New research from Finland suggests that regular coffee consumption is linked with healthier body composition, better metabolic markers and noticeable differences in sex hormones, according to ScienceDaily.
Researchers at the University of Oulu examined data from 2,264 people in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966, all of whom were 46 years old. The team looked at how usual coffee intake related to circulating metabolites, cardiometabolic risk markers and hormone levels.
People who drank more coffee tended to have less total body fat and less visceral fat, along with more skeletal muscle mass. Those differences showed up even though coffee drinkers with higher and lower intake had similar body mass index readings.
Higher coffee intake was also tied to lower levels of branched-chain amino acids in both men and women. Among men, the associations were stronger, including a more favorable glucose-insulin profile and higher total and bioavailable testosterone and SHBG levels, while free testosterone and the free androgen index were slightly lower. In women, the main links were higher SHBG and lower measures of free androgens.
Lead author Luca Verroest said the results point to a hormonal signature that remained even after accounting for BMI and lifestyle factors. Because the study was observational, the researchers say it cannot prove coffee directly caused the differences, and more work is needed before the findings can guide dietary recommendations.
