30+ Coffee

According to legend, Kaldi, a 9th century Ethiopian goat herder, discovered the energising effects of coffee after seeing his goats eat the red berries. 500 years later, coffee spread to Yemen and was used by Sufi mystics to keep them awake for long periods of prayer and meditation. The first coffee house opened in Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1475. Coffee was initially viewed suspiciously in Europe but Pope Clement VIII approved it around 1600. The first English coffee house opened in 1650 in Oxford.

Caffeine in coffee blocks adenosine receptors that regulate the sleep-wake cycle. It also stimulates the release of noradrenaline and adrenaline which make us more alert and focused. Coffee is also antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and may be cardio, hepato and neuroprotective.

However, coffee can cause anxiety, jitters and palpitations. If you have an ADORA2A gene variation, you are likely to be more sensitive to coffee. If you have a CYP1A2 variation, you are likely to break it down more slowly and be affected by it for longer.

Coffee increases stomach acid and can cause acid reflux and burping. It also increases gastric motility which can lead to diarrhoea.

Coffee contains diterpenes which inhibit the enzymes that break down LDL cholesterol. Thus, coffee consumption can lead to raised cholesterol levels. Filter coffee has less diterpenes than other forms of coffee.