Coffee: things you want to know but are too lazy to search

There are many names for it, joe, java, brew, black gold, or simply coffee. Some say they can’t live without it, others avoid it because they think it’s “bad” for them. This post will inform, educate and just share valuable information in regards to coffee. I’ll also share my personal recommendations of the products that I use and consume on a regular basis. Science has truly become the new age religion, but not in a bad way. We as humans are asking for proof before we believe in something. This is fantastic. However, the problem is that the “average person'' will have a difficult time reading a scientific paper. It’s not their fault. Papers are for the most part written for other members of the scientific community, not the average person looking to better themselves. It’s great if you want to hop on pubmed and explore scientific literature to educate yourself on a particular topic, but scientific articles are often confusing, difficult to read and many times contradict other articles.

My goal is to simplify and deliver quality scientific information in a valuable and actionable way. One last thing, don’t take my word for anything. I’ve taken the time to reference this article. If there’s any doubt or you need more information, just click on the appropriate reference.

Without further ado, let's begin.

The Chemical Soup

Coffee contains many drug-like substances. Yes, you read that right, “drug-like”. Coffee has bioactive substances in it. This simply means that coffee has compounds that can affect our body and/or mind in some way; the most well known being caffeine.

Caffeine: A chemical and the most used stimulant in the world! It’s found in many natural and processed foods, like green tea, matcha tea, chocolate and energy drinks. (1) Caffeine consumption has a unique ability to increase the amount of exercise you can perform, without feeling like you’re working harder. (1) A fun fact is that between 1984-2004 the world anti-doping agency banned consuming high levels of caffeine from all olympic events. Today, athletes are free to use it. (2) Some side effects from having too much caffeine include, acid reflux (heart burn), overstimulation and increased risks of miscarriage. (1) Additionally, caffeine withdrawal can cause headaches, fatigue, over sleepiness and poor mental performance. (1)

Chlorogenic acid (CLA):. CLA is naturally found in tobacco leaves, mulberry trees, and coffee beans. (1) This chemical gives coffee its astringent profile (bitter and acidic). CLA is a potent antioxidant and may be responsible for coffee’s minor weight loss effects. (1)

Diterpenes: This one isn’t as interesting as caffeine but still worth mentioning. It may kill microorganisms (bacteria and viruses) or stop their growth. (1)

Trigonelline: I honestly don’t know how to pronounce this, but it may have anti-diabetic effects by lowering blood sugar levels. (1)

And there’s also nearly 800+ other chemicals in coffee… crazy right!?

Many of these chemicals are sold individually or as supplements. Outside of caffeine, and possibly CLA, other constituents of coffee have little evidence to back up any claims.

The yin and the yang

If you care to venture on the internet, try this. Google “Health benefits of coffee” - You’ll probably see articles listing the top benefits of coffee. Now google “Harmful effects of coffee” - Again, you’ll see articles listing negative effects of coffee consumption. So…. who’s right, who’s wrong and where’s the truth? Let’s see what the science says.

Let’s start with this, for most people, moderate coffee consumption of up to 4 cups of coffee per day (around 400 mg caffeine) can be enjoyed as part of a healthy, balanced diet and active lifestyle. (3) When they say 4 cups/day, they’re not talking about 4 venti vanilla latte’s from Starbucks. They’re talking about 4 small/extra small cups of black coffee. Please be aware that lower levels are recommended for pregnant women who are advised to limit caffeine intake to 200 mg from all sources, as well as in children where the intake should be reduced because of their lower body weight. (3)

Let’s explore the possible health benefits. Benefits include:

Decreased Incidence of Death: Drinking roughly 3-4 cups of coffee per day may decrease your chance of dying from any disease. (4)

Decreased Incidence of Heart disease:, Drinking 3-4 cups of coffee per day may slightly decrease your risk of developing heart disease. (4)

Decreased Incidence of Cancer: Moderate coffee consumption may slightly decrease your risk of developing cancer. (4)

Liver Support: Surprisingly, regularly drinking coffee may lower your risk of developing liver disease. (4)

Brain Support: An intake of 2-3 cups/day coffee may improve cognition. (5)

Coffee consumption may also lower the risk of neurological disease and metabolic conditions. (4)

Simply put, coffee does not seem to be harmful when consumed in moderation (1-4 small cups/day). If anything, it may be protective against many different diseases.

