Does Coffee Cause Inflammation? The Answer Will Shock You

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Coffee is a beverage that has been consumed by millions of people since the 15th century. Often imitated never replicated, coffee falls into its own unique category. A bean that’s not actually a bean but a seed of a cherry-like plant. Picked, dried, milled, and roasted, before it ends up in your cup. You might be wondering how your body processes this black drink with the question: “does coffee cause inflammation?”

Inflammation is a normal part of being human. It comes to our aid when we are injured or infected. But inflammation can become chronic, not temporary (like during healing), and can cause many health problems that lead to death.

Chronic diseases that are associated with inflammation include autoimmune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease or heart disease, gastrointestinal, and many more.

Good thing there are many foods, and beverages we can consume to manage chronic inflammation. In this article, we will discuss how coffee is processed in the body with the question “does coffee cause inflammation”?

The coffee bean is comprised of a variety of beneficial compounds including alkaloids, phenolic compounds (chlorogenic acid), and diterpenes, which help the metabolic processes. These compounds are also known as antioxidants.

Antioxidants are the defense mechanism your body has against free radicals. If you aren’t familiar free radicals are unstable electrons that can wreak havoc on your body. And you guessed it, that’s where inflammation comes from. But by incorporating more antioxidants into your day, such as those from coffee, this can be a form of preventative medicine.

All that being said, research suggests that coffee can actually reduce diseases associated with chronic inflammation.

According to this 2023 study, a cup of coffee has anti-inflammatory effects because of the bioactive compounds we discussed above.

Additionally, BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care in 2020 suggests that both coffee and green tea can lower inflammation. These results indicate that drinking a few cups of coffee or green tea can actually “reduce all-cause mortality”.

So you might be wondering how much coffee should you drink? The EFSA recommends 400 mg of caffeine per day for healthy adults and less than 200 mg per day for pregnant women.

I personally prefer organic fair trade black coffee. But some regular coffee drinkers might wonder about decaf.

Does decaf coffee also contain anti-inflammatory properties? YES. Decaffeinated coffee contains the same beneficial compounds because these benefits come from the coffee beans themselves, not the caffeine content.

Over consumption of anything can become negative, that includes caffeine consumption. Caffeine intake should be monitored and overdoing it could lead to side effects.

The American Heart Association advises those with high blood pressure, or other health conditions, to take it easy on the coffee drinks because too much caffeine could lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

So if you were thinking coffee causes inflammation, you can be happy to know coffee does not. Quite the opposite, it can actually lower risk of inflammation. And if you ask me, this information sounds like pretty good news, not only for me but for all you coffee lovers out there. Coffee beat energy drinks any day!