Nutritional scientist Tim Spector has just served up some great news for coffee enthusiasts, suggesting that a cup could significantly affect heart disease and inflammation while potentially enhancing blood pressure. Speaking from his social media platform, the King’s College London professor and Zoe app co-founder highlighted its possible perks for the digestive microbiome.
The current dietary science buzz is all about the unexpected health perks that come from taking care of one’s gut flora, with an increasing consensus pointing to gut health as a cornerstone of overall wellbeing. Prof Spector said: “Coffee drinking can be predicted by your microbes, so we all have a particular microbe that only eats coffee.”
“It’s called Lawsinobacter and just gives you an idea of what’s going on inside your gut. They’re very specific, very fussy eaters, so you’ve got to give them exactly what they want. And it turns out that drinking coffee is actually really good for you. Reduces your risk of heart disease by a third. That’s good news for coffee lovers, but again, it’s probably due to the microbes eating your coffee and producing healthy chemicals.”
The expert has previously defended a beverage often ‘demonised’ for its short-term effects on heart rate and blood pressure. He argues that coffee is brimming with essential nutrients and even fibre, and research indicates it could slash the risk of heart attacks by a staggering 25%.
Prof Spector is also delving into the relationship between coffee and gut health in an upcoming scientific paper, suggesting that this interaction might lower both blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
He explained: “What are the health benefits? One of the key things in coffee. It’s a complex area, but I think we’re suddenly putting it together from a drink that was demonised as being very harmful to us to something that actually could be beneficial. Coffee is this fermented plant that has microbes acting on.”
“It has hundreds, not thousands, of chemicals produced from it. There’s range of polyphenols that are enhanced by the microbes as they ferment it. And those have direct effects on our body, and some of them can reduce blood sugar and reduce stress and actually reduce blood pressure. And the studies have now clearly shown that you get nearly as much benefit on the heart with decaffeinated coffee.”
“Coffee is a health food, and we should all be drinking at least three cups a day, according to the latest science. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t want caffeine, just have decaf. It’s probably just as healthy.
“In fact studies have shown that moderate coffee intake-about 25 cups a day-is linked to a lower likelihood of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver and endometrial cancers, Parkinson’s disease, and depression. It’s even possible that people who drink coffee can reduce their risk of early death.”