Key Topic

Today we will be covering the topic of coffee & health and longevity. Before we unpack the data surrounding this topic, it is important to highlight the downsides of coffee intake. These include, potential sleep affects and increased anxiety. As well as the potential short term risks of issues like heart complications that have a possibility of occuring if people randomly increase their caffeine intake.

Observational Data: Part 1

  • There’s a lot of observational data supporting coffee helping longevity.
  • Focusing on one study for a moment:
    • 2012 study on coffee consumption in over 400k people from America aged 50–71 observed that those who drank the most coffee were significantly less likely to have died during the 12–13-year study period –
    • This extended quite high too e.g. 4-6 cups of coffee per day.
  • In that study, coffee consumption was assessed once at baseline.
  • So coffee intake was inversely linked with mortality.
  • They also adjusted for other variables such as drinking and smoking e.g. coffee intake was linked with increased risk of death initially. Then after adjusting for those variables, it dropped.
  • Quoting the study “As compared with men who did not drink coffee, men who drank 6 or more cups of coffee per day had a 10% lower risk of death, whereas women in this category of consumption had a 15% lower risk.”

Observational Data: Part 2

  • That’s one study, but it lines up well with the rest of the research.
  • Different studies find different ranges for how much coffee is beneficial before it plateaus or gets worse. But they are all relatively consistent with the overall theme.
  • We’ve linked a bunch of studies in the show notes.
  • A lot of the studies are less descriptive than I’d like in relation to what type of additions are added to the coffee e.g. milk and sugar etc.
  • Decaf coffee is also linked with benefits, which means it can’t just be caffeine explaining this.
  • Another observational study found that “The greatest risk reduction seen with two to three cups per day, which compared to no coffee drinking was associated with a:
  • 14% lower likelihood of death for decaf
  • 27% lower for ground coffee.
  • & 11% lower for instant coffee.

Mechanisms

  • One explanation I personally still think is a small factor that caffeine energizes people so they might do more, but that wouldn’t explain decaf helping.
  • Another thought is also “What is it replacing?” e.g. are people having a lower intake of certain negative things AFTER the other stuff is accounted e.g. smoking and alcohol etc
    • Appetite-suppressant, correlation with body weight?
  • But the main thing consistently proposed is the polyphenols and antioxidants.
  • There are some components such as Chlorogenic Acids and Diterpenes that have been identified that likely are beneficial. But the consensus is typically that there are over 100 potential components and it’s a bit of a synergistic type of effect.

Summary

  • It’s still worth factoring in stuff we clearly know.
  • For example: If it is affecting sleep or anxiety, it is worth adjusting caffeine intake.
  • High sugar options would be worth reducing.
  • I’d be cautious of quick increases in caffeine in general.
  • But beyond that, this research is very much a reason to not view coffee as a “bad” thing – since these findings wouldn’t make sense if it was a negative.

Relevant Blogs/Research

Relevant Studies: