Coffee: Medicine in a Mug?

Coffee—is it friend or foe? That seemingly innocent question sparked this deep dive into coffee science after a colleague questioned my own consumption habits. As a health professional and coffee enthusiast, I was surprised by the persistent myths surrounding this beloved bean.

Coffee contains over a thousand bioactive compounds beyond caffeine, including powerful antioxidants called chlorogenic acids that demonstrate anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and anti-cancer properties. Research consistently shows that moderate coffee consumption (3-4 cups daily) correlates with reduced risks of cardiovascular disease, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and several types of cancer. Even your gut microbiome benefits, with studies identifying specific beneficial bacteria that flourish exclusively in coffee drinkers.

But not all coffee is created equal. Filtered coffee traps cholesterol-raising diterpenes that pass through into French press and espresso preparations. Light to medium roasts preserve more beneficial compounds than darker roasts, though the latter develops more complex flavors. Adding cow's milk potentially binds to beneficial polyphenols, while plant milks appear not to interfere with these compounds. And those sugary, cream-laden specialty drinks? They likely negate most health benefits you'd otherwise receive.

Some people metabolize caffeine slowly due to genetic variations, making them more susceptible to jitters, anxiety, and blood pressure changes. Pregnant women should limit intake to under 200mg daily. But don't worry—decaf still delivers most of coffee's health benefits minus the stimulant effects. The key is moderation, mindful timing (avoid late-day consumption to protect sleep), and listening to your body's unique response.

Ready to optimize your daily brew? Visit plantbaseddrjules.com for more resources on integrating coffee into a healthy lifestyle, and connect with me on social media to continue the conversation about evidence-based nutrition and wellness.

Go check out my website for tons of free resources on how to transition towards a healthier diet and lifestyle.

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Dr. Jules

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:11):
Hey everyone, welcome to Season 2 of the Dr Jules
Plant-Based Podcast, where wediscuss everything from
plant-based nutrition to themain pillars of lifestyle
medicine.
Yo, plant-based buddies,welcome back to the podcast.
Today we're going to be talkingabout coffee.
Now, the reason I wanted totalk specifically about coffee

(00:33):
and dedicate a full episode toit was not only because I'm a
coffee drinker and a coffeeliker, but because there's a lot
of confusion amongst thegeneral public and even patients
on whether or not coffee ishealthy.
Now people associate caffeinewith high blood pressure and
heart arrhythmias and anxietyand insomnia, and so they assume

(00:58):
that coffee and caffeine isunhealthy.
Now that's what happened onemorning when I was dropping off
paperwork at the front desk andone of my secretaries saw me
with the coffee in hand and saidI can't believe that you drink
coffee, considering you promotehealth online.
And I was baffled because I hadnever really heard someone in

(01:24):
my circle refer to coffee inthat way.
So when I asked her why shethought coffee wasn't healthy,
she cited that well, it was notgood for your heart and
increased heart disease andproblem with sleep the common
things that are cited whenpeople want to demonize coffee.

(01:45):
So I actually took the time todeep dive into the literature,
and today I'm going to talk toyou about the pros and cons of
consuming coffee.
We're going to be diving intoone of the world's most beloved,
yet misunderstood beverages.
It wakes us up, it fuels ourwork days and it's the reason

(02:06):
that I survive Monday mornings.
But is it actually good for you?
Now, today's episode.
We'll talk about what'sactually in your cup of coffee,
the different types of beans andof brews, health benefits and
maybe downsides of coffee andcaffeine.
I'll explain the differencesbetween filtered and unfiltered,

(02:29):
or decaf versus regular.
I'll talk about coffee's impacton your heart, on your cancer
risk and on your gut, andwhether adding dairy to coffee
changes its benefits.
Let's get started.
Coffee changes its benefits.

