If sauerkraut is not your thing, if you are not much into other fermented foods and if you don’t appreciate yoghurt, I bet you there is something that you like that may improve the health of your gut bacteria. How about coffee?
While research is a bit light, there appears to be an association between coffee drinkers and healthy gut bacteria. The researchers compared the levels of good and bad bacteria in the guts of high coffee consumers vs low coffee consumers. Apparently, those who drank more coffee had a better ratio of good to bad bacteria.
One particular population of bad bacteria they investigated in this study was one that was associated with metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome represents high blood pressure, high triglycerides, elevated blood sugar, reduced insulin sensitivity and increased abdominal fat. Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Those in this study who drank the most coffee had less of these bad bacteria.
These coffee drinkers’ ratio of good to bad bacteria was higher, meaning the amounts of good bacteria was greater. Healthy gut flora is not only associated with healthier digestion and a better cardiovascular system, but also a stronger immune system and a healthier brain.
While researchers can only speculate as to the positive association between coffee and gut flora, the relationship may be due to health-promoting polyphenols found in many coffee products. It is known that these polyphenols have anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-diabetic properties.
I will defend coffee tooth and nail until I die! Yes, I like…strike that…I love my coffee. From coffee shops or from my home brew, I enjoy my daily double cream, no sugar. The longer I live, the more research I come across that tells me I may live longer because I drink coffee.
Cheers!
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
