Research proves: four cups of coffee a day promotes kidney health
There are quite a few mysteries surrounding the effects of coffee on our health. Is caffeine actually bad for us or not? And how addictive is coffee really? According to Wageningen University and UMC Groningen, we can stop panicking. It turns out that a cup of coffee promotes kidney health. In fact, that effect is still present with four cups of coffee. Now that’s something to drink another cup to!
80,000 Dutch participants took part in the study by Wageningen University and UMC Groningen. Most of them drink a cup of coffee every day. And what did they find? The coffee drinkers had healthier kidneys than the non-coffee drinkers. These positive effects already start after drinking one cup of coffee. The positive effect was strongest at cup number four. Do you drink five cups or more a day? Then there are no additional health benefits.
Four cups of coffee a day is the maximum
Those five cups are entirely in line with the advice from the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, by the way. They say it’s best not to have more than five cups a day, because your body doesn’t exactly feel happy with all that caffeine. You’re also better off drinking well-filtered coffee. It contains less cafestol, a substance that raises LDL cholesterol. Well, nobody is waiting for trembling, sweaty hands and a pounding headache. And certainly not for a stroke caused by high cholesterol.
As black as your soul
Back to that good news about coffee and your kidneys. Because how exactly do those cups of coffee have such positive effects on them? That’s not entirely clear yet. RTL Nieuws spoke with Marianne Geleijnse, professor of nutrition and cardiovascular diseases at Wageningen University. She says there could be several causes. Coffee contains so many different substances that much more research is needed to discover exactly which ones cause those positive effects.
One thing is still important: this study really concerns pitch-black coffee. So no milk or sugar, and certainly not those Pumpkin Spice Lattes that roughly half of the Netherlands becomes addicted to every September.
Let that machine hum
Coffee drinkers can therefore happily let their machine hum away. The downside: your breasts may start to shrink if you down more than three cups a day. Oh, and you could also be a dangerous lunatic if you drink black coffee. But at least one with super-healthy kidneys.
Also read:
- Why you should never order coffee or tea on a plane
- According to research, coffee lovers should drink from white mugs
- Why we’re fans of the percolator, plus how to make perfect coffee with one
Source: RTL Nieuws