(02:54):
Let's get started At its core.
Coffee is a plant and isabsolutely permitted on a
plant-based diet, and the twomain types of coffee beans are
Arabica beans or Robusta beans.
Now, arabica is smoother, it'sa more nuanced bean, it's higher
quality, less bitter andslightly lower in caffeine
content.
Robusta is heartier, it's morebitter and often used in cheaper

(03:19):
blends or instant coffees.
It's got about 1.5 times theamount of caffeine than Arabica
beans have.
Now we then roast these coffeebeans, we grind them and then we
pour water over it or we brewthem, and that's how the magic
begins.

(03:41):
Positive and or possiblenegative impacts of coffee are
basically explained by thecompounds that they contain.
In coffee, besides water, wecan find over a thousand
bioactive compounds.
These are compounds, chemicalcompounds that have biological

(04:03):
activity inside of your body.
The most known compound incoffee is caffeine.
Caffeine is a natural stimulantand it blocks adenosine
receptors in the brain, whichmakes us feel more alert.
It also boosts dopamineslightly and increases
sympathetic tone.
That's the activity of ourfight or flight system.

(04:24):
A little bit of caffeine caninduce feel-good vibes, but a
lot of caffeine can induce fearand anxiety and insomnia and
feel-bad vibes.
Now, coffee also containschlorogenic acids.
These are a class of compoundsthat act as antioxidants that

(04:48):
have potential anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and anti-cancer
properties, and that's why wewant to avoid low-acid coffees.
Low-acid coffees are maybebetter for heartburn, but you
wash out the beneficialcompounds, which are the
chlorogenic acids.

(05:08):
That's what gives the acidictaste to coffee and also most of
its benefits.
And coffee also containscompounds called diterpenes.
Now, these are compounds thatcan actually raise LDL
cholesterol, the bad cholesterol, which is increased with
cardiovascular risk.
This happens only in unfilteredcoffee, because diterpenes are

(05:33):
not water-soluble, they form anoily film on coffee and that's
why they're so easily capturedby paper filters.
So they can increase LDLcholesterol, but they only do in
people who drink a lot ofcoffee and in those who drink
unfiltered coffee.
We'll talk a little bit moreabout filtered versus unfiltered

(05:56):
coffee later.
Now, a fun fact your averageeight ounce cup of coffee has
about 80 to 100 milligrams ofcaffeine 80 to 100 milligrams of
caffeine.
An espresso has about 60 to 75milligrams, but in a smaller
volume.
Now, although caffeine can havesome benefits in terms of

(06:18):
energy, concentration, alertnessand even athletic performance,
these benefits start to declineafter about 400 milligrams,
where people start havingfeelings of anxiety.
Their heart is racing, they canhave panic attacks.
We see patients having sweating, shaking, feeling jittery, and

(06:41):
it can also impact sleep iftaken too late throughout the
day.
Let's now shift our focustowards the differences between
filtered and unfiltered coffee,as well as the different roast
levels.
Now, filtered coffee, like whatyou would get from a drip
machine or a pour-over, uses apaper filter that traps most of

(07:06):
the cholesterol containingditerpenes.
Unfiltered coffee, like Frenchpress or espresso, lets these
compounds flow through and intothe coffee you drink, and in
high-volume drinkers it couldactually raise LDL cholesterol.
Now, when we talk about roastlevels, we're talking about

(07:27):
whether we're roasting the beanlightly or a lot.
So we have light roast, mediumroast and dark roast.
Now, roasting the beans lightlywill actually help retain most
of the chlorogenic acids and thecaffeine, and that means that
coffee is healthier for you.

(07:48):
Now, darker roasts tend to losethe antioxidant power and a
little bit of caffeine, but theydo gain more of a bold and
smoky flavor.
So if you're just enjoyingcoffee for its taste, some
people would even prefer darkroast, and if you're drinking

(08:08):
coffee for its health benefits,you may want to stick to lighter
, medium or light medium roast.
Now, I drink coffee because Ilike the taste and because I
like the way it makes me feel.
I like having a hot beveragewhen I wake up in the morning.
Uh, it helps me feel more alertand concentrated and it helps

(08:29):
with athletic performance.
I sometimes have a coffeebefore a run or before a workout
, so I was quite happy to seethat there's actual data that
supports it being used as alongevity beverage.
Now, research does suggest thatmoderate coffee consumption
about 3-4 cups per day isactually associated with lower

