Share on Pinterest Coffee, even decaf, has positive impact on gut-brain axis, a new study has found. Image credit: Boy_Anupong/Getty Images
A new study suggests that regularly drinking four cups of coffee a day could have a positive impact on mood and stress levels.
Changes in mood and stress were also associated with changes in gut bacteria and the levels of certain metabolites.
Most of the mood and gut changes occurred alongside drinking both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.
Coffee doesn’t just impact your energy levels first thing in the morning; it also influences the makeup of the gut microbiota, which in turn could influence mood and stress levels.
This is according to new research from APC Microbiome Ireland, a research center based at University College Cork, in Ireland. The study is published in Nature Communications .
“Coffee is more than just caffeine,” said study author John Cryan, PhD, Principal Investigator at APC Microbiome Ireland, in a press release. “It’s a complex dietary factor that interacts with our gut microbes, our metabolism, and even our emotional well-being.”
The term gut microbiota refers to all the different micro-organisms such as bacteria that live inside the digestive tract. They are a vital part of the gut microbiome, which refers not only to the microbes but also the environment they live in.
Research has already established that there is a two-way relationship between the gut and the brain, known as the gut-brain axis. This means that changes in the brain can lead to changes in the gut, and vice versa.
Gut microbiota play a key role within this relationship.
“Public interest in gut health has risen hugely,” said Cryan. “The relationship between digestive and mental health is also increasingly being better understood, but the mechanisms behind coffee’s effects on this gut-brain axis have remained unclear.”
Other research has suggested that gut microbes react to coffee, as well as associating different levels of coffee consumption with certain health outcomes. These include reduced risks of some chronic diseases, lower rates of all-cause mortality, and a lower risk of depression.