MOSCOW, July 27, Zakhar Andreev. In recent years, coffee has become the main drink of Russians, displacing the more familiar tea. At the same time, consumers still have a poor understanding of how the new hobby affects health. It seems that science is only now beginning to understand this.
Gray matter is disappearing
For a long time, Russia was considered primarily a tea country. However, a turning point has recently occurred — already in 2016, preferences changed. According to data Rosselkhozbank, tea imports from 2002 to 2022 decreased by almost a quarter to 125.2 thousand tons, while coffee imports, on the contrary, increased 11 times — to 295.4 thousand tons.
Coffee is valued for its taste, aroma and invigorating effect. It is often used to stimulate brain function, for example to compensate for lack of sleep. However, scientific data show that this method of getting yourself back to normal is not so harmless. A new study published in the journal Scientific Reports has shown that with chronic sleep deprivation, caffeine has a negative effect on the brain.
It was previously known that lack of sleep reduces the volume of gray matter. A team of scientists from Switzerland and Germany tested how caffeine affects this process. The experiment involved 36 healthy adults — 21 men and 15 women. The average age was about 29 years. According to the conditions of the study, they slept only five hours for five nights in a row, and then one night — a normal eight hours to recover.
At the same time, one group (19 people) was given 300 milligrams of caffeine per day during this entire time, and the rest — decaffeinated coffee. At the beginning and end of the test, the volume of gray matter of the participants was measured using MRI and positron emission tomography (PET).
It turned out that the control group (consuming decaf) was able to quickly restore the lost volumes of gray matter, returning to a normal rhythm of life. But the losses of the others were not replenished during the observation period. The authors of the study suggest that caffeine apparently blocked the regeneration mechanisms.
«Integrates into the work of the brain»
The study confirmed the “insidiousness” of caffeine. This alkaloid is an antagonist of adenosine A1 receptors, which play an important role in regulating sleep. By acting on them, it helps fight drowsiness and briefly stimulates the mind. However, if there is too much caffeine and too little sleep, the brain, deprived of its usual way of recovery, switches to energy-saving mode: it reduces the activity of the cortex, the rate of glucose and oxygen metabolism. That is, ultimately, brain function and general physical condition deteriorate.
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In addition, caffeine, like other psychoactive substances, is addictive. And to achieve the desired effect, you have to increase the dose over time. This leads to changes in the body: not feeling signals of fatigue, the brain, in an attempt to catch them, gradually increases the number of adenosine receptors — in a coffee addict there are more of these than necessary. If you give up caffeine, then these numerous extra receptors only increase your poor health.
“Caffeine is so tightly integrated into the functioning of the nervous system that without it it ceases to function normally,” he writes in the book «The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Brain. When the whole universe is in your head» neurophysiologist Elena Belova.
«Let's borrow»
Although caffeine is not considered a dangerous psychoactive substance, since most people are able to give it up, coffee lovers also experience withdrawal symptoms. Belova lists the symptoms: “A person falls into an energy pit. Without the usual dose of caffeine, lethargy, fatigue, weakness, inhibition, drowsiness, absent-mindedness roll in, difficulties with concentration, a feeling of dissatisfaction, irritability, depressed mood, inability to think clearly, headaches appear.”
Nutritionist Nuria Dianova compares addiction to coffee and other caffeinated drinks to credit addiction.
“We borrow energy, and if we borrow a lot and often, we will have to pay back harshly,” she says. In particularly severe cases, coffee addicts suffer not only from brain function, but also from other organs, such as the gastrointestinal tract.
For some diseases, the drink is contraindicated altogether, while for others it should be limited. Thus, people with abnormal heart rhythms, erosive and ulcerative disease of the stomach and Gilbert's syndrome, a hereditary liver disease, need to be especially careful. Coffee should not be combined with medications, as this may interfere with their action, the expert notes.
“The amount that will not harm a person depends on metabolism and other factors. However, there are almost no completely healthy people who could drink more than three cups a day and still sleep soundly,” says Dianova. “Therefore, the optimal option, in my opinion, is two cups: one in the morning and the second for an afternoon snack — after lunch, energy resources decrease and you want to be stimulated.”
She emphasizes: we are talking about a real, high-quality product, not its cheap substitutes.
Extends life
There are many scientific studies that show the health benefits of coffee. A number of studies on large samples show that regular consumption of the drink reduces the risk of death from many diseases — cardiovascular, oncological, neurodegenerative. At the same time, caffeine may not be to blame.
“It appears that the most valuable components of coffee for our health are phenolic compounds, primarily polyphenols and phenolic acids,” writes Belova. These elements are able to activate our antioxidant enzymes and have some anti-inflammatory effect.
At the same time, Dianova notes, long-livers hardly drink coffee, preferring jasmine tea, fruit teas, turmeric, soy milk and just water, as well as — in minimal quantities — red wine. This is evidenced by the statistics of the so-called blue zones — regions of the world where people live longer than average.
Be that as it may, the nutritionist believes, coffee, like other products, should not be treated fanatically. It is necessary to choose a dose that will not interfere with the stable functioning of the nervous system and healthy sleep. This will allow you to enjoy your favorite drink without harm.
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