A new study has linked habitual coffee consumption to healthier body composition and enhanced sex hormones.
Research by the University of Oulu found the benefits of coffee drinking appeared to go beyond the lower risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease established in earlier studies.
It found that, among individuals with a similar body mass index, people with a higher coffee consumption had lower total and visceral fat and greater skeletal muscle mass.
“In both men and women, higher coffee consumption was correlated with lower circulating levels of branched-chain amino acids,” the research report said.
“(These are) biomarkers that have previously been linked to insulin resistance and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes when chronically elevated.”
The study analysed data from 2264 participants aged 46 in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966.
“The strongest sex-specific associations were observed in men,” the report said.
“Higher coffee consumption was linked to a more favourable glucose–insulin profile, higher concentrations of total and bioavailable testosterone, and increased levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG).
“In women, hormonal associations were more limited and were primarily characterised by higher SHBG and lower measures of free androgens.”
Study lead author Luca Verroest said coffee was consumed by millions of people but surprisingly little was known about its impact on metabolism and hormones.
“The results suggest that hormonal pathways may partly explain the relationship between coffee consumption and metabolic health,” he said.
“However, as this was an observational study, the findings demonstrate associations rather than cause-and-effect relationships.”
The researchers say the findings provide a foundation for future studies to determine whether coffee itself drives these biological changes and identifying the compounds responsible.
The study, Associations of habitual coffee intake with testosterone and cardiometabolic markers: the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 study, has been published in the European Journal of Nutrition. The full report can be found here
