels of caffeine intake have been know for a long time to be associated with heart rhythm disturbances, but that less was known about more moderate levels of caffeine intake.

Over 130,000 Kaiser Permanente patient’s coffee drinking habits were reviewed between 1978 and 1985. A follow up was conducted in 2008. The studied showed that those people who drank four or more cups of coffee a day benefited the most from a reduction in the risk of heart rhythm related problems, while those who drank one to three cups a day had a 7% reduction in risk.

Type 2 Diabetes

A study reported by the American Diabetes Society concluded that moderate consumption of coffee (2 to 4 cusps a day) of either caffeinated or decaffeinated, in younger and middle-aged women, may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes.

The study also reported that high consumption of coffee amongst diverse populations in Europe, the US and Japan, had been associated with better glucose tolerance and a substantially lower risk of type 2 diabetes. The exact component in coffee responsible for this remains unknown though.

In most of the studies, the predominate type of coffee consumed was drip-filtered.

Colon Cancer

Colorectal cancer is the third most common malignant cancer worldwide. Several of the coffee related studies over the last 10 years have related reduced incidences of various cancers to drinking coffee. One particular cancer type that appears often in the research is colon cancer. The studies in Japan and Europe have shown a relationship between higher levels of coffee consumption and reduced occurrences of colon cancer.

A more recent report released in early 2010 involved the study of 60,000 Chinese men and women in Singapore, middle-aged or older. What was particularly interesting was that this study looked at the possible mitigating effects of coffee on cancer in smokers.

The study concluded that drinking two or more cups of strong coffee per day may protect habitual cigarette smokers from developing advanced colon cancer.

The researchers also looked at the method of coffee preparation, as this can affect the resultant chemoprotective components in the drink. The two compounds of interest are cafestol and kahweol, both of which are found to be negligible in instant, filtered, and percolated coffee. However, coffee prepared Singaporean style, through a cloth filter, has large amounts, as does Turkish and Scandinavian boiled preparations.

Just remember that cafestol can raise your total levels of cholesterol, although this is manageable through a cholesterol sensitive diet.

Oestrogen

Although there have been many studies that consider the impact of oestrogen like compounds derived from plants such as those found in coffee, the quantities involved have always been very small. However, given the level of consumption, these food sources quickly become the most significant eternal source of these compounds.

Elevate levels of oestrogen have been documented as contributing to higher incidents of cancer in women. Women that are sensitive to oestrogen elevation, particularly those that suffer from oestrogen dominance because they can’t produce enough progesterone, ought to monitor their coffee intake closely and watch for adverse hormone-related effects.

Another contributing factor is that coffee increases the body’s acidity. Increases in acidity are related to increasing oestrogen levels in women. When the body becomes over acidic, other adverse health effects surface, such as osteoporosis.

Weighing up the pros and cons of drinking coffee is very definitely a personal thing and one should always consider moderation and the other protective benefits associated with coffee. However, if over-acidity is a particular problem, there are many dietary ways with which this can be overcome. So, women coffee lovers with an oestrogen problem may need to work a little harder on the structure of their diet if they are to enjoy coffee into later life.