International Coffee Day 2022: How The Beloved Brew Helps Fight Cancer, Kidney Disease And Depression

International Coffee Day 2022: While its charm comes mainly from its smell and taste, coffee also comes with various health benefits.

International Coffee Day 2022: Today is International Coffee Day. A steaming cup of joe is something many people consume to give their morning a quick boost. While its charm comes mainly from its smell and taste, coffee also comes with various health benefits. From increasing longevity to reducing risk of cancer, here is what studies have found over the years:

Coffee and Longevity

Drinking one cup of coffee per day, whether caffeinated or decaffeinated, is associated with a three per cent reduced risk of death, according to a review of 21 studies totalling more than 10 million participants. The review, published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, also stated that drinking three cups of coffee per day is associated with a 13 per cent reduced risk of death. 

Drinking coffee, caffeinated or decaffeinated, is associated with reduced risk for death from various causes, according to a study from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). It was a multi-national cohort study conducted in 10 European countries, and analysed more than 500,000 people. The study was published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine in 2017. 

A study conducted on over 400,000 people found that coffee consumption is associated with lower likelihood of death from disease. The study was published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2012. 

Coffee and Cancer

Drinking both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee is associated with reduced risk of liver cancer, according to a meta analysis of human prospective studies. Coffee was found to be associated with reduced risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, including in those with pre-existing liver disease. The findings were published in the British Medical Journal. 

Consumption of four cups of coffee per day is associated with a 10 per cent reduced risk of post-menopausal breast cancer, according to a study published in the journal Nutrients in 2018.

Coffee consumption is associated with a lower risk of colon cancer in women. According to a study published in the International Journal of Cancer in 2018, there is a 20 per cent reduced risk of colon cancer in women who drink more than three cups of coffee per day, compared to those who drink less than one or less.

Coffee and Diabetes

People who drink four or more cups of coffee per day have a 50 per cent lower risk of Type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2011. 

Cafestol, a compound found in coffee, has been found to increase insulin secretion, reduce fasting glucose levels and improve insulin sensitivity in mice. Thus, cafestol could help stave off type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in the Journal of Natural Products in 2017.

Coffee and Stroke

Coffee consumption can modestly reduce the risk of stroke among women, according to a survey conducted on more than 83,000 women over many years. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association in 2009.

Coffee is associated with reduced risk for death from various causes, including stroke, according to a study from the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The study analysed more than 500,000 people, and was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2017.

Tea and coffee consumption are inversely associated with risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke in the general population, according to a large-scale study in Japan, published in the journal Stroke in 2013. 

Coffee and Kidney Health

Coffee consumption is associated with a reduced risk of chronic kidney disease, according to a study published in the Journal of Renal Nutrition in 2020.

Coffee and Mental Health

Coffee consumption is linked with a reduced risk of depression, according to an independent meta-analysis conducted by Dr Alan Leviton, Harvard Medical School.

Coffee has antioxidant effects. Since coffee has anti-oxidative properties, it helps reduce the blood levels of oxidative-stress indicators in people who have a major depressive disorder 

Coffee also helps reduce the levels of inflammation-related proteins in depressed people. 

Coffee also provides the gut microbiome with nutrients to metabolise coffee constituents into beneficial substances, and promotes a healthy microbiome.

History of Coffee

Coffee cultivation and trade began on the Arabian Peninsula, and by the 15th century, coffee was grown in the Yemeni district of Arabia. By the 16th century, coffee was known in Persia, Egypt, Syria and Turkey. 

In public coffee houses, which started appearing in cities across the Near East, coffee was called qahveh or khaneh.

By the 17th century, coffee made its way to Europe, and by the mid-17th century, there were more than 300 coffee houses in London. 

The Indian Muslim saint Baba Budan, while returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, brought seven coffee beans from the port of Mocha, Yemen to Mysore, India, by hiding them in his beard. He planted the seven seeds of coffee in the courtyard of his hermitage in Chikmagalur, Karnataka, and that became the birthplace and origin of coffee in India.