- 10almonds
- Posts
- Coffee & Your Gut
Coffee & Your Gut
Plus: things most people don't know about hearing aids
The 10almonds Team
December 05, 2024
In partnership with
❝Good health is not something we can buy. However, it can be an extremely valuable savings account to have!❞
In A Rush?
Today’s 30-Second Summary
If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:
Coffee has many health benefits, and caffeine has some drawbacks. But, what’s the overall effect on the gut?
Today’s main feature looks at a large (n=35,214) international multicohort analysis shining a lot of light on what coffee (caffeinated, decaffeinated, and various brewing methods) does for gut bacteria (spoiler: it’s mostly good, and has to do with metabolizing the polyphenols), and how dose-dependent it is.
Sleep is a critical part of health that's all-too-often overlooked.
Today's sponsor, BetterSleep, will help you custom-create your sleep routine, and then support you every day in making sure you get in those restful Zs!
Today’s featured book is a classically-trained chef’s repertoire of healthy cooking (that doesn’t sacrifice enjoyment) for all occasions
Read on to learn more about these things, or click here to visit our archive
A Word To The Wise
Watch and Learn
What Most People Don’t Know About Hearing Aids
Dr. Juliëtte Sterkens, a doctor of audiology, makes things clearer in this TEDx talk:
Prefer text? The above video will take you to a 10almonds page with a text-overview, as well as the video!
Wildcard Wednesday
Coffee & Your Gut
Coffee, in moderation, is generally considered a healthful drink—speaking for the drink itself, at least! Because the same cannot be said for added sugar, various sorts of creamers, or iced caramelatte mocha frappucino dessert-style drinks:
Caffeine, too, broadly has more pros than cons (again, in moderation):
Some people will be concerned about coffee and the heart. Assuming you don’t have a caffeine sensitivity (or you do but you drink decaf), it is heart-neutral in moderation, though there are some ways of preparing it that are better than others:
So, what about coffee and the gut?
The bacteria who enjoy a good coffee
Amongst our trillions of tiny friends, allies, associates, and enemies-on-the-inside, which ones like coffee, and what kind of coffee do they prefer?
A big (n=35,214) international multicohort analysis examined the associations between coffee consumption and very many different gut microbial species, and found:
115 species were positively associated with coffee consumption, mostly of the kind considered “friendly”, including ones often included in probiotic supplements, such as various Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus species.
The kind that was most strongly associated with coffee consumption, however, was Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus, a helpful little beast who converts chlorogenic acid (one of the main polyphenols in coffee) into caffeic acid, quinic acid, and various other metabolites that we can use.
More specifically: moderate coffee-drinkers, defined as drinking 1–3 cups per day, enjoyed a 300–400% increase in L. asaccharolyticus, while high coffee-drinkers (no, not that kind of high), defined as drinking 4 or more cups of coffee per day, enjoyed a 400–800% increase, compared to “never/rarely” coffee-drinkers (defined as drinking 2 or fewer cups per month).
Things that did not affect the outcome:
The coffee-making method—it seems the bacteria are not fussy in this regard, as espresso or brewed, and even instant, yielded the same gut microbiome benefits
The caffeine content—as both caffeinated and decaffeinated yielded the same gut microbiome benefits
You can read the paper itself in full for here:
Want to enjoy coffee, but not keen on the effects of caffeine or the taste of decaffeinated?
Taking l-theanine alongside coffee flattens the curve of caffeine metabolism, and means one can get the benefits without unwanted jitteriness:
Enjoy!
Our Sponsors Make This Publication Possible
The Sleep App That Forbes Rated 5 Stars 😱
The app Forbes said helps "users achieve high-quality sleep by creating and maintaining effective sleep routines” is back with new sounds and features!
Now featuring over 300 unique sounds to fall asleep to, a personalized sleep tracker and more. It’s no wonder over 65 million people have downloaded this app for better sleep.
Try it tonight 👇
Please do visit our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free
This Or That?
Vote on Which is Healthier
Yesterday we asked you to choose between cherries and grapes—we picked the cherries (click here to read about why), as did 76% of you!
Now for today’s choice:
 |  |
Click on whichever you think is better for you!
Bonus (Sponsored) Recommendation
Give the most meaningful gift: a great night’s sleep! USDA organic and melatonin-free, these CBD gummies will help your loved ones fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
One-Minute Book Review
Health Nut: A Feel-Good Cookbook – by Jess Damuck
The author is a classically trained chef (worked with Martha Stewart for a long time!), and while health is the focus here, it’s not the be-all-and-end-all, so there’s a lot of attention given to pleasure also. Which, after all, is not a zero-sum game—we can have both!
So, the title and subtitle together sum up the ethos of the book pretty well.
The recipes themselves are divided into categories by meal-type, snacks, desserts, etc. They’re varied enough to suit most moods and seasons, as well as being equally appropriate for cooking for one, or a family, or entertaining. Many (but not all) of the recipes are vegan, though where they’re not, the substitutions are mostly easy and obvious, or explained, or else alternative recipes are given (for example a vegan “tuna” recipe).
In terms of complexity, these are not very complex, yet include everything they need to to make things interesting. That said, the ingredients are also not obscure, and should be easy to find in any reasonably well-stocked supermarket.
One small downside is that many of the recipes are not illustrated, but the instructions are clear enough that this isn’t really a problem, in this reviewer’s opinion.
Bottom line: if you’d like to broaden your kitchen repertoire with plants-forward cooking from an accomplished chef, then this is a good book for that.
Penny For Your Thoughts?
What did you think of today's newsletter?We always love to hear from you, whether you leave us a comment or even just a click in the poll if you're speeding by! |
Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday full of wellness,
The 10almonds Team
