Why Coffee Helps Us To Age Better

If you think your morning cup of coffee is a “guilty habit,” you might want to think again.

Drinking up to about three or four cups of coffee a day has been linked to a longer life. Black coffee with no sugar in particular could help us live longer and age better. However, we aren’t definite about why that may be.

But a new paper published in Nutrients suggests researchers have found a clue: it seems to relate to a process involving protein NR4A1.

The scientists wanted to look at the link between coffee and NR4A1 receptors, which are involved in a range of biological processes from tissue repair to metabolism.

NR4A1 is “involved in protecting the body from stress-induced damage,” Prof Dr Stephen Safe, who co-wrote the study, said.

“If you damage almost any tissue, NR4A1 responds to bring that damage down.. If you take that receptor away, the damage is worse.”

After looking closer at both coffee and this protein, they found that some parts of the caffeinated drink, including compounds like caffeic acid, seemed to bind to NR4A1 and change its activity level.

“What we’re saying is that at least part of coffee’s health benefits may come through binding and activating this receptor,” Prof Dr Safe said.

They also saw that compounds in the coffee seemed to reduce cell damage and slow cancer cell growth in lab models, an effect that disappeared when NR4A1 was removed from cells.

The researchers found that caffeine might not actually be a major driver of these effects. Instead, other components seemed to matter more.

“Caffeine binds the receptor, but it doesn’t do much in our models. The polyhydroxy and polyphenolic compounds are much more active,” said Dr Safe.

Still, the professor said, this is likely only one of many ways the beverage might help to protect us from the effects of ageing.

“There are many receptors and many mechanisms involved,” he shared.

But this finding “helps explain why coffee has the effects that it does,” and may show “there’s a mechanism behind it.”