Author: Victoria Aly
Time for reading: ~2
minutes
Last Updated:
August 08, 2022
The beneficial bioactive compounds in coffee obviously protect the DNA of white blood cells from damage.
Our coffee associations are quick awakening, wonderful aroma, meeting a nice person and, inevitably, high blood pressure. However, coffee also has its health benefits, which is why stopping it, such as cigarettes, is not necessary if our condition allows it. Oddly enough, the mix of useful nutrients in coffee helps with cardiovascular health . The black drink also shows benefits in the prevention of diabetes and Parkinson's disease . There is evidence that coffee reduces the risk of skin cancer - perhaps, it is no coincidence that the plant originates from warm areas - nature knows its job.
It turns out that regular coffee consumption has far greater benefits than expected. The new discovery of scientists is that the active compounds of coffee apparently protect the DNA of white blood cells from damage .
Coffee has not been in the public eye since yesterday because of its bioactive compounds. They are contained mostly in green beans , but can also be preserved with a special technological processing and method of baking in its traditional appearance. The chlorogenic acids contained in it have different properties - antioxidant, anti-inflammatory . Caffeoylquin, for example, increases the levels of antioxidant enzymes present in the cell and destroys harmful molecules known as reactive oxygen species (ROS).
It should be mentioned that ROS are released during normal metabolism and play a number of important roles in the body, but their large number can damage proteins in cells and cause tears in the strands of our DNA . This happens when our own antioxidant system is not functioning properly.
These breaks in the DNA chain can be repaired by cellular mechanisms, but when they are larger, they give changes that have the potential for mutation and cancer.
An older study found that regular coffee consumption reduced oxidative damage to white blood cells, which are part of our immune system and fight infectious agents.
Provoked by the results, scientists now decide to test whether coffee consumption can reduce DNA breaks.
And they prove that it has such a connection with their study, which involved 84 healthy men. They had to drink a specially roasted and blended Arabica mixture for a month. To do this, they should not change their other eating habits and consume other caffeinated products. Blood tests were performed daily, and the blood was taken 2 hours after drinking the drink. Some of the volunteers were a control group.
And while at the beginning the researchers did not find any differences in the analyzes of the two groups, at the end they found a difference of 27%, which is considered significant, in this case in favor of the health of coffee, and epigenetic.