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Your daily cup of coffee could do more than help you wake up in the morning, according to a new study.
A small study from University College Cork in Ireland found that caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee was linked to changes in gut microbes and some measures of mood. The two types also appeared to have different effects on cognition.
“Coffee is much more than caffeine: it is a complex dietary factor that interacts with our gut microbes, our metabolism and even our emotional well-being,” said the study’s corresponding author, Professor John Cryan, in a statement. Caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee may influence health “in distinct but complementary ways,” Cryan added.
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The researchers studied 62 healthy adults, 31 who regularly drank coffee and 31 who did not. Coffee drinkers, who typically drank three to five cups a day, stopped drinking it for two weeks; then they were instructed to resume caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee for three weeks.
Researchers then tracked their mood and cognitive test scores and analyzed stool and urine samples.
A new study examined the link between coffee consumption and gut bacteria, mood and cognitive test scores. (iStock)
After coffee was re-introduced, both groups reported less stress, depression and impulsivity than at the start of the study.
The caffeinated group also reported reduced anxiety and improvement on an attention test. Those who drank decaf showed improvement on an episodic memory test, which measures the ability to remember information and experiences.
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The researchers found that coffee drinkers also had differences in certain gut bacteria and that both groups showed microbial changes after starting to consume both types of coffee, although the study could not prove that gut microbes were behind the reported mood or cognitive changes.
“Public interest in gut health has increased dramatically,” Cryan said. “The relationship between digestive and mental health is also increasingly understood, but the mechanisms behind coffee’s effects on this gut-brain axis remain unclear.”
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The study had some additional limitations, noted Rebecca Steele, Ph.D., a New York-based clinical psychologist who was not involved in the research.
Both coffee groups reported lower stress and depression scores after returning to coffee, but the small study can’t show that coffee caused these changes, experts say. (iStock)
People should be careful about drawing general conclusions from a small sample, Steele told Fox News Digital.
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Progress on cognitive tests does not necessarily translate into significant or lasting improvements in daily life, she added. “How I do on a pen and paper test may not be the same as when I’m in the real world,” she said.
Research has found short-term effects of caffeine on alertness, but evidence for its long-term effects on cognition remains inconclusive, she also said.
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While Steele said the decaffeinated group’s memory results are interesting, changes in sleep and physical activity, as well as the possibility of a “learning effect” from taking the same tests more than once, complicate the results.
The study results offer first clues about the possible effects of coffee on the gut-brain connection. (iStock)
“Changes in self-reported stress and depression scores should not be confused with evidence that coffee treats clinical depression,” she also cautioned.
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Fox News Digital has contacted the researchers for comment and additional information.
Gn Health