Possible detrimental effects of coffee:

At a level of over 450 mg of caffeine/day (more than 4-5 small cups of coffee/day) for healthy adults and above 300mg of caffeine/day (more than 3 small cups) for pregnant women, you may get some undesired effects.

increased blood pressure and/or increased cholesterol levels (5)

Being wired, jittery, and anxious (6)

Poor sleep by making it harder to fall and stay asleep (5)

Stomach upset (diarrhea and heartburn) (6)

Can lead to caffeine addiction (5)

What type of coffee should I be consuming?

If you enjoy Starbucks, you’re probably not going to like me too much after reading this section. For the sake of time, I'll spill the beans.

❌ Mocha’s

❌ Latte’s

❌Frappuccino’s

✅ Black Coffee

Black Coffee is where it’s at. But, if you really must, a splash of almond or oat milk is fine.

A cup of small black coffee has roughly 2 calories. Yep, only 2. We can go on and on about the harmful effects of processed sugar but just trust me on this one. Drink your coffee black and avoid the sugar, syrup, cream, oil, butter etc. You don’t need the excess sugar and you probably don’t need the excess fat either.

The next couple paragraphs will go over organic and decaf.

Organic?

Coffee does provide health benefits whether it’s organic, or not. It was difficult for me to find sound research on this topic. However, it seems that most research shows a neutral or beneficial effect for moderate coffee consumption and most research isn’t done on organic coffee. From an evidenced based perspective, it doesn’t seem to matter if your coffee is organic.

Regardless of your preference, it’s good to know what the guidelines are. Canada’s organic guidelines are fairly strict and they apply to domestic and imported products. They strictly limit the use of toxic and persistent pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, genetic engineering, sewage sludge and irradiation. (7)

Logically, it makes sense to buy organic. You’re minimizing your exposure to many potentially harmful chemicals, but like I said, the research isn’t there to back up any potential claims. I personally find that organic coffee tastes better but it’s for you to decide. Research still supports beneficial effects from non organic coffee consumption.

Decaf?

Decaffeinated coffee still contains caffeine, but roughly 2-4mg which is a negligible amount (3) There is evidence that decaf coffee may, in some respect, have similar benefits as regular coffee. (3) This shows that there are compounds in coffee other than caffeine that have health benefits. As I said earlier, there are over 800 active constituents and we’re slowly figuring out what they are and what they do.

Decaf coffee has some protective effects against type 2 diabetes and liver disease. (3) Decaf may be a good option for those that are sensitive to caffeine.

What’s the best way to drink coffee?

It’s time to discuss the dark side of coffee. For many years researchers have known that unfiltered coffee seems to increase LDL “bad” cholesterol and total cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a marker to assess risk of developing heart disease. The higher one’s cholesterol levels, the greater the risk. There are two molecules in coffee that are believed to cause this, kahweol and cafestol. (8) The good news is that it’s fairly easy to remove most of these molecules from coffee. All you have to do is run your coffee through a paper filter. (8) However, even paper filtered coffee has the ability to raise LDL and total cholesterol levels. (9) But it seems that paper filtered coffee has much less of a cholesterol raising effect than non paper filtered coffee. The bad news is that most forms of coffee don’t run coffee through this process. Meaning, you probably shouldn’t be drinking any type of coffee that isn’t paper filtered drip coffee, especially if you’re at risk of developing heart disease. This means no french press, no percolated coffee, no pour over, and no mocha.

There are many different types of coffee beans, coffee drinks and coffee makers. However, my recommendation is paper filtered drip coffee. The easiest way to do this is to buy a drip coffee maker.

Coffee Enhancer:

Now, for the fun part! I want to discuss a supplement that compliments and adds to the potential benefits from regular coffee consumption.

L- Theanine 

L theanine is an amino acid (a building block for proteins) which is naturally found in tea. (10) So far we know that caffeine in and of itself has many cognitive benefits. Caffeine can improve mood and cognition (increased alertness, faster reaction time and improved attention).

When L-theanine supplementation is combined with caffeine (or a cup of coffee), the effects are much greater. The two components naturally found in tea seem to work synergistically together meaning that when combined the additive effect is greater than the sum of their parts.

When 250mg of L theanine is combined with roughly 150mg of caffeine, the following results were observed in a small study:

Reduced headache and tired ratings (10)

Increased feeling of alertness (10)

Quicker reaction times (10)

Improved ability to process visual information (10)

Decreased self reported mental fatigue (10)

Faster working memory (10)

The above benefits are in comparison to either caffeine or L-theanine alone.

