I know, I know. How dare we even pose the question if the world’s best beverage is good for our health? After all, many of us would rather live in blissful ignorance than put down our cups and opt for an alternative. However, here at Stronger By Science, we must obey the SBS Code of Ethics™ which explicitly states that “we should always try to get closer to the objective truth no matter what our own personal biases may be.”
Did I just make that up? Sure did.
Is it still more-or-less an unofficial ethics code that we go by? It sure is.
That said, if many of us want to keep drinking coffee for the rest of our lives, it’s probably wise to make sure that it is not making our lives shorter.
And what better place to look for answers than the 2017 umbrella review of meta-analyses by Poole et al which looked at “coffee consumption and health”?
It is important to note that, contrary to a systematic review and meta-analysis, an umbrella review of meta-analyses looks to review the current totality of meta-analytic evidence on a particular topic. Imagine you're trying to understand everything that's been studied about the health effects of coffee. Instead of diving into every single systematic review and meta-analysis out there, an umbrella review gathers all the systematic reviews and meta-analyses, giving us a much more comprehensive overview of the current state of the literature on coffee and health while highlighting any areas where the evidence might be lacking or inconsistent.
But enough about umbrellas and analyses. Let’s get to the point!
After searching a plethora of databases and sorting out studies based on their inclusion criteria, Poole et al ended up including nearly 220 meta-analyses that covered over 70 unique health outcomes in their final analysis.
The results?
Coffee consumption was mostly associated with positive health outcomes rather than harmful ones! The most substantial decreases in relative risk were seen at daily consumption rates of three to four cups for results including all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Interestingly, when comparing high and low coffee intake, high intakes showed an 18% reduction in the risk of developing cancer.
More specifically, coffee consumption was linked to a lower risk of various health conditions across several categories, including specific types of cancer (eg: prostate, skin, and liver cancer), cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic and liver conditions (type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, liver cancer), with the benefits being most notable for liver conditions. Additionally, coffee intake was associated with reduced risks of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and depression, with optimal benefits observed at moderate consumption levels.
The awesome thing was that decaffeinated coffee consumption was also linked with most of the health benefits associated with regular coffee, a definite win for those who are not big fans of caffeine but still like their coffee.
As far as potential risks go, Poole et al identified some potential risks for coffee consumption during pregnancy but they mostly disappeared after adjusting for smoking.
Now, these findings are great and all, but what explains the potential health benefits of coffee? Could it just be that people who drink coffee are simply healthier overall and coffee has nothing to do with it?
The results of this umbrella review can likely be explained by the fact that coffee is rich in bioactive compounds (eg: chlorogenic acid) and diterpenes (eg: cafestol and kahweol), which are known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties (1, 2, 3). In fact, coffee is consistently found to be a primary source of antioxidants in the human diet virtually everywhere that coffee is consumed, often accounting for over half of the total antioxidant content in diets around the world (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). Additionally, the caffeine in coffee can improve cognitive function and mood and have an overall positive effect on the brain (11). Take the last sentence with a grain of salt, as the caffeine content of coffee does not seem to be the main contributor to the health benefits it has to offer.
So yes, coffee is not just fine to consume; it’s actually somewhat good for us!
Overall, consuming 3-4 cups of decaf or regular coffee per day seems to be a solid approach to not only enjoying plenty of coffee but also getting most of the health benefits that coffee may have to offer.
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That's it for today's newsletter. Remember to subscribe to the SBS YouTube for a new video this Friday. Then, we'll be back with a new podcast episode next week, and another edition of this newsletter in two weeks.
Have a great rest of your week.
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The SBS Team
Greg, Pak, Milo, and Lyndsey
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