(08:52):
cardiovascular risk, and regularcoffee drinkers may have a
lower risk of heart failure andstroke.
But that applies to those whodrink filtered coffee, because
unfiltered coffee, as we statedearlier, can increase LDL
cholesterols because of thediterpenes that they contain.
Coffee is also linked to areduced risk of Parkinson's

(09:17):
disease and Alzheimer's.
Heavy coffee drinkers actuallyhave lower risk than
non-drinkers.
We know that the polyphenolsthat coffee contains, as well as
chlorogenic acids, haveanti-inflammatory impacts.
Now coffee may actually reduceinflammatory parameters when we

(09:39):
measure them when compared tothose who don't drink coffee,
and studies also show thatcoffee reduces the risk of liver
, endometrial and colon cancers,probably because of these
polyphenols that they contain,and each cup of coffee can
contain a few grams of fiber.

(09:59):
So chlorogenic acids and thepolyphenols we know that they
also are used by your microbiomeand they can also increase gut
health.
So it encourages the growth ofbifidobacteria, a friendly gut
bug, and there's actually onespecific type of bacteria that

(10:21):
is seen almost exclusively incoffee drinkers, and scientists
have been using it as a specificfingerprint to identify those
who drink coffee versus thosewho don't.
Here's the catch.
Okay, coffee is healthy, butthe benefits are stronger when
the coffee is enjoyed withouttoo much sugar or whipped cream

(10:45):
or artificial flavor shots.
So maybe skip the unicornfrappuccino.
I mean, I'm talking here aboutthe benefits of black coffee.
We'll talk about the differentsweeteners or creams that you
can use later on in the episode,but I'm not talking about the
700 calorie coffee that youwould buy in specialty coffee

(11:07):
shops calorie coffee that youwould buy in specialty coffee
shops.
Now what about side effects?
And are there people thatshould be cautious of drinking
too much coffee?
It's not all sunshine andrainbows.
Too much caffeine can causeanxiety, insomnia, jitters,
heart palpitations, heartburn,digestive upset, diarrhea and

(11:30):
for some people it can actuallyincrease blood pressure.
But this is usually seen in theacute consumption setting,
meaning that if you ingestcoffee chronically over the long
term, these side effects kindof go away as your body develops
tolerance.

(11:50):
So typically, the high bloodpressure, the heart palpitations
and the anxiety they kind of goaway within a few days or weeks
of consuming coffee.
Now if you're one of thesepeople listening now that says
well, I simply cannot enjoy acup of coffee.
I feel unwell when I take one.

(12:11):
You may be a slow caffeinemetabolizer or you may have
genetic mutations or variationsin your liver cytochrome enzymes
.
These are enzymes thatbasically break down or
metabolize or process or detoxcertain compounds that we ingest
.
Now if you're one of thesepeople who metabolizes these

(12:32):
compounds slowly, coffee is muchmore likely to accumulate and
maybe even trigger high bloodpressure.
That could make you atincreased risk of having heart
attacks or cardiovasculardisease, of having heart attacks
or cardiovascular disease.
Now, if you're pregnant, try torefrain or reduce the amount of

(12:54):
caffeine you consume to atleast under 200 milligrams.
That's about a cup and a halfof brewed coffee.
Higher doses of coffee orcaffeine would actually
negatively impact placentalblood flow, that's blood flow to
your fetus.
So talk to your doctor ifyou're not sure.
Better saved than sorry is myapproach when it comes to

(13:15):
pregnancy.
Now, something that surprises alot of people when we talk
about decaf versus caffeinatedor regular coffee is that decaf
coffee still has health benefits.
You still get chlorogenic acids, you still get the polyphenols
and you still get theantioxidants and the thousands
of bioactive compounds.

