Coffee addiction happens to be one of the healthier addictions to harbor. According to a new academic study, the practice of tucking into one’s daily caffeine fix can also be healthier than imagined. The gist of the story is that, yes, while a lot of sugar-laden coffee concoctions are perhaps best saved for special occasions, adding a splash of milk can boost the already established anti-inflammatory effects of brewed coffee beans themselves. In other words, you’ll catch a few extra calories from adding that milk, but the added health effects are worth it.
This helpful information lands courtesy of Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry and Prevention, which boiled down the study into layman’s terms and adds insight from a Dallas-based physician, Scott Zashin, M.D. Long story short, the inflammatory-busting polyphenols already existing in coffee can be amplified by the protein found in milk. The combined effect of the existing polyphenols can thusly be amplified into double the usual effect. Here’s more:
In this study, researchers induced inflammation artificially and exposed this inflammation to cells, explains Dr. Zashin. “If you get an infection, your body will mobilize white cells to fight the infection and that causes inflammation in the process.” He further explains that the cells in the study that were exposed to the polyphenols and amino acids seemed to have a better response at decreasing inflammation compared to those with polyphenols alone or those with neither, a.k.a. the placebo group.
Therefore, “If you drink coffee (polyphenols) and milk (amino acids), it works as a more anti-inflammatory effect than the coffee alone,” says Dr. Zashin.
Inflammation in the body can wreak havoc and contribute to a wealth of maladies including weight gain, degenerative diseases, cancer, and more. In other words, milk really can make a world of difference. As the Jerusalem Post further points out, the study supports the same type of anti-inflammatory boosting effect while combining veggies with meat and fruit with yogurt. Probably just don’t act like this while you’re drinking coffee, and you’ll be fine.
(Via Prevention & Jerusalem Post)