Which coffee could shorten your life? Scientists reveal the dangers of this popular beverage.

Natural products are generally beneficial – at the very least, they are much less harmful than those that have undergone so-called deep processing. Scientists have repeatedly confirmed this, considering not only sausages and hot dogs.

Another, albeit quite unexpected, confirmation of this well-known truth has been provided by Chinese and Australian researchers from the Medical Science Center of Xi'an Jiaotong University and the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre. Their study, conducted last year, demonstrated that coffee – a drink seemingly beneficial in every way for both men and women – can cause harm. Essentially, lethal harm. If it's instant coffee. In other words, significantly processed.

Let me explain what alarmed the authors, who reported their findings in the journal Nutrients. They discovered that regular consumption of instant coffee affects aging biomarkers – specifically, telomeres. It shortens them. And quite significantly – each cup reduces their length by an amount equivalent to about six months of life.

Telomeres are located at the ends of chromosomes

Telomeres are the terminal sections of chromosomes that naturally shorten over the course of life. They become shorter with each cell division. When there is almost nothing left at the "ends," the cell loses its ability to divide further. As age increases, the number of such "non-functional" cells grows.

It is commonly believed that the relentless shortening of telomeres accompanies aging. It may even provoke it. It leads first to the deterioration of the body – to the so-called age-related changes, and ultimately, to death. Sadly.

It is not difficult to draw a logical conclusion: instant coffee accelerates the aging process since it shortens telomeres more than nature does. In other words, it brings death closer.

Information about the telomere lengths of specific individuals aged 37 to 73 and their habits regarding coffee consumption was obtained from the UK Biobank, which collected data between 2006 and 2010 during surveys and examinations.

The phenomenon of telomere shortening due to instant coffee was discovered after analyzing data from nearly half a million people who, albeit indirectly, participated in the study.

It is important to understand that the Chinese and Australian researchers issued their verdict only on instant coffee. Brewed coffee made from ground beans had no impact on telomeres. Accordingly, it did not accelerate aging. The authors verified this and thus confirmed the findings of their numerous predecessors who conducted similar studies.

In summary: the information about the benefits of natural brewed coffee remains unblemished. Except for this.

BY THE WAY

Shortened telomeres can apparently be lengthened

Remarkable experiments were once conducted by Israeli scientists from Tel Aviv University, Bar Ilan University, Shamir Medical Center, and the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research. If their results are to be believed, after hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), which was administered to 35 individuals over the age of 64, all experienced lengthened telomeres. In some cases, the increase was a phenomenal 38 percent. Participants in the experiments seemingly rejuvenated by 25 years.

Breathing in oxygen seems to rejuvenate

Series of 60 procedures lasting a total of three months, for one and a half hours a day for each subject, were conducted in special pressurized chambers where they breathed pure oxygen.

– The rate of telomere lengthening far exceeded the effects of any known drug interventions or those achieved through lifestyle changes, - reported one of the study participants, Amir Hadanny.

Hadanny and his colleagues observed telomere lengthening in immune blood cells – T-helper cells, B-cells, and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. They detailed their findings in the journal Aging.

The Israelis were inspired to conduct their experiments by a phenomenon discovered at NASA while studying twins Scott and Mark Kelly. One traveled to space, while the other remained on Earth. The one who traveled had longer telomeres.

Details can be found in our article.