I drink black coffee a few times/week. Since I began taking L-theanine with my morning coffee, I've noticed the following: an improved ability to focus and concentrate and I have more sustained energy throughout the day. In the past, coffee used to give me energy, but I'd crash a few hours later. Now, I have sustained energy without any noticeable crash.

How much Coffee Should I be Drinking?

As stated above, it seems that up to 4 small cups/day for adults and 3 small cups/day for pregnant women may have a beneficial effect. More than that may cause some adverse effects (see above).

My personal recommendation is to consume 1-2 small cups of black coffee daily before 12:00pm. Caffeine (found in coffee) is the most used psychoactive drug in the world by far (11) and it’s not hard to see why. We live in a society that is “on” 24/7. We’re expected to perform and deliver results daily. That being said, it’s really easy to develop a dependence to caffeine. While everyone’s threshold is different, by minimizing coffee consumption to 1-2 small cups/day, we can drastically reduce the chances of becoming dependent.

The reason I recommend drinking coffee before noon is because coffee has strong effects on our sleep wake cycles. Caffeine works by binding to small receptors in the brain that prevent you from feeling tired. It’s almost like an artificial supply of energy. In addition, caffeine has a 4-8 hour half life (there’s individual variation). What this means is, after 4-8 hours of having a coffee, the amount of caffeine circulating in your blood is ½ of what it was when you drank it. This can cause sleep problems for many. It may make it harder for people to fall and stay asleep. By not having coffee after 12:00, you’re allowing your body time to remove the caffeine from your blood which may help with falling and staying asleep.

Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I hope it was informative and I hope you learned a thing or two about coffee.

References:

1. Nuhu AA. Bioactive Micronutrients in Coffee: Recent Analytical Approaches for Characterization and Quantification. ISRN Nutrition [Internet]. 2014 Jan 22 [cited 2020 May 17];2014. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn/2014/384230/

2. Aguilar-Navarro M, Muñoz G, Salinero JJ, Muñoz-Guerra J, Fernández-Álvarez M, del Mar Plata M, et al. Urine Caffeine Concentration in Doping Control Samples from 2004 to 2015. Nutrients [Internet]. 2019 Feb [cited 2020 May 17];11(2). Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6412495/

3. pubmeddev, Nieber K. The Impact of Coffee on Health. - PubMed - NCBI [Internet]. [cited 2020 May 18]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28675917

4. Poole R, Kennedy OJ, Roderick P, Fallowfield JA, Hayes PC, Parkes J. Coffee consumption and health: umbrella review of meta-analyses of multiple health outcomes. BMJ [Internet]. 2017 Nov 22 [cited 2020 May 18];359. Available from: https://www.bmj.com/content/359/bmj.j5024.abstract

5. pubmeddev, Butt M S And. Coffee and its consumption: benefits and risks. - PubMed - NCBI [Internet]. [cited 2020 May 18]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21432699

6. Papakonstantinou E, Kechribari I, Sotirakoglou Κ, Tarantilis P, Gourdomichali T, Michas G, et al. Acute effects of coffee consumption on self-reported gastrointestinal symptoms, blood pressure and stress indices in healthy individuals. Nutr J. 2016 Mar 15;15(1):1–11.

7. Choose Canada Organic – Organic 101 [Internet]. [cited 2020 May 24]. Available from: https://choosecanadaorganic.ca/organic101/

8. Gökcen BB, Şanlier N. Coffee Consumption and Disease Correlations. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2020 May 24];59(2). Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28853910/

9. Corrêa TA, Rogero MM, Mioto BM, Tarasoutchi D, Tuda VL, César LA, et al. Paper-filtered Coffee Increases Cholesterol and Inflammation Biomarkers Independent of Roasting Degree: A Clinical Trial. Nutrition [Internet]. 2013 [cited 2020 May 25];29(7-8). Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23510568/

10. Haskell CF, Kennedy DO, Milne AL, Wesnes KA, Scholey AB. The Effects of L-theanine, Caffeine and Their Combination on Cognition and Mood. Biol Psychol [Internet]. 2008 Feb [cited 2020 May 24];77(2). Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18006208/
    

11. Daly JW, Holmén J, Fredholm BB. [Is Caffeine Addictive? The Most Widely Used Psychoactive Substance in the World Affects Same Parts of the Brain as Cocaine]. Lakartidningen [Internet]. 1998 Dec 16 [cited 2020 May 25];95(51-52). Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9889511/