How Coffee Helps Your Gut And Your Brain
I am a regular coffee drinker. I have also been interested in stories about beneficial health effects of coffee, such as recent articles documenting a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and of dementia. Another recent paper highlights beneficial effects of coffee on gut health and mood. Researchers at University College Cork, Ireland, found that regular moderate coffee consumption (defined as 3 to 5 cups per day) helped promote some of the “good” bacteria within the microbiome of the human gastrointestinal tract that aid in digestion. These in turn may play a role “in eliminating unhealthy gut bacteria and stomach infections.” Another effect they found was improvements in mood, with some interesting differences in responses to caffeinated vs. decaffeinated coffee: “caffeinated coffee reduced anxiety, psychological distress, blood pressure, and improved attention and stress coping, while decaffeinated coffee enhanced sleep, physical activity, and memory.” However, both types of co...
