Coffee is a beverage made from coffee beans. Like cocoa and tea, it is a popular drink around the world. There are many legendary stories about the discovery of coffee. It is said that more than a thousand years ago, a shepherd found that sheep became very excited and lively after eating the berries of the coffee tree. There is also a saying that a wildfire accidentally burned down a coffee forest, and the aroma of roasted coffee attracted the attention of the surrounding residents, and then coffee was discovered. At that time, people had already noticed the impact of coffee on the human body. At first, it was mainly used in medicine and religion to refresh, wake up the brain, strengthen the stomach, strengthen the body, stop bleeding, etc.

In fact, coffee has a wide range of effects. Studies in recent years have found that coffee can prevent cancer, protect the heart, and enhance memory!

Can coffee prevent cancer?

Coffee contains cafestol and kahweol, which have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects. Researchers from the University of Southampton and the University of Edinburgh analyzed data from 26 studies involving 2.25 million people and found that compared with people who do not drink coffee, people who drink one, two, and five cups of coffee a day have a 20%, 35%, and 50% lower risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma, respectively! People who drink more coffee every day can achieve the same anti-cancer effect as those who drink decaffeinated coffee.

Previous studies have also shown that coffee can reduce the risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer, and can also reduce the risk of death from many other causes. As long as you don't drink too much coffee, it can actually be regarded as a good "natural medicine."

Coffee may protect cardiovascular health through anti-inflammatory effects

A study from Stanford University School of Medicine found that some elderly people begin to have more inflammation and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, and caffeine can block this inflammatory process. In this study, they recruited more than 100 adults, investigated their health status over the past decade, and collected their blood samples. The results showed that one group of elderly people had higher activity of sex body genes , and another group of elderly people had lower activity of sex body genes. Among the 12 adults in the high-activity group, 9 had high blood pressure, while only one of the 11 adults in the low-activity group had high blood pressure. People in the high-activity group were also more likely to develop arteriosclerosis. Blood tests also showed that the elderly in the high-activity group had higher levels of IL-1β, and showed dysfunctional nucleic acid metabolism and increased oxidative stress. Inflammasomes can promote inflammation under conditions of infectious diseases or cellular stress and trigger the maturation of the inflammatory protein IL-1β.

The researchers also found that people in the low-activity group had higher levels of caffeine and its metabolites in their blood. Caffeine appears to block metabolites that cause inflammation. Existing anti-inflammatory drugs all have side effects, including immune system suppression, and it seems that drinking coffee to fight inflammation is safer and more effective.

Caffeine and its analogs may reverse age-related memory loss

Recently, researchers from the Portuguese Institute of Molecular Medicine and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research have revealed the mechanism by which caffeine counteracts age-related cognitive deficits in animals.

Abnormal expression of adenosine A2A receptors induces an aging-like memory deficit, resulting in memory loss and increased levels of stress hormones (cortisol) in plasma. Adenosine A2A receptors in the rat brain are targets of caffeine, and when these same animals were treated with a caffeine analog that blocks the action of A2AR, both memory deficits and stress-related deficits were normalized.

This study suggests that caffeine may have a cognitive-enhancing effect in Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive impairment.

In addition, coffee can also upregulate the anti-toxic process in the liver, protecting the body from the effects of toxins and other carcinogens. Moreover, the chlorogenic acid in coffee can promote glucose metabolism and improve insulin sensitivity, which can increase the muscle's utilization of blood sugar, thereby reducing the risk of diabetes. The other health benefits of coffee will be confirmed by more and more researchers. After all, the consumption of coffee is so large that there are countless companies that make a living from it.

References:

1. Kennedy OJ, Roderick P, Buchanan R, et al Coffee, including caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma: a systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis

BMJ Open 2017;7:e013739. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013739

2. Batalha VL, Ferreira DG, Coelho JE, et al. The caffeine-binding adenosine A2A receptor induces age-like HPA-axis dysfunction by targeting glucocorticoid receptor function[J]. Scientific Reports, 2016, 6:31493.

3. Furman D, Chang J, Lartigue L, et al. Expression of specific inflammasome gene modules stratifies older individuals into two extreme clinical and immunological states[J]. Nature Medicine, 2017.

4. Ding M, Bhupathiraju SN, Chen M, et al. Caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and a dose-response meta-analysis.[J]. Diabetes Care, 2014, 37(2):569.