Coffee - yes or no?

Is it good for you or not? We get asked all of the time. Like a lot of things, it comes down to quality, quantity, timing and your unique genetic makeup.

As a species consume around 2.25 billion cups of coffee a year, with US, Finland, Germany and Japan consuming the most per capita in 2023 with residents drinking 3-9 cups per day on average. There have been many studies on coffee consumption and it’s health impact in the last century, however, we can’t seem to agree on an outcome. This is partly because a cup of coffee often differs between studies, with the type of bean, roasting process, brewing process and method of preparation all giving us a slightly different beverage with different effects.

A 2021 meta-analyses review in the NCBI states that “roasted coffee is a complex mixture of over 1000 bioactive compounds” with the key ones being “caffeine, chlorogenic acids, and the diterpenes, cafestol and kahweol.” (we will come back to these shortly). The second reason for lack of conclusive studies is also addressed in the same paper, “An individual’s genotype and gut microbiome will then determine the bioavailability and type of coffee metabolites to which that individual is exposed. ” In other words, we all react differently to coffee so, what works for one person, may not work for the next.

The positives of coffee consumption

We often think of caffeine and coffee synonymously but caffeine is just one of many compounds present in a cup of coffee. There have been many studies on caffeine, in fact a google scholar search for studies on caffeine shows 3.5 million results. Many of these studies show positive effects of caffeine on physical and mental performance due to caffeine’s ability to block adenosine receptors and therefore maintain alertness.

There is also a strong correlation between lower risk of Parkinson’s disease and caffeine intake. Caffeine appears to have a positive impact on memory, “chronic treatment with caffeine has been shown to be effective in preventing β-amyloid (Aβ) production and memory deficits in experimental models of Alzheimer’s disease. While caffeine seems to prevent or restore memory impairment due to disturbances in brain homeostasis”

Along with caffeine, chlorogenic acids are found in various quantities in coffee. These are phenolic acids that are attributed with better glucose regulation, mitigating oxidative stress (inflammation), reducing blood pressure and reduced risk of metabolic syndrome. Diterpenes are another form of plant compound found in coffee that have been shown to be cardiovascular protective; reducing inflammation, increasing Glutathione (antioxidant), reducing blood pressure and exhibiting antimicrobial properties. Two particular diterpenes; Cafestol and Kahweol that we mentioned earlier, have been shown to “demonstrate multiple potential pharmacological actions such as anti-inflammation, hepatoprotective, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, and anti-osteoclastogenesis activities.” The compound of coffee has been shown to reduce the risk of liver cirrhosis, fibrosis and slow the progression of liver disease too.

So overall, according to this data, coffee is a great, neuro-protective beverage that we all should be drinking if we want to be healthy.

Or is it?....

The negatives of coffee consumption

Caffeine gives us a boost and improves our cognitive performance by increasing cortisol. In the short term this can be beneficial for us but what if we do this every day? What if we already have high cortisol levels because we are under chronic stress – emotional, physical, mental, nutritional, biochemical or existential stress – then could coffee be the straw that breaks the camel’s back? Indeed it can. In fact one study I read showed that caffeine before a workout elevated cortisol levels when the workout alone did not.

If we have a short term increase in stress hormones and then bounce back to recover fully, this can be beneficial to our health, however, if we do not recover fully and we just continue to run on stress hormones, then coffee can cause even more damage.

As we already discussed, caffeine can be great at helping us stay focused and alert by binding to adenosine receptors in the brain. This means that sleep pressure that usually builds up during the day is not experienced. However if we overdo the caffeine, we can find that adenosine builds up in the brain (it is still there, we just don’t feel it) and if we do not sleep enough to clear this adenosine, we may wake up groggy and fatigued. This can lead us into a caffeine dependency cycle in which we wake up tired so reach for coffee to spike those stress hormones and get us going, as the first cup wears off, we may reach for another, perhaps even a third, keeping that sleep pressure at bay. This then can impact the quality of sleep we have that night. If we do not sleep well, we do not clear that adenosine well and that leads to further fatigue the next day and therefore more desire for caffeine.

In addition this, continuous reliance on stress hormones can deplete other systems of the body; when we are in the sympathetic side of our autonomic nervous system, our digestion is impaired, often resulting in the case of coffee leading to diarrhea, gas, bloating, reflux and nausea. Our reproductive hormones share the same building blocks as our stress hormones and therefore if we do not have enough of these building blocks available (coffee often reduces appetite, meaning we eat less and often less nutritious meals, meaning we have less nutrients to make these building blocks with too) we can disrupt our reproductive hormones.

Coffee is also a rich prebiotic, this means that it feeds bacteria in our gut. For those with a healthy, optimal digestive system this is a benefit. For those who struggle to tolerate FODMAPS, those with IBS or SIBO, this may make us feel worse.

Some studies show that coffee improved symptoms of depression and anxiety but clinically, I have found that many people presenting with anxiety do well reducing or eliminating caffeine containing food and beverages due to the previously mentioned increase in stress hormones. 

Common knowledge tells us that if we are already running high on energy and having difficulty calming our system, caffeine may not be suitable for us in that moment. Anytime coffee is causing us to become hyper, anxious, jittery, shaky, having difficulty concentrating and focusing, we know we have consumed too much. 

On a recent episode of the Huberman Lab podcast, Andrew Huberman discusses how caffeine can be a ‘subconscious reinforcer’, meaning that we receive a greater feeling of reward from actions associated with caffeine without quite knowing why. The brain loves these reward feelings and therefore will try to repeat patterns that give them again. This can exaggerate the memory of the taste of our coffee, make us always want a particular mug, make us desire that particular coffee shop, long for the person we drank the coffee

with, etc. This is great if we have a healthy relationship with caffeine and our behaviors around it but if we do not, we may find our dopamine and acetylcholine pathways being hijacked. 

Coffee is the world’s most pesticide sprayed crops and also a bean that is liable to mold accumulation at several points in its processing so the quality of coffee that we drink is important too.

Overall coffee consumption has a direct, inverse relationship with all cause mortality according to the literature, however, it clearly needs to be noted that the amount, timing, type and processing of the coffee and the way that coffee interacts with our unique body is something we get to tune into and work out for ourselves. 

We can ask ourselves;

How do I feel after drinking coffee?

Have I built up a tolerance so now I need more to get the same experience as I previously had?

How well do I sleep?

How do I feel when I stop drinking coffee?

What is my mood like before, directly after and 3 hours after me consuming coffee?

Do my bowel movements change when I drink coffee?

Does my morning HRV or body temperature change the day after coffee consumption?

Does my blood sugar stabilise or does it spike and drop with coffee?

Finally, it is worth considering the things we add to our coffee; chemically there is a huge difference between an organic espresso or Mycotoxin-free americano and a Starbucks double oat milk frappe with butterscotch. 

Whichever way, ultimately, our bodies are the ones that get to tell us what they do and do not like, our responsibility is to listen.

Written by Samantha George, Functional Health Coach on our Rēset Programs.

At Rē Precision Health we teach tools to regulate the nervous system through education and immersive experiences online and in our bubbles of paradise in Mexico and Portugal. Our programs have positively impacted (and even saved) hundreds of lives. 

Guest stories here: https://www.reprecisionhealth.com/reviews

All information provided in our resources in for informational purposes only. It is not intended to replace a medical/mental health professional.