(13:36):
You just don't get the caffeine.
Decaf would be great for thosewho are sensitive to stimulants,
to caffeine or prone toinsomnia or the other negative
side effects that people couldhave.
Now, when we talk about coffee,we also need to talk about what
we add to it.
Certain studies have shown thatadding cow's milk to your

(14:00):
coffee can actually bind to thepolyphenols, especially the
chlorogenic acids, andpotentially reduce their
absorption.
That may blunt the antioxidantactivity that makes coffee
healthy.
And plant milks like oats, soyor almond?
They don't seem to have thatnegative effect.
Now, that being said, if yourgoal is to maximize antioxidant

(14:23):
potential, drink black coffee.
But if your goal is to enjoyyour cup of coffee, there's no
harm in adding plant milks orplant creamers to it.
Just be mindful that added sugarand added fats will increase
the calorie density of yourcoffee and you simply want to
make sure that you account forthis in your overall calorie

(14:47):
balance.
So now, if you're drinkingcoffee for the polyphenols but
you're adding a lot of fat andyou're adding a lot of added
sugar, well, just kind of keepin mind that these things could
increase fatty liver andpotentially neutralize or
annihilate any benefits thatyou're seeking.

(15:08):
So if you ask what I do, well,I really enjoy a cup of dark
roast coffee and I very oftenenjoy it with almond milk or soy
milk.
Um, but now, and just becauseI've I've done a lot of research
on it, I may be switching tolighter or medium roast.

(15:30):
I'm sure I'm going to get usedto it, I'm not fussy and I have
no problem with making theswitch.
But I'm just happy to learnthat coffee can absolutely be a
part of a healthy lifestyle whenyou consume it in moderation,
when you primarily consumefiltered coffee and without you

(15:52):
adding excessive sugar orsaturated fat to it.
If you're sensitive to caffeine,do not hesitate trying decaf If
you're worried about itincreasing your LDL cholesterol.
Choose filtered coffee and maybechoose plant-based creamers or
drink it black if you want tomaximize the health benefits of

(16:13):
your coffee.
But make sure to listen to yourbody.
Some people are slowmetabolizers.
Typically, coffee's half-life,or caffeine's half-life, is
about 6 to 8 hours, and thatmeans that it takes 6 to 8 hours
to reduce the concentration orthe amount by half.
So if you drink a full cup ofcoffee at suppertime that

(16:35):
contains 100 milligrams ofcaffeine, that means that at 8
pm before going to bed, youprobably still have half of that
cup flowing in your body.
That 50 milligrams of caffeinemay be impacting your sleep
negatively.
So just make sure to consume itearlier throughout the day,
because most studies show thatpeople who consume coffee later

(16:58):
in the day seem to not havethese health benefits that we
see for those who drink it inthe morning, and that's probably
because sleep is yoursuperpower.
So anything that will impactsleep negatively will be
offsetting any potentialbenefits from the actual
compounds you get in coffee.

(17:23):
The most important thing is thatcoffee in moderation is
probably anywhere underneath 400milligrams, which is probably
anywhere underneath four cups,which is probably anywhere
underneath four cups.
But if you consume coffee in ajug with 50 grams of sugar and a
lot of creamer, that is mostlikely undoing any of the

(17:46):
benefits that you had to beginwith Right on.
I hope this deep dive in coffeescience has been useful for you
.
Listen to your body.
Drink coffee in moderation.
If you have side effects fromdrinking coffee, still consider
decaf.
It will still have healthbenefits.

(18:07):
But coffee is not a miraclebeverage.
It is the overall pattern ofhow you live your life how you
eat, how you sleep, how you move, how you meditate, how you
manage stress, how you managesocial connections and how you
avoid risky substances.
So drinking coffee once in awhile is beneficial for you, but

(18:31):
it won't undo an unhealthylifestyle right on.
Thanks so much for listening.
I hope you've learned a lotabout coffee.
This is beneficial for you, butit won't undo an unhealthy
lifestyle Right on.
Thanks so much for listening.
I hope you've learned a lotabout coffee.
Share it with your friends.
We'll see you at the nextepisode.
Peace, hey everyone.
Go check out my websiteplantbaseddoctorjulescom to find

(18:52):
free downloadable resources,and remember that you can find
me on Facebook and Instagram atDr Jules Cormier, and on YouTube
at Client-Based Dr Jules.