Science Has Found Even More Ways Coffee Is Good for You

Are you a fan of coffee but not sure if it's good for you? Perhaps you're aware of its well-known stimulant effect but aren't sure about the other effects it has on your health. A recent study explores how regular coffee consumption influences the gut-brain axis, a bidirectional communication network that connects the digestive system with brain activity. The results reveal a highly complex interaction that goes beyond caffeine. “Public interest in gut health has risen hugely,” said John Cryan, coauthor of the study published this week in Nature Communications. “The relationship between digestive and mental health is also increasingly being better understood, but the mechanisms behind coffee’s effects on this gut-brain axis have remained unclear.” Scientists at APC Microbiome Ireland, a research center at the University of Cork, compared 31 healthy adults who regularly consume coffee with 31 non-coffee drinkers. According to the European Food Safety Authority, a “regular” coffee drinker is one who drinks between three and five cups a day, a safe and moderate intake for most people. The researchers also analyzed what happened when consumers suspended their intake for two weeks and then resumed it, either with caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee. This design made it possible to distinguish the effects of caffeine from the other compounds present in coffee. “Coffee is more than just caffeine,” said Cryan in a press release, “it’s a complex dietary factor that interacts with