- A recent review gives an overview of coffee’s health benefits, considering the most recent data.
- For most, moderate coffee intake offers health benefits, including decreased mortality and decreased risk for some diseases like cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.
- There are still factors to consider, such as caffeine intake during pregnancy, decaffeinated drinks, and more research is needed.
What health benefits does coffee offer? Does adding cream and sugar make a difference in the benefits? Is there anyone who should avoid coffee?
A review published in Nutrients discusses much of these questions and the currently available information on coffee, including how it decreases mortality risk and risk for several diseases.
It also discusses coffee’s impact on well-being, the possible mechanisms responsible for its effects, coffee additives, areas of concern, and future research.
Coffee linked to lower diabetes, death risk
This review explains that for the most part, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers coffee healthy when it has fewer than five calories.
The review notes that many cohort studies show that drinking coffee is linked to decreased mortality rates. One particular study found that drinking at least 2 cups of coffee a day was linked with a 10–15% lower risk of overall mortality.
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Decaf and caffeinated coffee may both decrease mortality risk. The mortality reduction may also be true for all coffee types.
Next, the review discussed cause-specific morbidity and mortality. Drinking three to five cups of coffee daily may decrease the risk for cardiovascular disease by around 15%. Evidence also supports that coffee likely doesn’t increase risk for cancer and may help decrease the risk for some cancer types, like endometrial cancer.
Coffee might also decrease the risk of injuries and accidents. The authors note that coffee increases alertness and contributes to higher mobility.
It may decrease risk for chronic respiratory problems and respiratory disease mortality. Coffee may decrease risk for type 2 diabetes, and this likely applies to decaf and regular coffee.
For people with diabetes,
Coffee may benefit the liver, but the impact is likely not as substantial as experts previously thought. It may also decrease the risk of kidney problems such as chronic kidney disease.
Drinking coffee may decrease the risk of cognitive disorders by 25%, and this is a non-linear relationship. Regular coffee and caffeine consumption may also decrease the risk for Parkinson’s disease and its progression.
3 to 5 cups of coffee a day
Finally, the authors cite a large umbrella review which concluded that coffee is overall linked to benefits over harm, with likely the most benefit from drinking three to four cups a day.
Researchers further discussed some well-being outcomes. Coffee may help with hydration, although in some instances it may increase urine output. Coffee with caffeine may enhance exercise performance, mental acuity, and senses like vision. It may also help with the return of bowel function in some instances after bowel surgery.
Some data also suggests that coffee may decrease the risk for depressive symptoms and perceived stress.
Review author Farin Kamangar, MD, PhD, CRA, highlighted the main components of the review to Medical News Today:
“The results of several decades of high-quality research on millions of people, show that coffee is overall beneficial to health. Moderate coffee consumption, typically three to five cups a day, is linked to increased longevity and reduced risks of many major diseases, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, respiratory illnesses, and cognitive decline.”
Coffee’s health benefits and caveats
The authors suggest that coffee helps balance glucose, such as how caffeinated coffee may help improve glucose tolerance. Caffeinated coffee may help increase people’s activity levels, contributing to benefits like lower body mass index.
People who consume caffeine, including in coffee, before exercise may experience an uptick in fat oxidation. It may contribute to better lung function for some people; smoking may mask benefits.
The review notes that the lung benefit could be related to the caffeine metabolites paraxanthine and theophylline. Finally, it may help reduce inflammation and immune response.
Do additives in coffee cause any harm?
Next is the question of coffee additives. Some research suggests that adding sugar might cancel out coffee’s benefits.
Another suggests that sugar may counteract the possible benefits of regular and decaf coffee on weight gain. However, this study found that adding cream or coffee whitener was not linked to greater weight gain.
Decreased mortality risk might stay for small amounts of sugar and fat, but adding more may cancel it out. Some evidence supports that the health benefits may stay, even if coffee is sweetened.
Finally, there are the possible drawbacks of coffee. Consuming coffee may contribute to getting less sleep, but the timing of drinking it may help avoid this. While coffee might lead to short-term blood pressure spikes, research supports that there isn’t a long-term risk and that it might help lower blood pressure.
Similarly, the data support that moderate caffeine and coffee intake likely doesn’t increase risk for abnormal heart rhythms.
There are possible confounding factors in some research on drinking coffee during pregnancy. Some trials have not found a link between coffee and caffeine and “poor pregnancy outcomes.”
The review authors suggest that in pregnancy, there may be a need to limit caffeine, but drinking less than 200 milligrams a day likely doesn’t have a big impact.
Finally, researchers suggest that excessive use of coffee may cause anxiety and panic attacks, especially in people who struggle with panic disorder. They note that consuming a lot of coffee or caffeine can lead to symptoms like high heart rate and palpitations, similar to what occurs in anxiety attacks. They suggest that caffeine and coffee intake should be individualized.
What the study may have missed
This review could have missed relevant information. The cited research had limitations, and this review is the work of only two authors. The authors highlight cohort studies that have come out of the U.S., Europe, and Asia. More diversity may be needed in future research. The data on coffee and mortality also only focused on these regions.
Future studies should focus on asking detailed questions about various coffee habits over the past few decades, which include preferences for caffeinated versus decaffeinated coffee, the use of added cream and sugar, among many others.
David Cutler, MD, a board certified family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, who was not involved in the meta-analysis, also noted the following cautions about general research in this area:
“There are many types of beans which are roasted and prepared to brew coffee. In addition to caffeine there are many chemicals in coffee which can affect the body. And sometimes the caffeine is removed. The coffee is often mixed with milk, sugar, or other additives which can exert their own positive and negative effects.”
“There is great individual variation in [people’s] response to coffee. And people often consume coffee while smoking or drinking alcohol which might augment or alter the perceived effects of the coffee. Researchers who rely on the coffee industry for financial support may be conflicted in which results they report. So, a degree of skepticism is needed when interpreting any claims about the benefits or risks of coffee,” Cutler added.
Kamangar noted the following components of future research:
“Despite strong evidence from large cohort studies, most findings remain observational. The next frontier lies in rigorous randomized controlled trials and genetic (Mendelian randomization) studies to better establish cause-and-effect. Future work should also take a closer look at the impact of different brewing methods, coffee types, and additives, as well as identifying which populations stand to benefit most—or should exercise caution.”
Is drinking coffee all that bad?
Kamangar noted that additives in coffee may affect the extend of health benefits coffee provides, according to this study.
“For clinicians, the message is clear: for most adults, moderate coffee drinking can be safely encouraged as part of a healthy lifestyle. However, there may be some caveats. Adding sugar and cream can blunt some of coffee’s protective effects, suggesting black coffee or lightly sweetened versions may be best. For optimum results: consult your doctor and consult your body,” he said.
This research may also lead to a shift in doctors’ coffee discussions.
Robert Dolansky, DO, osteopathic family medicine physician and American Osteopathic Association member, similarly who was not involved in this research, commented on the review findings.
“All too often, physicians and healthcare providers focus on the general perceived negative aspects of coffee and caffeine consumption. It’s great to finally have a summary article backed by scientific evidence of the actual benefits of coffee and caffeine. The challenge will be getting this useful information out to the healthcare community and public, and changing the negative, educational habits of the providers,” Dolansky told MNT.
