Consumption of a dark roast coffee blend reduces DNA damage in humans
 

referenced in Dr. Rhonda Patrick's latest instagram post:

Consumption of a dark roast coffee blend reduces DNA damage in humans: results from a 4-week randomised controlled study 11-2018

Abstract
Purpose
To determine the DNA protective effects of a standard coffee beverage in comparison to water consumption.

Methods
The single-blind, randomised controlled study with parallel design included healthy women (n = 50) and men (n = 50) recruited from the general Central European population. The subjects were randomised in a coffee and a control group, with stratification for sex and body mass index. The study comprised two periods of 4 weeks: a preconditioning period, with daily consumption of at least 500 ml water but no coffee, nor tea, nor any other caffeine-containing product. During the subsequent intervention period the coffee group consumed 500 ml of freshly brewed dark roast coffee blend per day, the control group consumed water instead. On the last day of each period, blood was drawn and analysed by comet assay (single-cell gel electrophoresis) to assess the level of DNA damage (strand breakage).

Results
At the end of the intervention period the mean level of DNA strand breaks in the coffee group has decreased in comparison to the control group [difference in means 0.23% TI (tail intensity), p = 0.028]. The mean change from baseline (delta value) was − 23% in the coffee group (p = 0.0012). Effects of coffee intake were similar for men and women. During intervention, neither group showed any significant change in body weight or calorie intake.

Conclusions
Our results indicate that regular consumption of a dark roast coffee blend has a beneficial protective effect on human DNA integrity in both, men and women.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to give up coffee.

And what about tea? (My personal choice; strong, black, sugarless, probably too long brewed, and many cups throughout the day. My main form of hydration)

hitting the link below automatically downloads the pdf file:

The effects of green tea on weight loss and weightmaintenance: a meta-analysis.

Introduction. Different outcomes of the effect of green tea on weight loss (WL) and weight maintenance (WM) have been reported in studies with subjects differing in ethnicity and habitual caffeine intake.

Purpose. To elucidate by meta-analysis whether green tea indeed has a function in body weight regulation.

Methods. English-language studies about WL and WM after green tea supplementation were identified through PubMed and based on the references from retrieved articles. Out of the 49 studies initially identified, a total of 11 articles fitted the inclusion criteria and provided useful information for the meta-analysis. Effect sizes (mean weight change in treatment versus control group) were computed and aggregated based on a random-effects model. The influence of several moderators on the effect sizes was examined.

Thanks, interesting reading!

I broke down: after a few weeks without, I had a cup of coffee this morning. Enjoyed it, and didn't make my symptoms worse.

On the other hand, I know I can use this power for evil: I can use coffee to prop up a system dysfunction, when I need to realize that something is out of whack and fix it, instead.

Thanks s93uv3h - I guess I should work harder at trying to like green tea :)

I have part of an article way back in my first J that said green tea raised histamine levels.

It does. Which is why, if you have histamine intolerance, that's a bad thing.

Good, in that case I'll never get cancer. I drink so much coffee... LOL! Although I think I've got a skin cancer spot on my arm.

If you stacked up all the pro-coffee and anti-coffee studies, they would be about the same size.

Hope you are getting that arm thing taken care of :agree:

Out of curiosity--what are the anti-coffee studies? Mostly I think I've heard of pro-coffee and some anti-excessive caffeine consumption studies. Of course that could my selective memory at work. :lol:

Nice little roundup here from a pioneering functional medicine doctor:

Ten Reasons to Quit Your Coffee!

Coffee is a psychoactive drug. How it works for an individual varies widely by their genes, their health situation, what kind they drink, and how much & often.

I’ve just come off almost a month without, and wanted to see if it had any immediate ill effects. It doesn’t seem to. Still, I plan to keep it to two cups, 2-3 times a week, and see how that goes.

Just wanted to point out that the coffee study referenced in the OP was funded by Tchibo, a German coffee company. Also, the statistician who analyzed the data was appointed and paid by Tchibo.

from the abstract link .. https://link.springer.com/article/1...0394-018-1863-2

That being said .. Tchibo does make good coffee ;)

Had a persistent headache last night. Only thing different was the coffee so I guess that’s off the table for a while.

Also where do they get people who don’t drink coffee! Do these folks differ in any other ways of significance?

I never made coffee until my late 20s because my parents always drank that nasty Taster Choice instant coffee stuff. Now we buy whole beans by the 3 pound bag and grind it daily. It's so good and rich with heavy cream :yum:

I very seldom drink coffee. Not that I dislike it, I just prefer tea. I will have a cup at a friend's house, for instance, if they have it made, or occasionally after dinner at a restaurant. I used to be a heavy coffee drinker - my work colleagues knew not to bother me before my first cup (or two), but then we both switched to tea for some reason. I have the wherewithal to make it for guests, but still make tea for myself.

I think it was the invention of Starbucks that got my attention. The aroma when you open the door to their store is just so inviting to me. I first started buying bags of beans there at Starbucks but now since it's sold everywhere, I have found it for so much less in the past couple of years. I have spoiled myself with the real stuff so much so that I can't tolerate thin weak office coffee.

I don't know who they studied, but a huge group of non-coffee drinkers that does get occasionally studied is members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. No coffee or tea but also no alcoholic beverages, tobacco or street drugs either, and otherwise whatever foods/diet an individual wants. With alcohol and cigarettes absent, as you can imagine health measures are statistically better. But a fair study of coffee or tea would require finding a comparison group of people who also don't smoke or drink, and I don't know who all that might be.