New studies pursue the ‘perfect’ blend for coffee and health

Every morning, many of us drink one or two cups of coffee and feel good, refreshed, and ready for the day. Some of us drink one or two more cups at work before lunchtime. Some use pure coffee while others add chicory to it. We prepare the powder using a filter, add milk and sugar, and take a swig.

While many Indians have a fondness for coffee, almost everyone in the U.S. and Europe drinks coffee, and more of it, every day.

Now, what are the effects of drinking coffee? How many cups per day? Should it be black coffee or can it include milk and sugar? And how does this affect our health? These are some questions that have been on our minds — and for which research has offered contradictory answers in the past. Fortunately, a new publication, titled ‘Caffeine and Cardiovascular Disease: A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association’, may clear some doubts. The authors of the statement analysed several studies that examined the effects of caffeine, the active molecule in coffee that stimulates the brain and the central nervous system and encourages the body to produce and use more energy.

The statement reported that moderate caffeine intake, especially through coffee, may lower the risks of type-2 diabetes, stroke, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. However, high doses, especially from energy drinks, may harm cardiovascular health, and unfiltered coffee can also raise LDL cholesterol levels.

Data from the Nurses Health Study at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School and an analysis of 3 lakh people from the U.K. Biobank and Health Canada have indicated that drinking four cups a day may lower the risk of developing cancer, type-2 diabetes, heart diseases, and age-related disorders like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. However, analyses also suggest that it would be prudent for pregnant and lactating women to limit their coffee intake to three cups a day.

Drinking hot black coffee is recommended, with little or no additives like sugar or milk. However, a group from Copenhagen, Denmark, pointed out in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Science in 2023 that adding milk to black coffee can be good as milk contains antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins and allays the bitter taste.

Chicory-blended coffee

Many people in South India prefer to have pure coffee, i.e. with no additives like chicory, which comes from a perennial herbal plant with coloured flowers. This herb contains no caffeine but a polysaccharide called inulin, which supports digestion and can help control blood sugar.

The benefits of a coffee and chicory blend and their implications for nutrition and health implications were discussed in a recent review paper by a group led by Pushpa S. Murthy at the Central Food Technology and Research Institute, Mysuru, published in the Journal of Food Science and Technology. Chicory contains several compounds that help protect the liver from inflammation, shield the stomach from damage, and may help defend against cancer. Adding chicory to coffee also improves coffee’s fragrance and taste.

The optimal blend of coffee and chicory was suggested to be 70:30 or 60:40, coffee to chicory, to strike a balance between taste and benefits. In fact, most coffee sellers across India have these ratios, unless of course a customer asks for ‘pure’ coffee. This writer himself used to prefer pure coffee until he read the review article by the Mysuru group!

dbala@lvpei.org